Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Trust

I came across this quote from Carol Avery in her book "And With A Light Touch"

"Trust is valuing the learner as a human being, as one who has much to give, much to demonstrate, much to teach others. Trust is esteeming the learner so that self-esteem is enhanced. Trust is believing that all children can learn to read and write and that all children strive continually to make sense of the world. A trusted individual becomes a risk taker, and to engage in learning is to engage in risk."

In our world of data driven education how much does trust play a role? I remember taking a course on brain compatible learning and trust was a key component in learning. Imagine an environment where everyone trusts one another and is taking a risk because learning is a risk.
Is your environment trustworthy?
Can your students trust you to be fair?
Will you esteem them today so that their self-esteem is built for tomorrow?
Are they ready to engage in the risk of learning?

6 comments:

Jen Barney said...

Important that we always keep that in mind. As teachers, we must create an environment that supports the willingness to take risks and allows for mistakes or yahoo moments. Good thought! Thanks for reminding me of this-

Kathy Douglas said...

Building a community where the students trust each other as well as their teacher is the first component of a safe classroom. The students have to know they are safe before they can take a risk. In this data driven world it is hard to remember those little tidbits.
Love your quote. I need to go back and review her book. It has been a long time since I read it.

Ruth Ayres said...

Sarah --
Your posts have been inspiring me! Thank you so much for all you've been sharing. I had goosebumps, when I read that you've began writing poetry again.

I've been blessed by your comments on my blog. Looking forward to meeting you too.

I'm going to link this post to my blog & add you to my blogroll (hope that's okay -- if not, let me know!)

Enjoy the last few days of school!
Ruth

Sarah Amick said...

Think about all the learning that has happened in your lifetime and when it was attached to emotion or a personal relationship you had with that teacher. It was really great learning that you never forgot. Imagine if all learning were like that! Wow!

Cathy said...

I came across your blog from Ruth's...I'm in the middle of many books about Reading Workshop and din't know if you had read, Growing Readers, by Kathy Collins...I've found it to be very helpful for my second grade and will use it a lot next year as I revamp my reading workshop.

Sarah Amick said...

Cathy,
Have you read "And With a Light Touch" by Carol Avery. It is a great book. Also, Debbie Miller, the teacher mentioned in Mosaic of thought has a pretty great book but I can't remember the title.
I am excited about the start of Reader's Workshop. It shall be an exciting ride I'm sure.
Thanks for the suggestion.