Pre-Assignment

Rita Pierson: "Build relationships with your students." TED Talk

• value and importance of human connection
• learning requires relationships
• "kids don't learn from people they don't like"
• +2 says "I ain't all bad" (instead of -18 on quiz out of 20)
• teachers can't give up on kids- make a connection

 Teens Talk:  Think for Yourself  TED Talk

• students measured by numbers- kills creativity
• stories and experiences enrich a subject
• more to education than passing an exam

Four key ideas:

1. Making connections with students is important.
2. Students need to be valued as individuals.
3. Celebrate what students know- not what they don't know.
4. The current model of education needs to change.

Each of these key ideas is important, and it is difficult to select only one.  The first three points are tangible and are extremely important components of education.  Every interaction with another individual provides the opportunity to make a positive connection, which is essential in the classroom to engage students in learning.  The fourth is a bit more abstract since there is no clear path- it is new territory.  Continuing to work on differentiating lessons and allowing for individual choice will help to improve education by making the content more relevant and appropriate to students.