Teacher's Impact

When you consider the people in your life who have had the greatest impact, chances are a teacher makes the list.  I have many teachers who are unforgettable...some for what they taught me, some for the care they showed me, some for making me feel special, some for pushing me hard, holding me to high expectations and helping me succeed.  I have others who are unforgettable unfortunately for a negative reason.   I had a teacher who never planned or prepared for class, and even at a young age, I knew he was wasting my time.  I had a few teachers (thankfully not many) who were so negative and made no attempt to connect with their students.   I can remember the teacher who spent most of the hour sitting at his desk and not paying attention to the students who were doing nothing or cheating or goofing around.  I wanted a safe place to learn.   I can remember those classrooms that felt very safe and those that did not due to the behaviors that were allowed or the attitude of the teacher in the room.

I remember awaiting anxiously to get a paper or project back from the teacher and being so excited to see the comments about my work.  That feedback was as important as the content I was learning.

I have thought a great deal lately about how in the world are we to ever compete with the world of technology and video games that we now live.  How can we keep our students engaged for long periods of time when we are using a book or notebook and not a joystick or monitor?  I believe that one way is to provide quality feedback.  Think about the feedback our kids get from video games.  It is constant, timely.  It happens right after they complete the level or even after making a wrong move.  If they screw up, they get to start over and try again.  I'm not proposing that we begin to teach like a video game, but I am suggesting that perhaps we could learn a thing or two from the gamers handbook.  Kids have to know it is okay to try and maybe fail and need to start over.  Our kids who know how to reach the highest levels in a game started off failing at level one or two and then trying again and again.

Please consider what impact you are leaving on the lives you touch every day.  Know that they thrive on your feedback and depend on you to guide them and encourage them and challenge them every day.  What feedback are you giving your students?  It is this feedback that allows learning to happen and for students to "move to the next level."


Links and Articles Worth Reading:

A Teacher's Influence Reaches Far Beyond the Classroom
How Visuals Improve Conversion Rates on your Content By 300%
What's Lost as Handwriting Fades
School Neuroscience Unleashes Students' Brain Power
If You Want Your Children To Succeed, Teach them to Share in Kindergarten

Videos Worth Watching:

Even though the dog won't fetch.....little boy still shows he loves him!

What an impact teachers have!