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I think this is awesome that you have us thinking about the influence we have on our students. Not only are we educating kids but, whether we like it or not, we take part in raising them. It is so crucial that we have an awareness of our students to that we can accommodate the environment to be most comfortable and conducive to their learning.- Taylor Giles

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by Carol Ann Tomlinson

The good teacher communicates a deep regard for students' lives, a regard infused with unblinking attention, respect, even awe. An engaged teacher begins with the belief that each student is unique, each the one and only who will ever trod the earth, each worthy of a certain reverence. Regard extends, importantly, to an insistence that students have access to the tools with which to negotiate and transform the world. Love for students just as they are-without any drive or advance toward a future-is false love, enervating and disabling (Ayres, Klonsky, & Lyon, 2000, pp. 2-3).

It is no small thing to ask teachers to be fox tamers-to establish ties with all of their students. Where are they to find the time to form ties with even one student in the press to cover the curriculum, complete paperwork, attend meetings, set up for the next day-and have a life?

The excuses for not connecting personally with students are legion-and not without legitimacy. There are too many students. The time is too short. There is only one level of textbook in the class, only one set of standards for all. The room is too small. Materials are lacking. Kids don't come to us knowing how to be independent learners. We were not trained or hired to be social workers or psychologists. We don't know how to think about cultures different from our own. We are already consumed by the job.

Nonetheless, sometimes we shove past those reservations and make ties with our students. Some of us consistently ignore these reservations and really get to know our students, becoming the kind of teachers who shape their students' lives to reflect a greater hope, confidence, and promise than these young people brought to the classroom as the year began.

What propels some of us to form bonds with kids as a way of life? Perhaps these fox-taming teachers continue to nurture and sustain a greater sense of the full possibilities of school in the lives of young people.

Barbara Kingsolver (1997) reminds us that the very least we ought to expect of ourselves is that we figure out what we hope for in this life. The most we can do, she continues, is to make sure we live inside our hopes, rather than admiring them from a distance. Perhaps those teachers who are successful in forming bonds with students remember the dreams of the novice teacher clearly enough that they inhabit those dreams daily. The way we "do school" often makes it easy to forget why teaching once seemed the best job in the world and makes it easy to lose sight of what we once hoped for.

What Was Our Vision for the Classroom?

People enter the teaching profession for various reasons, of course. For many who elect to teach, however, there is an early sense of enormous possibilities arising from the intersection of young energy, adult mentorship of the energy, and the limitless possibilities of learning. In some sort of naïve way, we know as beginning teachers that the classroom is a microcosm of the world; to fashion a dynamic and positive classroom is to contribute in real ways to a more dynamic and positive world. We feel we have the capacity as teachers to both express and extend a vision of the way the world should be (Apple & Beane, 1995).

Although our language for the vision is fuzzy (and our sense of how to accomplish the vision is virtually nonexistent), we sense as novices that we are destined to be much more than dispensers of information, sergeants of behavior, and captains of the test prep. Had we more sophistication, we would agree that classrooms are places designed to forge democracy, dignity, and diversity (Beane, 1990). We would affirm that schools exist to prepare young people to contribute to their world as informed thinkers, thoughtful citizens, and decent human beings-that we are entering a moral contract between ourselves, our students, and our society to contribute in every way possible to those outcomes (Sizer & Sizer, 1999).

When she was told that her faculty was remarkable, Deborah Meier (1995), a remarkable principal and educational visionary, agreed. She explains, however, that her school's staff is not remarkable because they are more gifted than other teachers or because they have taught longer or because they went to more exclusive colleges. They are remarkable, says Meier, because they live what they believe.

Such teachers are surely aware of the constraints and imperfections of schools. Somehow, they see the possibilities more clearly than the impossibilities. They look beyond those things they cannot change toward the young people, learning environments, curricula, and instruction they can change.

These teachers ultimately say to their students, "I want to be a leader in creating a place where each of you becomes more keenly aware of the possibilities in yourself, the people around you, and the power of knowledge. In this place, I want us to find together a good way to live."

