"A man is not what he thinks he is, but what he thinks, he is." Max R. Hickerson
Children are all unique just as there is no snowflake alike! It is what makes us all special and who we are. When I began teaching this was one of the first things I knew I wanted to encourage bringing out in my students. Having gone to private schools all my life, where everything was cookie cutter, I really did not feel like I thrived educationally until I was older and could have a voice. I realized that I was much brighter with the books and had a lot to contribute. One style of teaching all those years held me back from reaching my highest potential.
I believe we have the experiences we do in life so we can learn and grow from them. I had a dislike to how my grammar school years had made me feel academically and because of this I became an inspirational teacher to my students. I wanted them to know from the start that they all carried a unique gift that made them incredibly special. I also made sure that I taught my students as "individuals" and not as a "whole" group. Each child learns differently and if I had to do a cartwheel to get my message across, I would!
I think we become shy of our unique qualites as we grow in our society today. Many times people might hold back because it is not what others are doing or would consider "in". I want to teach my daughter to embarce her uniquness and to show its brilliance to the world. As I have mentioned before, we are on this ride one time, and I want to make sure we live our lives fully!
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I think this is very inspiring! I've just recently changed my major to Elementary Education and I love your teaching views and experiences here. Thanks for that! Uniqueness IS really a beautiful thing, love this:-)
ReplyDeleteYou are so right to teach your daughter to embrace her uniqueness! It is definitely something every child should be able to celebrate!
ReplyDeleteAwwww... the first picture made me smile! Here in Malaysia, we have to pay money to enter this Snow World in a famous theme park just to enjoy the snow!
ReplyDeleteHave a happy weekend Mama Hen! :)
thanks for stopping by my blog returning the follow
ReplyDeleteMama Hen, how absolutely true what you say! Each child is unique and special! You are a wonderful mother and a teacher little Chick is so lucky to have.
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping my my blog. Have a blessed weekend!!
Ruth
Underneath His Wrapping
that post made me smile...and those pictures are adorable. Ok, so I was a teacher too before I starting staying at home to raise my two boys and I couldn't agree MORE with what you said. You must teach each child seperately and make sure they find their way in this world. I think too many times children in school get lost in the crowd, and its our job as teachers to help pull them out to SHINE :) Lovely and beautiful post as ALWAYS...have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog!
ReplyDeleteHappy friday!
Amen! Glad you can see ALL the trees in the forest.
ReplyDeleteI bet you're an amazing teacher :) I've found as I get older that in the "grown up" world, there isn't as much pressure to "be like everyone else" - which is a relief as I never was to start with!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you whole heartedly. I homeschooled my kids and discovered quite quickly that they each had a unique learning style. My daughter had difficulty with math until I found a math program that used stories and cutout figures with backgrounds. She learned that when 2 circus seals jump in a pool and 3 more jump in, there's 5. Give her blocks instead, she just couldn't grasp it. My middle son is physically active so I had to make a 20' numberline for him to learn math and march around with instruments saying the letter sounds for him to learn how to read. My "baby" has a millisecond space between hearing and understanding that caused problems with him learning how to read. We had to sing with him to learn. It worked beautifully!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you were a loving, creative teacher and I'm sure your students were sad to move on to the next class.
What a lovely post! And your daughter is just the cutest. :D I like your blog, the design is fresh and fun. Thank you for stopping in over at Yoga Gal- Following you back!
ReplyDeleteA fabulous post. You are so right, we must cultivate the uniqueness in our children. Great thoughts.
ReplyDeleteNewest Follower, by the way.
This is such a great post... and so true. Even at the Montessori school in which I taught, there were some people who really didn't believe this and wanted to try to "produce" the same student over and over again. It was sad.
ReplyDeleteLove that last photo of Little Chick, especially! I agree, God made us with individual gifts and talents. Understanding a child's learning style is so important. Kids are often only with kids their own age all day long, in an environment set for one type of learning, given less time to run and play, and expected to sit still and achieve academically, regardless of where his/her talents lie.
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting on Cranberry Morning. Good thing the phone boxes and post boxes of England are bright red. That way you can always find them! I hope they never change them, but I've heard rumors that they may be doing so. :-(
Thanks for stopping by my blog! I am following you back. :)
ReplyDelete- Megan
www.polishthestars.com
I love this! I totally agree. I was always embarrassed by some of the sillier things I liked when I was growing up & I would hate for Isis to feel like that! I want her to be free to like what she likes & be who she is!!
ReplyDeleteAnd about your comment - I'd love to join your network & I'd love to be featured!
Amen Sister! Individuality is important. You're on the right path. You've learned from your past and now you're making a difference rather than repeating it.
ReplyDeleteFollowing you back!
ReplyDeleteSo true! I hope to teach my children the same thing! I really wish I would have had a teacher like you while growing up! I know I would have enjoyed school so much more! It makes me so happy to know that there are teachers out there like you, who really understand that each person is unique and that it is a good thing! I hope my boys have a teacher like you someday!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh! That picture of your Little Chick staring at the snow is SO cute! And boy are you right about each child having their own uniqueness. I don't know if that is a word, but I like it! In this day and age, it would be impossible to teach a "whole group" in the same manner because there are so many individual learning styles! Just writing all of this and reading your post is making me kind of excited to start the new school year. You sure are missed out there in the land of teaching, but you are still doing it each day- just without a paycheck. Your darling girl has the BEST teacher! And that makes me feel happy for the both of you!
ReplyDeleteI love her expression as he peers in wonder outdoors!
ReplyDeleteThe first pic makes me think of The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. You have a special gift to be able to teach a classroom of individuals...very important attribute. -EW
ReplyDeleteWow. I needed to read this today, especially with all the drama at Cam's pre-school this week. Often we (parents) get caught up in class sizes, who's in who's class and lose sight of what the teacher brings to the class, and how important learning is (in general). Thanks for making that point Mama Hen!
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