Lesson 3 Post

After watching the videos on Attention, Emotions and Learning, describe how this information impacts you as a teacher.

                                                thinkstock.com

Overall, this information reminds me that there is always a story that we may not know about our students.  Students act and react according to their backstories.  Those backstories include home and academic experiences.  We cannot simply assume that students are 'issues' when their behaviors are not ideal.  Further, we have to move beyond "behavior management" and move toward trust-based relationships.  Where the brain has plasticity, it is important for teachers to have flexibility and lean into the discomfort of a challenging situation with a student.  As opposed to seeing a student as a "problem", our paradigms need to shift to see student's as "opportunities." And if a student is presenting inattention, fear, anger or disgust - we need to take this as an opportunity to learn more about this student's story and design ways to serve him/her best. This could be by simply checking in with the student after class, addressing any concerns, acknowledging their feelings and by all means, apologizing when we are wrong. Neuroplasticity can serve us best in these cases because if neurons that fire are neurons that wire, then trusting, nurturing relationships with academic leaders can actually change the wiring of a student's brain and perhaps help to rewire their thinking and responses.