I found this article quite interesting. I wasn't sure how I would feel about it when reading the title, but after a few paragraphs I was in complete agreement that teacher's beliefs make a difference. It was interesting to see how just a different environment for just a short period can make a difference. And of course the environments can be attributed to the teachers that make the environment.
I am aware that the main idea about the article is about reading and literacy, but being a special education teacher that taught children with emotional disabilities, it had a different meaning to me. I would often get students who were having difficulties with their behavior in the general education classroom. Many times I would go observe the student and try to help the teacher. Usually by the time I would go, they had given up on the student and they would come to me. The teacher sending the student would ask if I wanted any notes he/she had taken. I usually did not. I wanted to learn about the student for myself. I didn't want to have any preconceived ideas about the student. More often than not, I would see a different student than what their previous teachers saw. I feel this is because I had different ideas of what I expected. I allowed students to stand and work. I feel like each student learns differently and not all students will fit into a classroom where sitting is required all day.
The article was definitely beneficial to me. It helped me see that what I was doing was helping children.
I loved reading your post, Andy. Yes, the environment can shape a child (positively or negatively), and ultimately it is the teacher who creates that environment. Your connections to your teaching career are valuable. Not all students will fit into a given classroom environment, and it takes critical reflection: is this environment best for the teacher, or for the kids? How do we align our environment more toward the kids? You do a marvelous job of that, and it was refreshing to read it in your blog!
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