The most important sticky note you'll ever read?

I came across this video the other day -  a “feel good” effort with a twist at the end that I won’t spoil - all is revealed in the clip.

Video from KarmaTube


It occurs to me that this clip has implications beyond the relatively narrow focus of the target audience. So what relevance has this video to broader aspects of education?  There are several messages really - one is that  education requires open and genuine communication.  As teachers we need to listen to our students as much as we talk to them - if not more.

Another is that this relationship needed time to develop - the relationship could not blossom until there was a degree of trust.  Again, there is a message there for teachers.

But watching this reminded me of one of my favourite quotations which is attributed to Dr. James Comer;  “There is no significant learning without a significant relationship”.  Put simply, if we want our students to learn from us we need to spend the time to develop genuine relationships with them. How we do this is up to each teacher as an individual - for we too have our own personalities, interests and foibles. However,  unless we take the time to value our students they will not value us - or what we are trying to share with them.

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Dr. James Comer is more than a source of an inspirational quotation.  He has developed the Comer School Development program as a vehicle for school reform.  An interview with Dr. Comer can be accessed here.