Such teachers are not perfect people. They lose sight of the vision from time to time. When they do, however, they understand that they have lost their compass, and they hunt for "North" until they find their way again. They have no road map for the journey. It is their expectation, nonetheless, that they will learn more than they teach and that each discovery will reveal another step along the way.

Thus, if the student says, "I need affirmation, contribution, power, purpose, and challenge," such a teacher replies, "I will respond to those needs. Otherwise, how would I assume I could truly teach you? Otherwise, how would I assume we could build together a place in which we can all become what we are meant to be?"

Teacher Responses to Student Needs

There are at least five ways in which a teacher can respond to the student's needs for affirmation, contribution, power, purpose, and challenge. They are not ancillary to teaching but are at the core of effective teaching. They are not separate from the learner's needs but are outcroppings of those needs. And as we will see later, they are not apart from curriculum and instruction, but they breathe life into it.

Once again, we'll examine five key teacher responses to student needs (see Figure 3.1). Feel free to add others to the list or to modify it as your knowledge, experience, and perspectives suggest.

Figure 3.1. The Teacher Responds

What Do the Elements Mean? Invitation

I have respect for who you are and who you can become.

I want to know you.

You are unique and valuable.

I believe in you.

I have time for you.

I learn when I listen to you.

This place is yours, too.

We need you here.

Opportunity

I have important things for you to do here today.

The things I ask you to do are worthy things.

The things I ask you to do are often daunting.

The things I ask you to do open new possibilities for you.

The things I give you to do here help you become all you can be.

You have specific roles that make us all more efficient and effective.

Investment

I work hard to make this place work for you.

I work to make this place reflect you.

I enjoy thinking about what we do here.

I love to find new paths to success.

It is my job to help you succeed.

I am your partner in growth.

I will do what it takes to ensure your growth.

Persistence

You're growing, but you're not finished growing.

When one route doesn't work, there are others we can find.

Let's figure out what works best.

There are no excuses here, but there is support.

There is no finish line in learning.

Reflection

I watch you and listen to you carefully and systematically.

I make sure to use what I learn to help you learn better.

I try to see things through your eyes.

I continually ask, "How is this partnership working?"

I continually, ask, "How can I make this better?"

The Response of Invitation

If the first request of the child is for affirmation, the first response of the teacher is, "This will be a good place for you." The invitation to learn is of prime importance. It must be issued as the learner first enters the learning place-and reissued continually. Although the learner yearns for connection, it is also a risky endeavor: "What if the teacher looks past me rather than into me? What if the teacher rejects my culture, is put off by my rough edges? What if my best is deemed inadequate?" Consciously or unconsciously, the young person continues to measure the benefits against the risks. The teacher who intends to make ties with the student is permanently attuned to factors that enhance the invitation and minimize the risk for each learner and for the class as a whole.

To issue the invitation, the teacher's demeanor, words, and actions need to communicate the following:

I respect who you are as well as who you can become.

I want to know you.

You are unique and valuable.

I believe in you.

I have time for you.

I learn when I listen to you.

This place is yours too.

We need you here.

These affirmations are rooted in a belief that each child is fully worthy of respect simply because of his or her humanity. "Because you are a human being, endowed with the value and possibilities of humanity," believes the teacher, "I must treat you with dignity." Not only is dignity an unconditional entitlement of the child as a person, but it is also the gateway to self-esteem and, ultimately, to self-efficacy. Further, regard for the young person's humanity-complete with an ethic of caring-is essential to creating a community that models the way we ought to live together in the world (Beane, 1990; Sizer & Sizer, 1999).

With educational decision making grounded squarely in the dignity of each individual, the teacher's plans and actions radiate outward, and the implications of that core belief become evident:

I have to get to know each child because I can accord each young person dignity only as I know and value the background, hopes, dreams, and fears of that particular individual. No child feels honored if he or she is seen as an interchangeable part-a widget like thousands of other widgets-a nameless entity with no identity outside the classroom and a sketchy one at best inside.

To know you, I must find many ways to listen to you and to learn about you. Even though I am dogged by the scarcity of time, I must help you sense that I have time for you.

