Children Remember How We Make Them Feel

"True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.

-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"It's not the letter 'A' or the letter 'B' or the letter 'C' that’s going to make a life-long difference to this child. They will learn to read. We will engage them in wonderful logic and thinking and higher level cognitive skills. We want to have rich language interactions and make this a real learning community. But what they’ll remember about us is not what we say, it's how we make the feel, not only about themselves but how they feel about their relationship with me."

Marie L. Masterson, an associate professor at Dominican University, shares in an interview from the Turn-Key Training: Addressing Challenging Behaviors, "We know that children who experience good feelings in their connection with an adult when they’re young will continue to seek those good feelings through school experiences and through experience with teachers for the rest of their lives. If their early experiences are not positive, they will quickly disengage from the entire learning process."

"The bottom line for all of us as early childhood educators is to keep the essential question: 'How do I engage the child in that reciprocal interaction that's respectful, that draws the child into my personal strengths and brings out the very best in each child?'" ExchangeEveryDay

What do you do in your school settings to instill mutual respect between your children and yourselves as an educators? Do you remember how your teachers made you feel? Has that had an impact on how you teach and engage with your learners? Please let me know.