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

Teaching Methods to Meet the Needs of Hispanic Learners

It would be beneficial for educators who are serving Hispanic learners to become very familiar with the following:

• Thematic teaching: Susan Kovalik
• Brain based research: Eric Jensen and Susan Kovalik
• Multiple intelligences: Howard Gardner
• Cooperative learning: Spencer Kagan
• Differentiated instruction: Carol Ann Tomlinson

When attending trainings on these topics it's important to keep in mind how they can be adapted to specifically meet the needs of Hispanic learners as well as students in general.