ATTENDING TO AFFECTIVE ATTRIBUTES

Attending to Affective Attributes

' Expert teachers have high respect for students.' Hattie
"Education is always self-education, and as teachers and educators we are merely the environment in which the child is educating himself. We have to provide the most favorable environment so that the child will be able to educate himself according to his inner destiny". Rudolf Steiner
I start with this quote from Rudolf Steiner to emphasize that learning is a continuous unfolding and that as human beings we are not born with the same specialization as say, a dog or a bird or even a plant. Allow me to explain, you see a dog does not become more 'doglike' as it grows older nor does a bird learn to be more 'birdlike'. Yet as a human being we are on a continuous path of development and at each stage we are learning to become more human.
I believe that the art of teaching summons up the essential need for the teacher to become both student and teacher, to be receptive to the learning environment that is being created, and be both willing and open to learning from their students. I have learnt invaluable lessons from my students, through both observation and engagement. What works and why....What doesn't work and how those experiences shape the learning environment. I beleive that a teacher cannot expect respect unless they are willing to give respect to their students. Too often teachers confuse their authority with domination, applying strong control and tending to create more physical and psychological distance between themselves and their students.
We all know that the role of the teacher can have both a positive and negative effect on student outcomes. Expert teachers
'Expert teachers are passionate about teaching and learning.' Hattie
The opening lines from William Blake's Auguries of Innocence, evoke images of a world of limitless possibilities, unimagined beauty and a true depth of soul. Just imagine everyday to behold your students as this wellspring of potential......

'To see the world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in a hour.'