Posts Tagged relationships and learning

More Wasted Education Reform Money in Los Angeles Schools

On April 10, 2014 / Relationships

The front page of the Los Angeles Times on April 9, 2014 featured a huge photo of 375 empty student desks, which represented the 375 students who drop out of the district’s schools each and every week. To reduce this drop-out rate, the superintendent of the district is asking for $837 million for a number of projects, including:

More tutoring and greater access to counselors and other services for 11,600 foster youth.
More instructional coaches and training materials for teachers of 154,110 students learning English.
More assistant principals, counselors, social workers, special education workers and other support for students at 37 schools with low-performing students and high teacher turnover.
192 library aides and 15 middle school librarians.
130 new

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Learning and Relationships

On May 9, 2013 / Learning, Relationships

Learning and relationships are inseparable.

How we feel affects and even directs how we behave and learn. As you have heard time and time again—with a great deal of truth—students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Trust is the foundation of any relationship. With people, trust also carries with it an implicit message that the other person has your own best interests in mind. That is why we can accept criticism and even anger from those whom we trust. We know, deep down, that they really mean to help us.

Trust is an interesting quality because, once it is lost, it is hard to recapture. Many a relationship gasped its last breath on … >>>

An Interview about Where We Are Going – Part V

On October 13, 2011 / Interviews, Learning

This is the fifth part in a series of interviews about “Where We Are Going” with Michael F. Shaughnessy of Eastern New Mexico University.

QUESTION:
School reform has now been a topic for generations but there seems to be little improvement. Any suggestions?

RESPONSE:
Any meaningful reform must affect the student-teacher relationship. I cannot think of a single school reform that started top down (and was a headline twenty years ago) that is still being used today.

Now education leaders have given their leadership over to government and business leaders. What reason do we have to think that legislators can improve education? On what basis can we assume that business is a model for education when every few months a … >>>

Motivation and Great Teaching

On July 28, 2011 / Learning

A cover article of Time Magazine was entitled, “How to Make Better Teachers.”

My thoughts after reading the article:

Great teachers understand that they are in the “relationship business.” Many students—especially those in low socio-economic areas—put forth little effort if they have negative feelings about their teachers. Superior teachers establish good relationships and have high expectations.

These teachers communicate in positive ways, such as letting their students know what the teacher wants them to do, rather than by telling students what not to do. Great teachers inspire rather than coerce. They aim at promoting responsibility rather than obedience because they know that obedience does not create desire.

Great teachers identify the reason that a lesson is being taught and … >>>