Wednesday, March 10, 2010

When Anything is Possible

I spent time observing a first grade classroom this week. The teacher's philosophy about children, life, and learning is something she is excited to talk to me about, and something that is completely evident in her teaching. She treats these children as though anything good is possible and expected. And suddenly, anything is possible! She treats them as though they CAN learn, and not only that, but as though she expects that they WILL learn, and they find themselves learning on an incredibly advanced level. The academic "WOW" of the class is sometimes shadowed, however, by the incredible level of maturity she is helping to teach them. Respect, acceptance, manners, kindness, encouraging attitudes, and more are fused into every lesson. "What is" does not determine "what can be"; "what can be" determines "what is". The assumption of potential has exponentially multiplied performance and future potentials. I am inspired. I am so very blessed to have been assigned to this classroom.

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