Further, I must not only learn about you, I must learn from you. Unless the sharing enriches me, I will not be fed professionally or personally, and I will be less of a person and less of a professional than I could be. To learn to see the world through your eyes clarifies my own vision. If I study your culture, I am clearer about the influences that have shaped me. If I think about gender influences on your life, I understand more fully how gender has shaped me. If I understand your fears and dreams, my own stand in sharper relief. And, if I continually reflect on what you understand-or misunderstand-about what we are studying, I am sharper in grasping how meaning can be crafted through the content of the curriculum I teach.

I cannot accord you dignity unless I make you my partner in creating a classroom that mirrors the world we both want to live in. I must help you discover that you are unique and valuable among the group of us, even as I continue to guide you in reflecting on the uniqueness and value of each other member of the group. We must all come to believe in the huge potential each of us has to grow and develop-and actively support and celebrate that growth and development in every member of the classroom community. For the classroom to work, we must each be contributors to its success.

The classroom must be ours, not mine. The rules for living in the classroom must be our rules. The solutions to problems must be our solutions. The procedures we follow must come from a shared logic about how things need to work here for each of us to succeed.

The teacher's invitation-rooted in an unerring belief in the worth and dignity of each learner and multiplied to the classroom society that teacher and students will develop-becomes the catalyst for most of the decisions that will follow throughout the year. The teacher's invitation not only responds directly to the student's need for affirmation and contribution, but it also begins to respond to the student's need for power, purpose, and challenge.

First-year teacher Esmé Codell (1999) exemplifies invitation in many aspects of her work-even at the starting gate of teaching:

In the morning, three things happen religiously. I say good morning real chipper to every single child and make sure they say good morning back. Then I collect "troubles" in a "Trouble Basket," a big green basket into which the children pantomime unburdening their home worries so they can concentrate on school. . . .This way, too, I can see what disposition the child is in when he or she enters. Finally, before the child can come in, they must give me a word, which I print on a piece of tagboard and they keep in an envelope. It can be any word, but preferably one that they heard and don't really know or one that is personally meaningful. . . .We go over the words when we do our private reading conferences. . . . It takes a long time to get in the door this way, but by the time we are in, I know every kid has had and given a kind greeting, has had an opportunity to learn, and has tried to leave his or her worries on the doorstep. Some kids from other classes sneak into our line to use the Trouble Basket or to get a word card (pp. 30-31).

The Response of Opportunity

If, as a teacher, my belief in you is unerring, and if I accord you the full dignity due human beings, I will do all I can to ensure that you will become all you should be. That means my goal will be to provide you maximum opportunity to develop your possibilities. To communicate that opportunity to students, the teacher's demeanor, words, and actions must continually say the following:

I have important things for you to do here today.

The things I ask you to do are worthy things.

The things I ask you to do are often daunting.

The things I ask you to do open new possibilities for you.

The things I give you to do here help you become all you can be.

You have specific roles here that make us all more efficient and effective.

Simply put, opportunity is more closely related to exhilaration than to drudgery. Genuine opportunity may be frightening, because it seems out of reach, but it is seldom stultifying. Opportunity requires hard work, but it is work with a purpose-it is work in pursuit of a dream. Said one science teacher who lives this philosophy, "We don't just keep them busy. We're giving them an opportunity" (Carter, 2001, p. 70).
To provide opportunity is to provide materials, tasks, applications, and problems that are rich with meaning for learners. To provide opportunity is to help learners have a voice in what and how they learn and to find their own voice through what they study. It is to feed the learner's curiosity and challenge the learner's natural drive toward competence (Meier, 1995).

Opportunity mandates that each child have a high-status education. That is, each learner must be supported in gaining maximum access to and proficiency with the knowledge, ideas, and skills that open the doors to both present and future opportunity. Opportunity recognizes and extends as far as possible the potential of each individual to develop systems of knowledge and habits of thought and practice that typify successful, contributing adults.

Opportunity means enlivening the classroom. It means enlivening minds. It means creating for each learner the sorts of learning experiences we would have wished for ourselves and for our own children. In the end, opportunity is inclusive of each individual, fosters positive attitudes about self and learning, enhances meaning in both school and life, and engenders competence (Ginsberg & Wlodkowski, 2000).

