Does anyone remember the song "Here Comes Peter Cottontail"? You know "Here comes Peter Cottontail, hoppin' down the bunny trail. Hippity hoppity Easter's on its way. Bringing lots of boys and girls, baskets full of Easter joy..." Congrats. Now it's stuck in your head. I love Easter. It's one of my favorite times of the year. I love celebrating our Lord and Savior's death and resurrection. I love the colors and the excitement of the Easter bunny coming! (Why yes, the Easter bunny still comes and visits me :))
There's no better way to start the Easter season than by watching the children at my church performing their musical, "Hallelujah, What a Savior!". It was the most precious thing I have seen in a long time. You could absolutely feel God's presence. There just isn't a better way of hearing the Easter story.
What I was most impressed with was there learning. One of the ladies at my church does dance and sign language. I admire her for her sweet and loving spirit, and most of all her love of God. She taught the children, ages 3-11, the songs and motions to perform. The cutest little girl down front, and the youngest, was singing her little heart out! She knew every sign and every word. I thought about how cool it was that she just ran with it! I sat in awe as she was praising God. If you start a child out young enough, you can teach them anything. We have that capability as teachers, to help them be the best people they can be. It may seem simple, but when you have a small child in your class, or even in your presence, it's important to help them to become better people. I won't have the privilege of teaching elementary school, but by the time they get to my classroom, I will expect a lot out of them.
We've been learning about teacher expectation in one of my classes. It's important that we do expect a lot out of our students. ALL of our students. Not just the already high achieving ones. Everyone needs that fair chance to succeed. If we act as if they're all little, and all mold-able, then we give them equal opportunities. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying treat them as if they are little, I'm saying give them all an equal playing field, a clean slate. Give everyone the same leadership opportunities, the same responsibilities. It's easy to give the good students all of that, but if we do that, what makes the others want to achieve. We have to encourage and support!
Challenge: How can we, as teachers, give the support that students need? How can we make make sure that we support ALL students equally?
Happy Easter!!
haha, A challenge question!!! I think we give students a fair chance when we teach, talk, and communicate with them as human beings. We need to show them that we care about them as individuals.
ReplyDeleteWe use to joke in high school about our grades being like a weather forecast with highs around the 70's and the lows about 40...
Lol I love the weather forecast! I agree about showing them that we care. It's so important to do that because we might be the only people that do show them that love and support. Thanks for the comment Josh!
ReplyDeleteThanks for referring me to your post. It is sooo ool to see you and Josh still producing such good stuff!
ReplyDeleteI am struggling because one of my students has come sooo far. I mean, she has made leaps and bounds of improvement-- yet, she still does not possess the skills she needs to succeed in the next arena. What do you do? It's hard for me to say, GREAT job, you've improved so much! Just not quite enough. :-/
What do you think?
I think it's important to remember that all children aren't going to live up to what you think is best. In my opinion, it's just as long as they do their personal best. Haha I definitely wouldn't throw in the "just not quite enough" part. The other part of that statement is GREAT though!! Just keep encouraging!
ReplyDeleteIt's like when you teach a child something, and they don't get it the first time. For example, learning to tie shoes. A child isn't going to get it on the first try, even though they might get the basic concept. What do you do? Do you buy them Velcro sandals and call it a day? No! You keep telling them how great of a job they're doing just by trying. Hopefully one day they will indeed master the skill, but for the time being, just build them up.
Just be the person who believes she can do it. Believe in her. You might be the only one who does. :) Good luck!