Monday, February 4, 2008

if you have 'em, teach 'em

Gary Stager directs us to his district's newest must-read, all about getting to know the kids in your own classroom.

Wherever education trends take us, the hallmark of a quality teacher has very little (hyperbole) with content, and everything (no hyperbole) with establishing connections with the cherubs that populate our classrooms.

Of particular interest from Stager's article comes the following observation and its natural follow-up question:
The problem with classifying students isn't the form of diagnosis; it is the idea that humans need to be classified at all. Do we really help children by taking them out of their old boxes and sorting them into new ones?
We spend so much time, energy, and our natural resources on identifying, labeling, and funneling kids, that we dismiss ourselves of our professional obligation to create meaningful relationships with students that scream to them, "This is a place where you can learn, take risks, and succeed."