Principal Helen DeBerry (Carter, 2001) explains what opportunity looks like in her Chicago school, where virtually all of the students are from minority and low-income homes and where student achievement is high: "All of our children are expected to work above grade level and to learn for the sake of learning. . . . We instill a desire to overachieve. Give us an average child and we'll make him an overachiever. Last year's 6th grade was reading To Kill a Mockingbird, while another class was writing its own stage play based on the story of the slave ship Amistad" (p. 55).

The Response of Investment

Perhaps the surest way for a teacher to communicate to learners that they are important individually and collectively and that their class work is compelling is for the teacher to model high investment in both the people and content of the classroom. The teacher who communicates investment to learners makes it clear:

I work hard to make this place work for you.

I work to make this place reflect you.

I enjoy thinking about what we do here.

I love to find new paths to success.

It is my job to help you succeed.

I am your partner in growth.

I will do what it takes to ensure your growth.

Immersion in the classroom is evident in invested teachers. They give what it takes to make tomorrow's class work for everyone. Invested teachers are often the ones whose room contains students before school, at lunch, or after school. Students understand that the teacher has time for them and wants to provide both sanctuary and scaffolding for them.

Invested teachers share their thoughts about the classroom with their students. "Yesterday, I noticed some of you were having difficulty with the assignment you were working on," one teacher says as the day's class begins. "I thought about that last night and came up with a couple of new ways to think about the skills. I'll be interested in seeing what you think about the ideas." Beyond the words, the students hear, "We were on her mind last night. She cared enough about our success to give us her time even after we left. She means for us to succeed. She also wants our opinions."

Invested teachers make links with students' lives outside the classroom as well. Whether through making positive contacts with home, providing extracurricular activities, attending student events, or volunteering in the community, the invested teacher reaches out to know and support students in ways that extend what takes place in the classroom.

Invested teachers act as mentors for students, as advocates, and as partners (Beane, 1990; Ginsberg & Wlodkowski, 2000; Sizer & Sizer, 1999). These are roles that extend well beyond the roles of information provider and behavior manager. A mentor is one who works beside another to model important skills and sees to the success of the apprentice with those skills; a mentor makes it possible for individuals to take charge of their head and heart (Sizer & Sizer, 1999). An advocate is a voice in strong support of the individual-one who does what it takes to make certain the individual is heard and represented fairly. A partner is one who not only "acts for people (on their behalf) as 'objects of our care,' but also with them, as mutual 'subjects' in the human experience" (Beane, 1990, p. 62).

Finally, invested teachers are personally engaged in what they ask the students to do. That is, invested teachers work hard at learning, spend free time in pursuit of knowledge, think and puzzle over problems, and get excited about ideas. Invested teachers have clear personal goals toward which they work steadily. Invested teachers exemplify the pursuit of excellence:

There are positive examples that tell their own story. The biology teacher who, spring after spring, tracks the nesting patterns of red-winged blackbirds, dragging his students before dawn into a mosquito-infested swamp to watch and record the movements of the birds. The English teacher who writes poetry and shares it with her students, and not only teaches drama, but directs student performances. The coach who keeps on top of her game, razor-sharp on new rules, plays, and practices and always ready to share them. The custodian who in his work exhibits pride of place and insistently, politely, and persuasively expects students to do likewise. The assistant principal who makes certain he learns the name of every student within a month of the opening of school and who greets and treats each student with knowing familiarity (Sizer & Sizer, 1999, p. 11).

These educators communicate investment. Students do not miss the message. These are teachers invested in what they teach, whom they teach, and where they teach, and the ideals for which they stand. Their messages come not simply from slogans on classroom walls, but from living out their beliefs.

The Response of Persistence

Classrooms are messy with agendas, complex material, and imperfect lives. Procedures designed to make the day go smoothly don't always work the first time-or the fourth. Students don't always grasp ideas on carefully prescribed timetables. Young people are as likely to resist challenge as to embrace it. The teacher needs to help students understand that this is a place where persistence is a hallmark. To do that, the teacher must communicate the following:

You're growing, but you're not finished growing.

