Talks from Inspiring Teachers

Every Kid Needs a Champion
      In this video, Rita Pierson emphasizes the importance of teachers making a difference in the lives of children. She stresses to recognize the value and importance of relationships between teachers and students. Everyone has been affected by a teacher or an adult. Kids will not learn from people that they do not like. The video discusses that teaching and learning should be a joy for everyone in the classroom. She tells a story about a student coming back to visit her mom and telling her, "You made me feel like I was somebody". I honestly can say that this is a goal of mine as a future teacher, is to make a student feel that they matter. I gained a lot from this video, one being to seek to understand instead of seeking to be understood. I also realized when watching this video that I want to be a teacher that builds relationships with my students, and I want to be someone's champion.

3 Rules to Spark Learning
      Ramsey Musallam talks about his 3 rules to spark learning.
These are the 3 rules:

1. Curiosity comes first.
2. Embrace the mess.
3. Practice reflection.         

Musallam believes that questions are a really important aspect in the classroom. He discusses how curiosity can take learning to a new level. He also talks about how student questions are the seeds to real learning. I believe this is so true because questions can spark discussions that can lead to a deeper understanding of a topic. Musallam says that student questions are a teachers greatest tool, and I plan to use this in my future classroom.  He talks about how we as teachers can bring meaning to a school day for some students. I want to make sure that my future students know that they are worth it, and will succeed in life.

Why Open a School? To Close a Prison
      In this video Nadia Lopez discusses how she fought to open her middle school, and she did this with a vision in mind. She wanted to open a school in order to close a prison. She opened a school in a very rough part of New York. She wanted to make a difference in the lives of the children in the area. She wanted to show kids that they had a landscape of opportunity beyond their neighborhood. One thing that she said in her video that really inspires me is, "If our children are not in our classrooms, how will they learn? And if they're not learning, where would they end up?". This really just makes you think about how important a child's education is not only for the time being, but for their future. Lopez talks about how we are all connected to succeed. Students are life long learners and it is our job to give them hope and purpose. Like Lopez stated in the video, it is important to give students love, structure, support, and knowledge, and I aim to do this in my classroom one day.