I haven’t written for awhile and am neck deep in thesis writing but I felt I should share this article I wrote some time ago (around 4 years ago) with everyone.
Love Lessons
I was conducting parent teacher interviews recently. I was asked all the usual questions about how students were progressing with their studies and I would pinpoint areas that could be improved etc. Then it came time to chat with the mother of a boy, who, while being cheerful and happy, was not doing any work in my class at all.
His mother was quite irate and took notes vigorously on the things that she needed to tell her son to complete and submit. She said she was going home to have a long chat with him and to tell him to pull his socks up!
“I’m going to read him the riot act,” she said. However as she started to leave the meeting she turned around and said, “but at the end of the day, I’m going to love him, because that’s really all you can do isn’t it?”
Now I’m not a parent, but I know there was truth in what she said and I knew from then on, that her child would be successful. I replied “that’s exactly what I believe. I tell the students I love them too.” And I do, everyday I tell my students that I love them. Sometimes they look at me with bewildered expressions on their faces. Some will say “you cant say that, Miss, you’ll get in trouble” but the truth is, I have to love them, they need to be loved.
Why am I so certain of this? It is well established that love is one of the basic needs of life. When you have a new born baby, there is nothing but love. The baby is helpless by itself and can only grow and progress with the love of parents through providing food, warmth and touch. The baby needs this love 24 hours a day. Then as the baby starts to grow, each milestone experienced is dependent on the constant love from the parents. How much time is spent chatting away to a baby, pointing and identifying people and objects or encouraging baby to say his first words? How much love and attention is given holding hands and moving little feet, helping baby take his first steps? Many times when babies are neglected, their development is delayed. This is because a baby needs to feel loved, confident and secure enough to progress into the next stage of development.
However when I child becomes of school age, all of a sudden the tables are turned, Rather than being with the parents all day, now most of the waking hours are spent at school with strangers in unfamiliar surroundings and around unfamiliar faces. Certainly there is still love and security at home but what about school? From school age onwards, there are still so many milestones a child must face but this time without the parents presence – learning to read, learning to write, to spell, to calculate, share, compete etc. Now more than ever they need the love that they have left at home to help them through these milestones. This is why a teacher’s love is so important.
Most success stories you hear in life are based on love. Whenever you see a sports star or an actor achieving something wonderful they always thank their father, mother or partner for their constant love and support. They don’t say its through their studies or reading a book that they became successful. It’s through love that successful people are produced.
As a teacher, I strive to provide this love. I want the students in my classroom to feel love above anything else. If they can enter my classroom and feel that I love and support then I know that they will feel confident and secure enough to take on the challenge of a new activity, speak in front of their peers, try something new or share new ideas, This is how true learning takes place. This is the making of success.
So sure, my students look at me strangely sometimes when I tell them I love them. But I not that it means a lot to them. Just the other day when I was cross with one of my classes, a student called out, “But you still love us miss… don’t you?” I couldn’t help but break into a smile. I knew I was doing something right. He best lesson you can give a child is to appreciate how much they are loved – to feel love and to love others. After that, every other lesson is a breeze.
Love Lessons
I was conducting parent teacher interviews recently. I was asked all the usual questions about how students were progressing with their studies and I would pinpoint areas that could be improved etc. Then it came time to chat with the mother of a boy, who, while being cheerful and happy, was not doing any work in my class at all.
His mother was quite irate and took notes vigorously on the things that she needed to tell her son to complete and submit. She said she was going home to have a long chat with him and to tell him to pull his socks up!
“I’m going to read him the riot act,” she said. However as she started to leave the meeting she turned around and said, “but at the end of the day, I’m going to love him, because that’s really all you can do isn’t it?”
Now I’m not a parent, but I know there was truth in what she said and I knew from then on, that her child would be successful. I replied “that’s exactly what I believe. I tell the students I love them too.” And I do, everyday I tell my students that I love them. Sometimes they look at me with bewildered expressions on their faces. Some will say “you cant say that, Miss, you’ll get in trouble” but the truth is, I have to love them, they need to be loved.
Why am I so certain of this? It is well established that love is one of the basic needs of life. When you have a new born baby, there is nothing but love. The baby is helpless by itself and can only grow and progress with the love of parents through providing food, warmth and touch. The baby needs this love 24 hours a day. Then as the baby starts to grow, each milestone experienced is dependent on the constant love from the parents. How much time is spent chatting away to a baby, pointing and identifying people and objects or encouraging baby to say his first words? How much love and attention is given holding hands and moving little feet, helping baby take his first steps? Many times when babies are neglected, their development is delayed. This is because a baby needs to feel loved, confident and secure enough to progress into the next stage of development.
However when I child becomes of school age, all of a sudden the tables are turned, Rather than being with the parents all day, now most of the waking hours are spent at school with strangers in unfamiliar surroundings and around unfamiliar faces. Certainly there is still love and security at home but what about school? From school age onwards, there are still so many milestones a child must face but this time without the parents presence – learning to read, learning to write, to spell, to calculate, share, compete etc. Now more than ever they need the love that they have left at home to help them through these milestones. This is why a teacher’s love is so important.
Most success stories you hear in life are based on love. Whenever you see a sports star or an actor achieving something wonderful they always thank their father, mother or partner for their constant love and support. They don’t say its through their studies or reading a book that they became successful. It’s through love that successful people are produced.
As a teacher, I strive to provide this love. I want the students in my classroom to feel love above anything else. If they can enter my classroom and feel that I love and support then I know that they will feel confident and secure enough to take on the challenge of a new activity, speak in front of their peers, try something new or share new ideas, This is how true learning takes place. This is the making of success.
So sure, my students look at me strangely sometimes when I tell them I love them. But I not that it means a lot to them. Just the other day when I was cross with one of my classes, a student called out, “But you still love us miss… don’t you?” I couldn’t help but break into a smile. I knew I was doing something right. He best lesson you can give a child is to appreciate how much they are loved – to feel love and to love others. After that, every other lesson is a breeze.
