Rita Pierson: Every kid needs a champion

Link to Rita Pierson's Talk: Every kid needs a champion
Photo and Video provided by TED.

     In Rita Pierson’s talk: Every kids need a champion, Pierson encourages everyone to support and inspire children in their education. Pierson has been an educator for the past 40 years and has a lot of experience with different types of students. In her talk, she shares some of the successes and failures she has had as a teacher, mainly to emphasize for others what has worked for her. She admits to once teaching an entire lesson wrong, and having to admit to the class that she had incorrectly taught them. But even though she messed up, it was OK, because it taught her students that its alright for everyone to mess up, and that it is best to own up to your mistakes and make them right whenever possible.
     One of her main points is the necessity of believing in students; if they know their educator doesn’t believe in them, how are they expected to believe in themselves? Pierson explains, “Can we stand to have more relationships? Absolutely. Will you like all your children? Of course not. And you know your toughest kids are never absent. Never. You won't like them all, and the tough ones show up for a reason. It's the connection. It's the relationships. And while you won't like them all, the key is, they can never, ever know it. We teach anyway, because that's what we do.” Pierson encourages positivity in all situations, and I believe her talk is one that all instructors can benefit from watching and considering her advice.

Who was one of your favorite teachers? What qualities made them such an excellent teacher? Did they share any common methods or beliefs with Pierson?