Educators who not only have ideas but are able to put them into action are the ones who challenge learners, reaffirm their progress and support them as they move forward. Teachers, whether it be a librarian, custodian, a teacher at a school site or even someone not necessarily connected to education that supports a growing learner, have influenced and inspired many people who have gone on to do what we would consider great things with their lives.
We empower others through the interactions, both big and little, that we share. Our students will not always remember that lesson that we spent hours after school planning and prepping for, instead, what they will remember is how we speak and act towards them, those micro-interactions that we do without all the prepping and planning. This introduction is not saying that the prepping and planning is unimportant or that we can forgo all those after-hours tasks, what it is saying is that the relationships we create and the positivity we spread is often remembered more than the details of a lesson that we allow ourselves to stress over. What we can do to ensure that our lessons are heard is to create strong relationships and provide empowering learning experiences to all of our learners.
Three questions should be kept in mind as you read Innovate Inside the Box:
- What has challenged you?
- What has been reaffirmed?
- What will you do moving forward?
Further Reading
- In Praise of Friendship: Maya Angelou and Mrs. Flowers
- A Teacher Who Changed My Life
- Peter Woodbury School
Further Viewing
- Maya Angelou on Poetic Influences
- What is UDL with Katie Novak
- Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset with John Spencer
Questions for Discussion
- Think of one educator who had an impact on you as a student in a positive way. What did they do that made an impact? I encourage you to reach out to them or share how they made a positive difference in your life.
- Think of a challenge in your lifetime, be it personal or professional. How did you learn and grow from that experience?
- What was a constraint you have faced in education and how did you overcome it?
- What lessons did you learn from that process?