When one route doesn't work, there are others we can find.

Let's figure out what works best.

There are no excuses here, but there is support.

There is no finish line in learning.

The teacher who genuinely believes in the possibilities of each individual is not easily discouraged. That teacher does not question the educability of any student-race, class, and prior experience notwithstanding (Ayres, Klonsky, & Lyon, 2000). Different is not a synonym for deficient(Finnan & Swanson, 2000). Although the persistent teacher understands the internal and external impediments to learning faced by nearly every student, even the most able, that teacher recognizes no excuses for inferior work. Instead, there is a predictable support system for moving forward. When a student is "missing the mark," the persistent teacher does not assume the student cannot learn, but rather assumes the student is not learning in the way he is currently being taught. The persistent teacher will find another way. In the eyes of that teacher, when a student fails, the teacher fails (Carter, 2001).
I recently met a retired teacher, now in her late seventies. Hearing that I was in her town to work with teachers on "differentiation," she asked for an explanation of what the term meant. As I tried to encapsulate the meaning of the concept, her eyes sparked. "Oh, I know what you mean," she said and smiled broadly. "When I taught young children, I developed five or six different ways to teach the skills of reading. I just tried different approaches with different children, until I found out the one that worked for that child. If none of the approaches I'd used in the past worked, I developed another way." She continued, "Later, I taught English. I found that some students learned grammar best by diagramming sentences, some by transactional grammar, and some by analyzing signs on the streets and in magazines. There was always a way that would work, if I just kept looking." That's persistence in search of success!

The persistent teacher also models the steady but relentless quest for excellence. The persistent teacher generously acknowledges the distance a student has come academically, but also makes clear the distance each student has yet to go. That teacher helps students realize that the quest for quality never ends. If the quest ends, quality ends with it-and so does the growth of the individual.

The persistent teacher not only points out that learning has no finish line for students, but lives according to that principle as well. That teacher fights "success ego," never succumbing to the sense that she is "good enough" to be exempt from the need to change. "We're all on a journey," the persistent teacher believes, "none of us is ever through striving."

The Response of Reflection

Reflective practice is important, because effective teaching defies any set of "rules for practice." There is no formula for success. Rather, we work in "indeterminate zones of practice" (Schon, 1987), where uncertainty, ambiguity, and uniqueness are key constants in the teacher's world. Indeed, if we accept the premise of the dignity of the individual, recognize the diversity that implies, and combine that with the need to honor the group as well as the individual, we have already entered an indeterminate zone.

From the film Apollo 13, two powerful moments endure. The first comes when astronauts far away from the earth signal back to ground command, "Houston, we have a problem." The second follows when the commander of operations in Houston pulls together a team of experts with varied specialties, outlines the critical nature of their role in trying to save the lives of the astronauts, and concludes with the statement, "Failure is not an option."

Given the nature of the classroom and its inhabitants, young lives are always at risk. There is always a problem. The teacher who believes deeply in the dignity and worth of the individual and the group hears the echo, "Failure is not an option."

The nature of schools is such that teachers must continually address critical problems, serving largely as an expert "team of one." Wise teachers expand their team in a variety of ways-forming partnerships with their students, establishing relationships with like-minded peers who serve as "critical friends," drawing on the expertise of specialists in the building, and actively pursuing advanced professional knowledge through universities, books, and high-quality staff development. Still, by and large teacher expertise develops in proportion to teacher reflection on practice.

Not only do teachers benefit from reflective practice, but students derive important messages from reflective teachers as well. To the student, a reflective teacher communicates the following:

I watch you and listen to you carefully and systematically.

I make sure to use what I learn to help you learn better.

I try to see things through your eyes.

I continually ask, "How is this partnership working?"

"I continually ask, "How can I make this better?"

