Blog #2

Choose to answer one of the questions below: 1, 2 or 3. Then, quote three different statements from throughout chapters 2 and 3 that appeal to you... that cause you to think deeply about yourself as a teacher. Quote them and explain what they mean to you.

1. What does this phrase (found on p. 15 of our text) really mean? "... emotions trump learning." What implications does this have for teachers? If you believe it is true, how will it affect you when you are the teacher?

"Emotions trump learning" means that if students emotions are not being met then their learning potential goes on the back burner. Tomlinson says that students have 5 basic needs that teachers need to be aware for if there students are going to be able to truly learn.

• Affirmation


• Contribution


• Power


• Purpose


• Challenge

I know this is a little more then a "quote" but I LOVE it because of how utterly true it is! I think I've always known this, but I've never been able to put it into words quiet like Tomlinson did. This quote will affect me as a teacher because if I remember this, maybe post it on my desk :) then I will know that there is no way my students are going to care about my lessons that I've put so much time into unless I first stop and care about what is important to them.

Students do not enter the classroom saying,
"Please teach me to multiply fractions. That seems so significant to me
They do not arrive at the door saying
"If only you'd teach me about the American Revolution, I would feel whole."
Rather, students come to the school house saying,
"Will I be affirmed as a person here?
Is there a real contribution for me to make in this place?
Will what goes on here seem purposeful to me?
Will it make me realize I have power within me?
Will I feel a satisfaction that comes from a challenge conquered?"

I'm not sure if this quote is exactly about emotions but I just really liked this quote because it is true. Nevertheless, with everything that we have been learning about morning meetings I think that teachers can maybe break down some barriers with this:For youngsters school means being one of the many rather than only one, or one of the precious few.

Man this statement is truer then true! If a kid comes to school with an empty stomach and is starving, how much learning are they going to get doing? If a kid feels like they are not needed in their classroom and no one cares if they succeed in the environment what is their incentive to try their best? I love how morning meetings will help me as a teacher take care of making sure that my students basic needs are attended to and that they feel safe so that we can take care of them and then move on and LEARN in a happy environment the rest of the day.
until a humans has basic human needs attended to, until that human feels safe, until that human feels a sense of belonging, energies cannot go to learning.

Connections are essential to peekings students interests to what your teaching. I hope to learn everything I can about my students so that teaching to what interests them and how to connect with them emotionally becomes second nature.
if a teacher connects learning to a child's emotions, she is more likely to learn than if what is being thought remains remote from her emotions.