People might think that teaching is easy; after all what do we need to do? “Just come ready with the lesson plan and teach the kids because we are here to teach and the kids are in the class to learn. At the end of the lesson, just ask, ‘questions anyone?’ and you’re done.” Right??? Wrong!
We, as Educators, have to observe and look deep in to our kids eyes, look in to their souls to see how we can make our time with them valuable and meaningful by showing them that we really care for them and about their interests. I am not here just to give them the curriculum; instead, I pay attention to how they feel and what they care about. I was listening to a speech by a person who has been working for the past 40 years as a teacher, and she said something that really resonated for me: “Students can NOT learn from you if they don’t like you.” That is totally true! So before the lesson starts, I always ask my students, “How do you feel today?” They know I mean it, and they know I care, and that relationship is the key to their learning.