Motivated and Inspired

Today my wife and I had the opportunity to listen to an awesome speaker. His name is Rafe Esquith and he teaches 5th grade at Hobart Elementary in L.A. He has one numerous awards such as Disney, and American, Teacher of the Year and has been made a member of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth. He believes in running his classroom based on trust, not fear. He also believes in teaching his students skills they can use in life, not just facts to pass a test. (AMEN!) This really motivated me and my wife. He has some excellent ideas for classroom management. He also encouraged us not to give up. Rafe pointed out that no awards came his way until his 19th year. He was very humble. The lady that was supposed to introduce him lost the introduction that was sent from his publicist. When she asked him how he wanted to be introduced he said, "Tell them I teach 5th grade in L.A." He is a hero of mine in the education field.

More than color.....

My classroom is filled with diverse learners. They come from homes with parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, houseparents, or other relatives. This has some effect on the way they learn. Some have a lot of help at home, while others get little or no help. That is why I think the two young men in the picture would qualify as diverse. Both young men have mothers that work in the same building as I do, the one on the left pushes himself to the point of physical sickness, while the other could not care less. They get equal help at home, but their diversity lies in their motivation. The young man on the right is hardly motivated, he just wants to be the first student finished with an assignment, and the other student needs no motivation from me to perform at an exceptional level. Finding things to motivate students can be just as challenging as finding ways to teach students with diverse learning styles.