Lessons Learned From Marva Collins

Associating with and learning from great educators helps us become great educators. Marva Collins is an excellent mentor. What we can learn from her--someone who taught Chicago children who had been judged and discarded:

• She was fascinated with the process of learning and continues to learn along with the students.
• On the first day of school she promised all her students that they would learn and she forged a contract with them.
• She didn't blame the students for any lack of success they had experienced. She blamed the system for failing them.
• She set extremely high standards for all the students and taught them words and concepts way beyond their grasp at first. She taught them how to reach the high standards.
• She created an atmosphere of genuine acceptance and cared about every student.

These characteristics of Marva Collins come from the book: Mindset by Dr. Carol S. Dweck

It Doesn't Matter How Much You Care for Me

Effective teachers establish close and personal relationships with their students BUT they don't need their students to love them. In other words, they don't use their students to fill their own emotional needs. This will help a teacher avoid taking personally what students do or don't do and thus be in a better position to focus on the needs of the students.

A favorite quote of mine is, "It doesn't matter how much you care for me, but rather that I love you enough." It's important to remember that love can be an action even when it isn't a feeling. A teacher may not feel love for all his students but he can still demonstrate respect and care for all students. A teacher does this when he feels it is his responsibility to teach all students as much as possible regardless of how he feels about them.