Classroom Conversations with LaShona Dickerson

It takes a village to .... "raise a child."  Let me add to that statement, "and educate a child." The days of sending your child to school to be returned to you with the knowledge and skills to become successful adults are long gone. Learning does not occur only during the hours of 7:45 and 3:30. It is continuous. Therefore, the village has to be prepared and committed to invest in the wonderful human resources we are so privileged encounter. Learning is continuous and there are so many aspects we have to develop. Children require emotional, social, intellectual, and kinesthetic stimulation and development. Which means, we have to build their knowledge about subject matters, teach them how to behave and interact with others, and how to be mobile beings. Who is the "Village?" The village is the parents, teachers, administrators, custodians, bus drivers, extended family, business owners, and community members. No individual teacher can prepare students ...

Schools across the nation are now in session. Along with the initial hustle and bustle of a  new school year, are placement tests and academic reviews and updates. Papers are being sent home for your signature, and routinely you sign. But WAIT! don't allow your child's academic review and updates be a part of that routine.  We mustn't be passive with something that has a huge impact on children's success in schools.  Let me get a bit more specific and personal. I just received my son's notification for SBLC Meeting (School Building Level Committee). My son is a junior in high school and is ADHD.  In the education system, they label it 504 and he is required to have an IAP (Individual Academic Plan). Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 grants rights to students with disabilities. These disabilities include ADD, ADHD, vision and hearing impairment, behavior disorders, academic difficulties, broken limbs, and etc.  Some classifications of 504 are t...

Words have the power to hurt or heal, to encourage and empower or destroy. What we say has a lasting impact on the spirits of our youth. From a personal experience, I watched one of my sons work hard in math at an early age (1st grade to be exact) to feeling defeated the moment he entered a math classroom.  This was the imprint on learning that his 1st-grade teacher left by saying he wasn't good in math. He believed her because after all, she was the teacher. That comment resonated in his spirit and still does. It didn't matter that he always scored well on the standardized test because in class he felt defeated. Communicating with students should be no different from communicating with any other human being. While we are to be firm and clear about our expectations of them, we must allow respectful expressions of self.  I have observed teachers speak to students as if they were mindless beings taking up space. When the students responded (not reacted) with respectful ...