Hey there, colleague — happy back to school season for you. In addition to preppin' up for my own work in the classroom this year, I'm thankful to be visiting with some other faculties here and there. Last week: middle school teachers in Los Alamos, NM and high school teachers in Naples, FL — much love to both groups for the warm collegiality! And this week: colleagues in Rootstown, OH; Colorado Springs, CO; and Lindon, UT!
I'm really looking forward to it. But today? Today's some solid fam time: games, swimming, pizza.
Before I go, something quick to think about this weekend or as you start your week at work.
What's the best avenue for cultivating the Value belief in the classroom — the best path for getting our students to say in their hearts, “You know what? I'm glad we're doing this. This is valuable.”
In my view, one of the best ways is to stoke the fires of the desire for knowledge that people have. This takes some care, all year long, but, man, once you start shifting the classroom culture into a spot where we learn things because learning things is valuable… woo, watch out!
To help you think about that, I published this video last week:
Here's the quotation I begin the video with, from English educational theorist Charlotte Mason in her first volume:
[The teacher] should know how to incite the child to effort through his desire of approbation, of excelling, of advancing, his desire of knowledge, his love of parents, his sense of duty, in such a way that no one set of motives be called unduly into play to the injury of the child's character.
Charlotte Mason, Home Education, Vol. 1, p. 141
It's something to think about at least.
Cheers, colleague,
DSJR
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