Every kids need a champion by Rita Person

 Joseph GeniReviewer: Morton Bast I have spent my entire life either at the schoolhouse,on the way to the schoolhouse, or talking about what happensin the schoolhouse. (Laughter) Both my parents were educators, my maternal grandparents were educators, and for the past 40 years,I've done the same thing. And so, needless to say, over those years I've had a chanceto look at education reform from a lot of perspectives. Some of those reforms have been good. Some of them have been not so good. And we know why kids drop out. We know why kids don't learn. It's either poverty, low attendance, negative peer influences... We know why. But one of the thingsthat we never discuss or we rarely discuss is the value and importanceof human connection. Relationships. James Comer saysthat no significant learning can occur withouta significant relationship. 

George Washington Carver says all learning is understanding relationships. Everyone in this room has been affectedby a teacher or an adult. For years, I have watched people teach. I have looked at the bestand I've looked at some of the worst. A colleague said to me one time, "They don't pay me to like the kids. They pay me to teach a lesson. The kids should learn it. I should teach it, they should learn it, Case closed." Well, I said to her, "You know, kids don't learnfrom people they don't like." (Laughter) (Applause) She said, "That's just a bunch of hooey." And I said to her, "Well, your year is going to belong and arduous, dear." Needless to say, it was. 

Some people think that you can eitherhave it in you to build a relationship, or you don't. I think Stephen Covey had the right idea. He said you ought to justthrow in a few simple things, like seeking first to understand, as opposed to being understood. Simple things, like apologizing. You ever thought about that? Tell a kid you're sorry, they're in shock. (Laughter) I taught a lesson once on ratios. I'm not real good with math,but I was working on it. (Laughter) And I got back and lookedat that teacher edition. I'd taught the whole lesson wrong. (Laughter) So I came back to classthe next day and I said, "Look, guys, I need to apologize. 

I taught the whole lesson wrong.I'm so sorry." They said, "That's okay, Ms. Pierson. You were so excited, we just let you go." I have had classes that were so low, so academically deficient, that I cried. I wondered, "How am Igoing to take this group, in nine months, from where they areto where they need to be? And it was difficult, it was awfully hard. How do I raise the self-esteem of a child and his academic achievementat the same time? One year I came up with a bright idea.

 I told all my students, "You were chosen to be in my class because I am the best teacher and you are the best students, they put us all together so we could showeverybody else how to do it." One of the students said, "Really?" (Laughter) I said, "Really. We haveto show the other classes how to do it, so whenwe walk down the hall, people will notice us,so you can't make noise. You just have to strut." (Laughter) And I gave them a saying to say: "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." And they said, "Yeah!" (Laughter) You say it long enough, it starts to be a part of you. (Applause) I gave a quiz, 20 questions. A student missed 18. I put a "+2" on his paperand a big smiley face. (Laughter) He said, "Ms. Pierson, is this an F?" I said, "Yes." (Laughter) He said, "Then why'd youput a smiley face?" I said, "Because you're on a roll. You got two right.You didn't miss them all." (Laughter) I said, "And when we review this,won't you do better?" He said, "Yes, ma'am, I can do better." You see, "-18" sucksall the life out of you. "+2" said, "I ain't all bad." For years, I watched my mothertake the time at recess to review, go on home visits in the afternoon, buy combs and brushesand peanut butter and crackers to put in her desk drawerfor kids that needed to eat, and a washcloth and some soapfor the kids who didn't smell so good.

 See, it's hard to teach kids who stink. (Laughter) And kids can be cruel. And so she kept those things in her desk, and years later, after she retired, I watched some of thosesame kids come through and say to her, "You know, Ms. Walker, you made a difference in my life. You made it work for me. You made me feel like I was somebody, when I knew, at the bottom, I wasn't. And I want you to justsee what I've become." And when my mama died two years ago at 92, there were so many formerstudents at her funeral, it brought tears to my eyes,not because she was gone, but because she lefta legacy of relationships that could never disappear. Can we stand to have more relationships? Absolutely. 

Will you like all your children?Of course not. (Laughter) And you know your toughestkids are never absent. (Laughter) Never. You won't like them all, and the tough ones show up for a reason. It's the connection.It's the relationships. So teachers becomegreat actors and great actresses, and we come to workwhen we don't feel like it, and we're listening to policythat doesn't make sense, and we teach anyway. We teach anyway,because that's what we do. 

Teaching and learning should bring joy. How powerful would our world be if we had kids who werenot afraid to take risks, who were not afraid to think, and who had a champion? Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they becomethe best that they can possibly be. Is this job tough? You betcha. Oh God, you betcha. But it is not impossible. We can do this. We're educators. We're born to make a difference. Thank you so much. (Applause)