The reflective teacher questions not only daily practice but also beliefs that should ground that practice. To what degree am I living my beliefs? In what ways does this place dignify or diminish each individual? To what degree am I an example of the kind of learner and person I ask my students to be? To what extent does this class commend the value of diversity in background, opinion, and talent? Am I aiming for a norm or for the best each child has to offer? What do I understand about the differences among people? What do I understand about the things all humans share in common? To what degree does this community we call a classroom help its inhabitants know how to live more effectively with other people? How well does this microworld equip young people for life in the greater world?
To answer these questions, of course, the teacher also reflects on the details of classroom practice. How well am I monitoring student readiness to learn and learning progress? How effectively am I using what I learn from assessment to guide lesson planning and teaching? What else do I need to know about my students' interests and modes of learning? How can I best build a three-dimensional portrait of each learner? At what points are classroom routines clear to everyone, and when do they help us work more effectively? When do they fail us in one way or another? What changes ought I to make in daily details that contribute to the greater goals of the classroom?

Teacher reflection inevitably attends directly to students' need for affirmation, contribution, power, purpose, and challenge. From continual reflection on these and countless other questions, the teacher's practice also becomes ever more intuitive and efficient in addressing student needs. Reflection also supports what Deborah Meier (1995) calls the power to care. It may well be that one of the factors that overwhelms our early visions of the possibilities in classrooms is encountering so many human needs at the very time we are so ill equipped to address them. Feeling such personal inadequacy may compel us to stop looking at the needs-to build a protective wall between the hurt of the young and our disappointment in ourselves.

There is a terrible and pointless pain in powerless caring, and it erodes the capacity for caring. . . .We needed time and again to discover ways to effectively care. Part of it depended on having sufficient power. We kept extensive notes and records of children's work, continuously experimenting with better ways to keep and use such information. We met to work out ways to sharpen our observational skill at understanding children's learning modes and preferences as individuals-what engaged them most deeply, how they responded best to criticism. . . . We worked together to better organize curriculum as well as increase our knowledge about the subjects that our students were studying. . . . We attended all manner of courses and institutes that suited our interests and needs. Being seen as intellectually curious people, modeling what a mathematician, historian, or scientist does, are rock-bottom necessities if kids are to catch on to what we're teaching about. Our desire to teach, after all, needs to be connected always to our enthusiasm and respect for what (and who) we are teaching about (Meier, 1995, p. 133-134).

The Devil Lurks in the Translation

In the musings of this chapter and the previous one, it should be becoming more evident that "differentiated" teaching seems an imperative if we accept the teacher's role in connecting with students. How could we issue an invitation to the risky endeavor of learning if it is a mass-produced invitation? How could we dignify a learner without offering that learner things to do that are important enough to give roots and wings to his or her dreams? How could we learn about the needs of the individual student or attend to those needs without full investment? How could we make it all work for such varied individuals without dogged persistence? How would we find our way and help our students find their individual paths without deep reflection?

It is circular. To establish ties with a student, we must (as the fox explains in The Little Prince) come to see how each student is unlike every other-and to see that, we must form ties with that student.

On some level, it's not so difficult to accept that circular premise. Most of us as teachers mean to see and honor the individual. As always, the devil is in the details. How do we translate abstract ideas into the very daily stuff of classroom life? What do tomorrow's lesson plans have to do with dignity, diversity, and democracy (Beane, 1990)? Chapter 4 will explore ways in which the concrete decisions we make about classroom operation translate into teacher response to learner needs-how those decisions lay the groundwork for thinking about curriculum and instruction.

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Teacher Response to Student Needs: A Starting Point for Differentiation

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by Carol Ann Tomlinson The good teacher communicates a deep regard for students' lives, a regard infused with unblinking attention, respect, even awe. An engaged teacher begins with the belief that each student is unique, each the one and only who will ever trod the earth, each worthy of a certain reverence.

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Teachers are always there to believe in us. Their typical role in our lives is planning and organizing our classroom and lessons. Teachers are so much more than that. They spark the desire to learn in us. They get us interested in the outside world and motivate us to get out there and learn. Their high standards give us a high quality of work ethic in our future jobs and our every day lives. They also help us develop talents that we otherwise would have never acknowledge.

