Chapters 3-4

2. Share 3 (three) exact quotes that are meaningful to you (from across these two chapters), and explain why they matter to you.

On page 29, it discusses a teacher's core beliefs. "I cannot accord you dignity unless I make you my partner in creating a classroom that mirrors the world we both want to live in."
I loved this quote because of it's wisdom and simplicity. Students are validated and made to feel important when we give them the power to have a voice in the structure and overall feel of the classroom. They have to be partners in the process instead of individuals that are merely acted upon.

On page 33, it reads "The persistent teacher generously acknowledges the distance a student has come academically, but also makes it clear the distance each student has yet to go."
This quote is important to me because it reinforces that teachers must celebrate all improvement that our students make no matter how small it may seem. However, it is just as vital that we help our students understand that the learning process is never finished. They still have more to learn and grow but the students will now know that you will celebrate their future successes as well.

On page 40, a teacher discusses her feelings on the classroom environment. She says "...humor is used "to make us better," not to "make us hurt."
I feel like teachers everywhere need to have this view of humor in the classroom. Humor certainly has it's place in the classroom. It can "defuse tense situations" when used in a positive way. However, negative and sarcastic humor can just as quickly wound a fragile child. Humor should never be used to isolate a student and make him or her the butt of a joke. Like most this in this world, humor can be used for good or bad.

Sylvia Allan

Reflect on what you learned about creating community in your classroom from our visitor, Sylvia Allan.

I thoroughly enjoyed Sylvia Allan's visit to our classroom. I feel like she is an ideal role model for building a classroom community. She really helped me see how important morning meetings are in the community building process. The stories she told of the successes and trails of her students will stay with me forever. She along with her students came together to build a family unit. The group was there to celebrate and mourn each others' life experiences.

I love that morning meetings allowed her students to gain a voice and feel empowered. It helped her students to feel loved and cherished. The students became invested in the teacher-student and peer relationships. Each student gained confidence in themselves as learners and also gained accountability for their learning and success. I firmly believe that children that are part of a classroom community are able to thrive in school in a way that without that community they would not do as well in a school environment. Community creates the necessary safety net that allows children to take the necessary risks so they can succeed and learn to the fullest extents.

The Role of Student Needs

2a. What does the following phrase mean, and what you think about it? “…emotions trump learning.”

Emotions trump learning is a simple way of saying that children can not direct their energy and attention to learning when they do not yet feel safe, secure, and cared about in a classroom setting.

This relates back to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Children need to have their most essential physical and emotional needs met before they can turn their attentions to learning academics. I really like the way the book elegantly sums this up: "if a child feels unsafe, threatened, or insecure, the brain blocks off the pathways to learning and attends to the more basic human needs instead.

I feels like this makes it clear why so many students are unsuccessful in the academic settings. It isn't that the majority of those students are dumb or unmotivated it is the fact that these students have more essential things to attend to before their focus can shift to learning math or grammar rules. This is just another reason why it is so important to know our students and their needs so we can help them feel safe and secure and unblock the pathways to learning.

Chapter One from Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom

Choose one of the following to respond to and then either post an aah statement that spoke powerfully to you and share the connection you made with it or choose a second statement that was meaningful to me and add your connection.

1a. On page 10 of this reading assignment, Tomlinson states that “teachers who are willing to establish ties with students discover new depths of truth each day...” What does this mean to you?

I loved the section in Chapter 1 that compare the story of The Little Prince to teachers. I found it very insightful to think that teachers need to help "tame" students. As a teacher I need to help my students become comfortable and successful in the school setting.

I believe that when teachers establish necessary ties with their students during the "taming" process the teachers will discover new truths about each individual child each day. As the student begins to feel safe in the hands of their teacher, he or she will reveal characteristics and truths about him or her self so the teacher can in return better help each child to succeed.

The more genuine truth I can learn about each child in my classroom the more I can differentiate instruction to meet his or her needs the best I can. I am very willing to take the risks to help my students trust me. I want to make the ties to my students so together we can be successful on their road to the best versions of themselves.

What do you see?

Think about this field of wildflowers as a metaphor for a classroom of children. How does your perspective of the picture change as you look for the uniqueness?

When I think of a classroom of diverse children the same way I think of a field of wildflowers it helps me think of differences as essential and important instead of inconveniences. It helps remind me how boring a classroom or society would be if all the members were the same.

Our society and culture depends on having difference kinds of people to share their strengths to make our world complete. Peoples' differences help us learn the essential skills of compassion, patience, cooperation that are much needed in society.