Our last post discussed some of the intangible things, like patience and encouragement, that makes any space a desirable classroom of learning. The goal of incorporating those intangibles is to ultimately facilitate the student’s learning and development. As we consider the learning and development of students, whether you are an educator by profession or you have found yourself in a teaching role that you never imagined you would be in, we want you to consider some of the ‘soft skills’ that are very useful for teachers.
One of those soft skills is the skill of perception. Perception or awareness is important when interacting with your environment. As you find yourself in new classroom environments, consider those things around you that will help to facilitate learning. Think about it, a roll of toilet paper could be useful for teaching a little one about a cylinder or, in today’s times, it could be the foundation of an economic lesson on supply and demand.
Perception is also important when interacting directly with students. Besides awareness, the concept of perception ranges in meaning from the keenness of acuity to the vagueness of discernment. Whether you are a natural at being sharply aware of the subilities of human behavior or your perception is based more upon hunches, perception of your student’s strengths and weaknesses is invaluable. Good teachers will tell you that beyond the lesson planning and delivery, they must perceive the often unspoken needs of their learners and strive to help those needs be met.
We understand that in current circumstances, perception may be clouded by the uncertainty of the meeting of more pressing needs. With that in mind, here is a link to an extensive list of a variety of resources, for organizational leaders, parents and educators, from the Act Now Coalition, an organization in Illinois that services afterschool and out-of-school-time providers. http://www.actnowillinois.org/covid-19-resources/
Reflections from today’s blog post are based in part upon:
From the Temple to the The Classroom: What Every Teacher Can Learn https://www.consultingwithiksllc.com/iks-resources