Becoming Advocates for Our Students
When I reached my 27th year of teaching, coaching, and working in the field of education, I had an epiphany: I realized that if my work was going to continue, it would have to be devoted more to the child and less to the lesser tasks that crowd a school day. At the age of 54, I discovered Maria Montessori’s work. The tenet that drew me to it was Montessori’s undiluted respect for the child, something that my own traditional education, and my first 2 ½ decades as a professional, had made it almost impossible for me to fully grasp and capture in my work.
Now in my 35th year as an educator, I understand how my colleagues and I periodically lose sight of why we are in the business. A concept so simple—advocating for students—provides an axiom we can all recite by heart. But how many times do we let schedules, policies, budgets, our own lives, parents, or politics get in the way of what should be our bottom line: devotion to students? Unlike the medical profession’s Hippocratic oath of “I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone,” an educator’s work ethic must go beyond “never do harm.” It has to encompass supporting the student, doing what is necessary to care for that student, providing an environment for the student to learn and thrive, listening to him or her when all patience has vanished, and displaying infinite stores of empathy even when tested beyond reason.
Much of my perspective grew out of reading and listening to the best our profession has to offer: Temple Grandin ( The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism and Asperger’s ), Edward M. Hallowell ( Driven to Distraction ), Alfie Kohn ( Punished by Rewards: The Trouble With Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise, and Other Bribes ), Jonathan Kozol ( Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation ), Richard Lavoie ( How Difficult Can This Be? The F.A.T. City Workshop ~ Understanding Learning Disabilities: Discussion Leader’s Guide ), Mel Levine ( A Mind at a Time ), Mary Pipher ( Reviving Ophelia ), Priscilla L. Vail ( Smart Kids With School Problems ), and others who provide a...
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