I always felt that teaching consisted of more than just curriculum, but after listening to Rita Pierson’s Every Kid Needs a Champion TED Talk, my mindset was forever changed as an educator. 

 

Mrs. Pierson shares her experience as a teacher of a low-income, low scoring class. Struggle was everyday life to her students which resulted in lack of effort and confidence. Rita had to find a way to improve self-esteem and academic achievements at the same time. She began regularly drilling into them that they were “somebody”, and achievement was based on effort instead of scores.

 

Mrs. Pierson shares a story about a child in her class who only got 2 answers out of 20 correct on a quiz. She put a +2 and a smiley face (which obviously confused him.) He said, “is this an F?” She confirmed that it in fact was. He expressed his confusion due to the smiley face. She responds by saying, “Because you’re on the road! You got 2 right. You didn’t miss them all!” She then concludes by telling the audience, “Minus 18 sucks all the life out of you. Plus 2 says I’m not all bad.” That story, as simple of a story as it may seem to some, changed my way of thinking, teaching, responding, scoring, ect. 

 

I believe in celebrating the effort put in rather than the result. Being confidently wrong is more impactful than being anxiously right. Applauding the time it takes to think before responding takes the pressure off collecting your thoughts. Encouraging peer support gives students a sense of connection to each other and their shared educational experience. Making sense of a student’s incorrect answer (no matter how outlandish) verifies that there is not something wrong with them for thinking the way they do.

 

Students should be corrected when wrong and redirected when off track, but in a way that does not take away from their self worth. Teaching a student to be confident is just as important as teaching them how to read.