My Response to...
Quote from The Little Prince: "I can't do that until you have tamed me. I can't give myself to this place, to this work, to you until I believe in you. I can't believe in you until I know you believe in me."

What does it mean to "tame" something...someone? --"...without fear of humans"..."submissive." Having students be submissive in the sense that they choose to not question anything is the opposite of our goal as teachers. To the contrary, we want them to question...and to keep questioning. Learning is getting answers to questions. We want students to learn what to question as well as to learn what questions to ask.

Rules bring freedom. It sounds ironic, but we see this principle proven in everyday life. If we do not follow the rules of health, for example--eating right, exercising, getting the right amount of sleep--we get sick. Our health diminishes. If we do not follow the rules of economy, we could get ourselves into debt that we can't get out of. We could go bankrupt. If we do not follow the rules of society, we could find ourselves in prison. If we do not follow the rules of nature...of physics--the law of gravity, for example--we could fall. To our death. Some consequences (even natural consequences) are too huge to just choose not to follow.

How does this apply to teaching...to learning...to education? Students have the right to be free to learn; and in order for them to gain this freedom, there are some rules that need to be followed. This is the taming part. There are general rules in classrooms. Like treating one another respectfully. This one rule covers a multitude of issues that may arise in the classroom. I've heard some teachers say, "The fewer rules, the better." I think that if the rules are well-thought-out and far-reaching, this plan could work very well.

In The Little Prince quote (above), "I can't give myself to this place, to this work, to you until I believe in you. I can't believe in you until I know you believe in me," reminds me of another quote. "I don't care how much you know, until I know how much you care." I so agree with this.

Remember back on your own school days. Which memories lasted the longest? We most remember the events that were emotionally charged. --whether highly exciting (perhaps acting in a play or competing in the Geography Bee or the Spelling Bee or in a sporting event or playing in the band) or anticipatory (like holidays or field trips or field day). Unfortunately, we also remember the events that were tied to negative emotions. If a teacher was mean (even if his anger wasn't directly aimed at us) or if a teacher mocked us (or others) or made belittling comments, we remember those things too. A student will not believe we care about him or her if we make sarcastic or demeaning comments--to any of our students. Trust is gained when a student feels safe in the classroom; and a student cannot feel safe where she is unsure if she'll be treated with respect.

What does it mean to treat students with respect? What does it sound like? What does it look like? We've talked about what the learning environment in our future classrooms will "look like"...will "sound like" as far as the students are concerned. Well, what will we--as teachers--"look like"? What will we "sound like"? Will students hear words of encouragement? "You can DO it!" "I believe in you!" Will they hear optimism? "I know it may be difficult at first, but you will understand this. I'm sure of it." "You have done difficult things before, and you came out conqueror. You can do it again." "I am here to help you succeed."

Not only words help students feel that teachers care about them. They must also see actions. They must see an effort being made in their behalf. They must know they have an advocate in their teacher. Someone who will "go to bat" for them when they doubt themselves. --or even when others doubt them.