Great message! I make it a point to tell my 4th grade students that I love each and every one of them. There's usually a few that look a little weirded out by it until I describe what I mean by "love". I explain tell them that when you deeply care about someone, and when their pain is your pain, that's love.
this describes our experience at Squamish Montessori School - Teachers are available 24/7 by email and have regular meetings in the evenings, offering childcare; theres no homework and 3 hour blocks of dedicated study time twice daily, student lead following their interests but guided (no teachers - the educators are guides) to meet their needs, to stretch and challenge them to take this interest and fly - the 'free space' to explore and not be distracted by the process of schooling.
That was powerful, Chris. Thanks for sharing. It resonated with me because I feel the same way about many of those "small things" that you were talking about... the check-in after a hockey game, the declining need for homework, etc. And I love my teachers... I loved my teachers as a kid (very different style) but I loved them. And I love my teachers at my school now. Powerful. Thank you. I'm going to share your video with them.
What would be incredible would be for Montessori education (which embraces every element you discuss) to be an option in public school, without fees, and therefore available to all, as increasingly true in the USA and parts of Europe. Education needs to change and equip our kids with a passion for learning, not for ticking boxes - we need a new model
Great empowerment. Everyone can truly benefit from so much passionate and inspirational presentation and sharing of personal experience. Thank you so much.
Very dangerous trend, educators who use their parent hat 2 stifle & oppose different objectives that other parents have. Amounts to appropriating parent voice and public voice as to what public ed should comprise; influences what cost should be. Educators already have most control over what happens in school. Parents work like hell 2 influence; when spoken for = stifle.Especially when what educators want 4 their kids happens 2 = what ed industry wants. Co-opt parent voice 2 further ed agenda.
