As a school administrator for 27 years, I had the good fortune to see great teaching on a daily basis. I supervised and evaluated some of the best teachers who ever lived. There is something special about a great teacher… a person who can inspire children and bring out the best in them.
Continue reading “The Greatest School Teacher”
The other day I was making a congratulatory video for a great young man about to graduate from medical school. This soon-to-be doctor is going to be amazing. He is one of the best young people ever. I have known him for a long time as I was his principal when he was in middle school.
Time and life pass too quickly. I cannot believe he is now almost a doctor.
One of the special joys and delights of being an educator is seeing the great people your students grow up to be. I knew this child was going to be very successful. Even when he was ten-years-old, he was something special.
As I recorded the short video message, I shared what I hope is the most important advice he receives as he heads off to a successful practice.
In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, I shared direct feedback, in the actual words of students, regarding the characteristics that compelled them to nominate individual teachers for a Teacher of the Week program that I experimented with about ten years ago.
It is my contention that we can learn the most about what matters in the classroom by taking the time to listen to students – and by valuing their feedback. Students live in the world of today. Their time is now. What takes place in the classroom on a daily basis impacts them directly. Students know what good teachers look like. We just have to take the time to listen.
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