What Makes a Star Teacher by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development
Published: 2019-03-02T00:00:00+00:00

Many empathetic teachers cannot move beyond wringing their hands in pity for their students. Teachers who transmit authentic empathy seek instructional adaptations and support mechanisms to help learners surmount academic barriers. As educators, we must employ empathetic strategies that go beyond feeling sorry for our learners and help them to be successful on their own accord—to exhibit resilience by learning to swiftly rebound from adversity. Students who are classified as at risk must be encouraged to maneuver around their circumstances and take ownership of their own learning and futures despite the unfair hand they have been dealt. Star Teachers convey to learners that the factors placing them at risk are not their fault and act as students' partners in achieving academic success.

In an ASCD InService blog post, Bryan Harris offers the following strategies for helping students classified as at risk become resilient:

Avoid labeling children as "high risk" or "at risk." Instead, refer to high-risk environments or situations that present challenging conditions. All children are capable of great things given the appropriate support, and they tend to live up to or down to the expectations we set for them.

The person who delivers the program is more important than the program itself. There are numerous effective programs available that are designed to increase resiliency in students and loads of research about the effect of teaching students the skills and attitudes of resiliency. However, personal relationships and connections are the foundation of all effective programs.

Sometimes the apple does fall far from the tree. Students facing challenging situations or difficult home lives need to understand and believe that they can succeed. They need to know, through stories, examples, and role models, that with the right work ethic and commitment they can be successful. They need not be bound solely by their environment, background, or surroundings.

View children not as problems to be fixed but as individuals with strengths, dreams, and opinions. Traditionally schools have been places where the focus has been on identification, remediation, and correction of deficits. Indeed, schools need to know where students are lacking and work hard to help students master important skills and content. However, we also need to use the strengths, abilities, and interests of students for them to truly thrive and overcome adverse situations.

Students must be actively involved in the life of the school and in their own learning. Resiliency isn't developed being passive. Students need to connect to the people, the content, and the overall learning environment in order to thrive. Challenge students to track their own learning, create goals, and connect to other students with similar interests. In addition, all students should be exposed to challenging curriculum and high expectations.

The stuff of school can be cold and impersonal. The curriculum, the overreliance on testing, the schedules, and even the instruction can sometimes lead children to believe that school is something that is done to them. Take time to make personal connections with students, to laugh with them, and share stories to make school warm, fun, and personal.

Resilience isn't constant in any of our lives.

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