Speaker: Rita Pierson
TED Talks Education
Date: May 2013
Location: New York, NY
Description from TED website:
Rita Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, once heard a colleague say, “They don’t pay me to like the kids.” Her response: “Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.” A rousing call to educators to believe in their students and actually connect with them on a real, human, personal level.
My Review / Notes / Thoughts
Are you an educator who is struggling to see how they make a difference? Are you depressed about one aspect or another about your job? Then you NEED to watch this video! Rita Pierson’s talk is extremely motivating!
She provides some quotes at the beginning of her talk that are really important for us to remember:
“James Comer says that no significant learning can occur without a significant relationship.”
… and …
“George Washington Carver says all learning is understanding relationships.”
One point she makes in her talk is that, when we are wrong in something we teach, we need to admit it and apologize. We are human, and those we teach need to know that it’s ok to make mistakes. Failure is a part of the learning process after all.
This is a really great talk and I think it would be great to incorporate this video into an assignment for students pursuing teaching degrees. Perhaps as a primer for a paper or a discussion. I think it would also be good if it were presented at Faculty development sessions.
I would love to know if you have any other ideas of ways this talk could be incorporated into the learning process!
Until next time … live long life-learner!