Week+7+Eron-+Who+are+my+students?

We all want to be listened to. We all want to be heard. Having our voices heard makes us feel what we feel and think is valid and important. It may be even more apparent for small people. The voice of the child is often overlooked as frivolous or fantastical and dismissed because of their supposed lack of experience. One thing so often missed with this attitiude is that children very often have to deal with situations that adults would find confronting and frightening. Very often they are dealing with these things silently or in ways adults find "inappropriate". We need to be very aware that our students have the same needs for being viewed as important and "powerful" and that what they feel and say is important. The same level of cautiousness and empathy in how we manage the relationships we have with other adults need to be apparent in how we manage our relationships with children. They have the same need for privacy, the same need for compassion and the same need for validations of their opinions. If we are in the business of improving how children learn we need to listen to what they say in a genuine way with out patronising them. we need to ask them what it is they want to tell us. When once upon a time getting to know your students meant draw a picture of your mum and dad and write a story about what your dads job is, this may no longer be appropriate. We need to have conversations with our students that include them as valued and active participants in that conversation, if we are to really understand them and become involved in their worlds. [[http://www.tv3.co.nz/default.aspx?tabid=112&articleID=25689#vidlist25689|

Turning The Tide]]

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[|Very Interesting Set of Things To Consider About Cultural Diversity in Classrooms]



[|Active Listening]

Although this is geared to teenages it is worth a look.....