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Every teacher must believe and understand that all their learners ought to acquire equal hopes, education and future aspirations from their learning. On the other hand, the teacher must know that they will meet learners with different dynamics during their teaching career. The main difference is that some students will learn fast, and others will be slower. Again, they will teach learners that are challenged or disabled in some way. In the light of this, it is crucial that a teacher identify and meet the needs of every learner without discrimination. The following are 5 reasons why it is important to identify and meet individual learner needs when teaching.

1. Achieving Quality

In the classroom, there are children with behavioural, emotional, social or other challenges that may limit their learning abilities. Therefore, when the teacher identifies their weaknesses and applies measures to overcome them, their learners acquire education without any barriers. This ensures that the challenged learners do not feel left out or discriminated from the rest.

2. Developing Talents

The needs in the classroom are not always negative. Learners, especially young ones, are usually undergoing the process of understanding their skills. The teacher, however, is experienced enough to tell that a certain learner has a particular skill or talent. In this case, skills and talents become needs too because they require nurturing to develop. Therefore, once the teacher identifies them and provides the essential support to develop them, they help the learners to discover and grow them.

3. Creating Interest

Identifying and meeting individual learner needs boosts their morale and encourages them. In some cases, the learner does not gain much from mass instruction. As such, when the teacher provides individually prescribed instruction (IPI) it significantly helps many learners to understand and grasp educational concepts. This applies more to subjects such as mathematics and art. If a student feels supported by their tutor, they develop rather than lose interest in learning.
4. Planning Classroom Activities

Once the teacher is familiar with the personal needs of their learners, they can easily plan their day-to-day classroom activities, so they cater to all of them. For instance, the teacher will know how to plan the timetable for counselling, individual tutoring, group interactions and general supervision. In short, each activity targets the needs of specific students such that by the end of the day, every learner's needs are fully met.

5. Organising the Classroom

The best way for a teacher to organise the classroom is by first identifying the characteristics of each learner. The learners that need more personalised instruction can sit closer to the teacher. If a student has visual difficulties, the teacher can sit him or her closer to the blackboard. They can also sit near a door or window where there is an abundance of light. In a nutshell, the needs of the learners should determine the availability of supplementary material, accessibility of equipment and supplies, as well as the seating arrangements.

Evidently, it is paramount that the teachers identify and meet individual learner needs when teaching. This is because it allows them to devote their energies beyond regular teaching into effective education that is supportive and considerate for each learner. In this way, the students are motivated, supported, empowered, and developed because optimum learning conditions are created.

Other related articles:
Tips to develop modern teaching skills Competency based training

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Important to identify and meet individual learner needs

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Every teacher must believe and understand that all their learners ought to acquire equal hopes, education and future aspirations from their learning. On the other hand, the teacher must know that they will meet learners with different dynamics during their teaching career. The main difference is that some students will learn fast, and others will be slower.

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Recognizing our students learning abilities is so so important. We can't teach the same to all of our kids. Some students need extra help on an assignment or subject and you might need to have patience with them. Others might need more work to keep them busy after they have finished an assignment early. Also, recognizing that our students are not all understanding something can be very important, especially since the ball is in our court for teaching them. We can adjust to our students needs and this is VITAL.

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Teachers can get so caught up in teaching their class as a whole. I mean it makes sense, it is their responsibility to teach all of those children so much information in such little time. But when they start to treat the whole class on one, and not recognize the needs of the individual students, there really is not any progressing happening. Especially because there are many different kind of needs the children may have. Special needs, learning disabilities, to know someone cares for them. If we truly want the children to succeed we have to know them as an individual so that we may also know how best we can help them learn this valuable information.   Annie Hukill

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RTI aims to identify kids who are struggling in school.

It uses targeted teaching to help them catch up.

An important part of RTI is measuring progress and providing more support to kids who need it.

If you look inside any general education classroom, chances are good that you'd see different students struggling for different reasons. It can be hard for a teacher to tell right away which students are struggling or why.

Response to intervention (RTI) aims to identify struggling students early on and give them the support they need to thrive in school. The word intervention is key to understanding what RTI is all about. The goal is for the school to intervene, or step in, and start helping before a student falls really far behind.

Teachers can provide targeted teaching - called interventions - to help struggling students catch up. A big part of the RTI process involves closely monitoring student progress. That way the school can see which students need more academic support.

