The video I chose to share this week is not a new video to me and it's probably not new to you either. It is Rita Pierson's Ted Talk entitled "Every Kid Needs A Champion" and in my opinion it delves into one of the most important and moving conversations about education that a teacher can have. Throughout this course I have really been contemplating the new role of a teacher. If I am not the master of knowledge what role do I play in the classroom? Cheerleader is quite not enough, coach sounds a little too sporty for me, and then it hit me! I need to be their champion. The person who believes that they can do anything they set their mind to and who will create the platform they need in order to be successful themselves.
During this course and this year I have been forced to take risks and relinquish more control to my students. To be honest, this is stressful for me. I worry that if I relinquish too much to my students that they wont have enough support and that I will let them down in some way. But every time I have taken a risk or given the kiddos a new responsibility they have more than raised to the occasion. I work with mostly Hispanic students who are living in what is considered to be "extreme poverty" and they don't feel like they are capable of much or that much is expected of them. When I show my colleagues the different projects my students have created this year I often get, "your students did that??" I get to smile and say, "yes they did." But more importantly than showing my colleagues, friends, or parents of my students what they can do, I have shown them what they can do. Many times this year my students have seemed genuinely shocked by the quality of what they have created. To be able to show them that they are no less capable than any other students around the world has been the greatest lesson and gift that this course has given me. In Pierson's speech she tells the audience about a chant that she had her students say each day, and I am proud to say that all the students at my school say a variation of this chant together every morning before school. It says everything I want my students to believe about themselves. I am somebody. I was somebody when I came, And I'll be a better somebody when I leave. I am intelligent, and I am strong, And I deserve the education I get here at Markham.
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AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
May 2018
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Photo used under Creative Commons from Wajahat Mahmood