Many teachers struggle to understand their students, as they may not know what takes place in their personal lives. When an assignment was handed out to the students in this class, however, it perhaps gave the teacher a little more insight than what she thought she was going to get.
This assignment was given to a class of third-grade students and they were asked to complete a single sentence.
I wish my teacher knew…
When she got her responses, they gave a rather unique look into their lives and some of it was quite heartbreaking. She shared them on Twitter and ended up starting the movement that led to a book being published. It encourages teachers to use this exercise to connect with their own students.
The following are some of the original tweets
#iwishmyteacherknew I don't have a friend to play with me. Honest answers from kids #edchat pic.twitter.com/5H0EPgRzPQ
— Kyle Schwartz (@kylemschwartz) April 6, 2015
#iwishmyteacherknew how much I miss my dad since he got deported #edchat #ImmigrationReform pic.twitter.com/yUK0FCwwiO
— Kyle Schwartz (@kylemschwartz) April 6, 2015
#iwishmyteacherknew sometimes my reading log isn't signed because my mum is not around a lot #edchat pic.twitter.com/mUsm4zRdKc
— Kyle Schwartz (@kylemschwartz) April 6, 2015
#iwishmyteacherknew that I want to go to college #edchat pic.twitter.com/pal9Y4L846
— Kyle Schwartz (@kylemschwartz) April 7, 2015
My set up of #IWishMyTeacherKnew lesson + box for kids who want to keep it private/anonymous most wanted to share out pic.twitter.com/BFBaZ43WT9
— Kyle Schwartz (@kylemschwartz) April 19, 2015
Schwartz said that 92% of their students qualify for reduced or free lunches. She struggled to understand what took place in their lives and how to support them.
The images of what she was sharing from her students struck a chord with teachers everywhere. They quickly went viral and inspired other teachers to ask similar questions. This is a sampling of what was revealed.
It’s a reminder that it is always a good idea to listen to what the children really have to say.
“I really want families to know how intentional teachers are about creating a sense of community and creating relationships with kids,” Ms. Schwartz told The New York Times. “Kids don’t learn when they don’t feel safe or valued.”
Via: Scary Mummy
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