Rita F. Pierson, an educator for about 40 years, spent her entire life at the schoolhouse, on the way to the schoolhouse, or talking about what happens in the schoolhouse.
As an educator, she had a great chance to look at education reforms from a lot of perspectives. She learnt about the reasons behind the drop-out culture of kids which were usually the poverty, low attendance, negative peer influences, etc.
In one of her TED talks, Pierson talked about the importance of relationships in school and classroom between the teachers and the students for the learning process to happen.
Teacher-Student Relationship in a Classroom
In that TED talk, Pierson quoted James Comer who said that no significant learning can occur without a significant relationship.
She said that people think that we can either have it in us to build a relationship or we don’t. She also mentioned about Stephen Covey’s thoughts on relationships. According to Covey, people can develop good relationship with others by making efforts like understanding, apologizing, etc.
Experience with Students
Pierson continued her talk by sharing one of her experiences with her students who were academically deficient. When she was wondering about how to raise the self-esteem of a child and his academic achievement at the same time, she found an idea and told her students that they are the best students and that she was the best teacher; they were put together to show others about teaching and learning.
She also asked her students to tell, “I am somebody. I was somebody when I came. I’ll be a better somebody when I leave. I am powerful, and I am strong. I deserve the education that I get here. I have things to do, people to impress, and places to go.”
Her students replied, “Yeah!”
Lesson About Teaching and Learning
Pierson shared her experience that taught her the important lesson about teaching and learning. When her mother died at the age of 92, many former students attended her mother’s funeral that brought tears in her eyes. The tears were because of the legacy of relationships that her mother left.
She concluded her talk by saying that “teaching and learning should bring joy and every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.”
Pierson believed that kids don’t learn from people they don’t like. She was truly a champion of kids.
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