As readers of this blog will know, I have frequently written in the past about the importance of building classroom community. Today I had the chance to listen to Flip Flippen, founder of an excellent Capturing Kids’ Hearts program that reminds teachers that “If you have a child’s heart, you have his head.” I was happy to see, too, that Flip is emphasizing the importance of praising effort instead of intelligence.
This program, in my opinion, is a welcome addition to the current conversation about what makes certain schools and teachers excel. In a standards-driven and high-stakes-testing-driven era, I wholeheartedly applaud someone who reminds us that our students are in fact children and youths who need to be loved much more than they need to be tested.
Hear, hear! I’ve always believed strongly that building an environment that is safe (from harsh criticism or harm), secure (where confidence is built to encourage trying and guessing) and loving (where kids know they are loved for who they are) is the first and most important step in creating a learning-rich classroom.
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