Sir Ken Robinson Video

Ken Robinson's video on education is fabulous and very thought-provoking.  I especially like the analogy he made with Death Valley.   All children have the potential to learn and succeed but it is up to us as teachers to make sure the conditions are right in the classroom to make that happen.

Teaching kindergarten, most of my students are pretty excited about school and are motivated to learn because they are full of curiosity and wonder.  I often wonder where the line is drawn for those kiddos who are so full of excitement about learning and those who hate school and want no part in it.  My belief is that we as teachers are responsible for that change.  I am not pointing a finger at anyone but I think that when we bring enthusiasm and excitement every day to our classroom, our students will exhibit it.  When we make personal connections with our students and strive to meet their varying needs, be it academically, socially, emotionally, our students become a part of the learning community and will begin to take ownership.  I think that too often, we get caught up in testing and collecting data (which obviously has its place) that we forget that one of the most crucial things we need to be working on in the classroom is building relationships with our students.  When we have those relationships in place, I feel that learning and growing is inevitable.  Each student comes to us with a background.  Everyone always comments to me that "teaching Kindergarten is easy because they are blank slates".  I have never met one student who has come to me as a blank slate.  Each has a past that will impact the way he/she learns in my classroom.  My job is to enhance each of their slates and try to lead them in the right direction.  At the end of every year, I obviously want my students to have been successful but sometimes more importantly, I want for each of them to leave my classroom knowing that they MATTER to someone.