Learning From the Children

The Power of a Good Teacher

Within minutes of watching this TED talk, Rita Pierson struck me as an incredibly powerful educator, mentor, and leader in her community. Early into the TED talk, Rita talks about the value and importance of human connection and relationships. She questions traditional teaching methods and makes a point for every one of her students to feel seen. Rita gave her students a saying: "I am somebody. I was somebody when I came. I'll be a better somebody when I leave. I am powerful, and I am strong. I deserve the education that I get here. I have things to do, people to impress, and places to go." Through these self-affirmations, Rita gives her students confidence and pushes them to develop joy and passion for learning. One of my favorite quotes from the TED talk was Rita’s response to a challenging colleague: "Kids don't learn from people they don't like.'" This was true; a sentence so blunt, yet it emphasized the accuracy of the statement I have definitely experienced at least a couple of times. In class, we talked about the importance of relationships and human connection both in and out of the classroom. When kids don’t have the necessary level of social contact and behavior during their development, it can lead to social isolation and correlates with feelings of loneliness. Rita emphasized the importance of every student in her class feeling seen and important, which connects to those crucial benefits of human connection. My champion teacher was my humanities teacher in 7th grade who, similar to Rita, made me feel pushed, cared for, and seen for who I was. I had always had trouble paying attention and sitting still. I was later diagnosed with ADHD, but at the time I never understood why I couldn’t focus or sit still while my teachers were talking. This teacher didn’t really care if I sat still or not, but she did care if I learned in her class. So when I got antsy, she would give me a pile of books, and ask me to do her a favor and walk them over to the library. At the time, I didn’t realize what she was doing— I just was happy to feel helpful. But those walks to the library were crucial in my development as a 7th-grade writer, and when I got back she would explain what was expected of me. Even though I wasn’t a particularly good writer, she never dumbed down anything, but would instead sit with me after school and explain to me what I could improve upon. I respected her. Admired her. Because she was not only a mentor for me, but for my classmates as well. The value of feeling seen is something I took away with me from that teacher and was reminded of the importance of building strong relationships in the classroom. I’ve been running online cooking camps for kids for a couple of years now, and have taught ~200 different kids from many cultures, socio-economic situations, and environments. While in Zoom breakout rooms, I make note to remember random facts they tell me so I can impress them later, and be sure to ask all of them questions about themselves— especially the quieter ones. I hope that every child has at least one mentor that makes them feel seen and valued.