It is very easy for us adults to take how smart our children are for granted. It is especially easy to do that when you’re a teacher running a classroom full of 30 or 40 kids.
In other countries, like Finland, there are three teachers per classroom. In America, every teacher is tasked with teaching every student, no matter how different they are or how differently they learn.
Not to mention, they often have to put the needs of the curriculum before the needs of the student.
The job isn’t easy, but being a kid isn’t easy either. At the end of the day, it’s the adults who are responsible for a child’s education. In a video created by the Atlanta Speech School, a student beings the school day with enthusiasm and excitement. However, with each encounter with an adult, he becomes more and more discouraged.
When teachers and adults discuss a student’s behavior as “bad” or “terrible” in front of them without talking to them, they can feel small and deflated. If kids feel like they’re not good enough, they’re less likely to try.
On the flip side, the video shows how adults and teachers can easily change the way they speak to make kids feel like anything is possible. Instead of shooing away students, greeting them can brighten their day.
Instead of reprimanding kids about being noisy, teachers can show them it’s respectful and polite to do so.
The message is simple: talking down to kids hurts them, talking with kids helps them.
Please SHARE this important message if you believe everyone should be a little kinder to our children.