RTI isn't a specific program or type of teaching. It's a proactive approach: RTI measures students' skills and uses this data to decide which interventions to use.

Dive deeper

The RTI process begins with a teacher assessing the skills of everyone in the class. This helps the school's RTI teams tell which students need instructional interventions. That's the term for focusing on specific skills in trying to improve them.

Interventions can be part of class-wide instruction. The teacher may break students into small groups. These groups are tailored for different skill levels or learning interests.

Students who don't make enough progress getting this kind of help during class may start to work on skills in small groups that meet during enrichment activities like music or art.

As part of the RTI process, schools help struggling students by using teaching interventions that researchers have studied and shown to be effective. Many of them deal with reading. But there are also some proven methods of improving writing and math skills. Some schools also use research-based behavior interventions.

Read more about instructional interventions .

Another essential component of RTI is called progress monitoring. That means that teachers frequently assess students' skills to decide whether an intervention is working.

During an intervention, a teacher or other member of the RTI team uses an assessment tool that measures certain skills. They assess the skills every week or every other week. That may sound like a lot of testing. But each assessment only takes a few minutes to complete.

Learn more about progress monitoring .

There's no single way of doing RTI, but it's often set up as a three-tiered system of support. Some school districts call this framework a multi-tiered system of supports, or MTSS , instead of RTI.

Think of this tiered system as a pyramid, with the intensity of support increasing from one level to the next:

Get deeper information about the three tiers of support .

RTI isn't a special education program. But it can help general education teachers pick up on early signs that kids are struggling. It also plays a key role in helping schools figure out who qualifies for special education.

Federal law says that when deciding if a student is eligible for special education, the school district can use a "process that determines if the child responds to scientific, research-based intervention." That's one of the reasons many states use RTI.

If a student qualifies for special education, the RTI interventions used can help the school decide which services and supports to include in the IEP .

There are a few other key things to keep in mind about the relationship between RTI and special education:

RTI can't be used to reduce a student's workload. That kind of modification may be used for some special education students, but not for general education students.

If a student is getting extra help through RTI, it doesn't mean a family has to wait to request a special education evaluation. They have the right to ask for an evaluation at any time.

As part of the evaluation, the school can gather information from the RTI process, like screening and progress monitoring data. But they still have to follow the time frame of completing an initial evaluation within 60 days of getting parent consent.

Learn about evaluations for special education .

RTI is effective for lots of reasons. For one, it can help more kids thrive in general education classrooms.

It can also help schools save special education resources for kids who truly need them. Many students performing below grade level don't have disabilities. Through the RTI process, they can make progress without special education services.

Here are some other reasons why RTI is beneficial:

Students continue to get their core instruction in the general education classroom with their peers.

It's not a "wait and see" approach. Students can start to get extra help before falling so far behind that they have to go to summer school or repeat a grade.

If a student is referred for special education services, there's already documentation about which type of instruction has not been helpful.

If a school doesn't use RTI, families can still ask for extra help . But it might not be provided as extensively or as systematically as it would in a school that uses RTI.

Schools aren't required to give families a written intervention plan. All the school needs to tell families about RTI is:

But many schools provide much more information. That's because they know that parent involvement plays a big role in helping kids thrive in school. In fact, some schools are already in the habit of giving parents a written intervention plan.

If the school doesn't automatically provide a written plan, families can ask for one. It might include:

A description of the skills the child struggles with, and documentation about these challenges, like assessment results or work samples

A description of the research-based intervention the child is getting

Details about how often the intervention will be provided and for what length of time - how many minutes per day over how many weeks

Details about who will be providing the intervention and in which schoolroom

The criteria for determining whether the intervention is successful

A description of how progress monitoring works and how often progress will be measured

Get answers to other common questions about RTI .

Requesting a written intervention plan can help you take an active role in RTI. But there are other ways you can be involved in the process:

Remember that RTI is a fluid process. At any time during the school year, you can talk to the teacher and find out which interventions are available to help your child.

Ask the school for more information about the intervention your child is receiving, like which studies show it is effective.

Ask the school to give you a copy of your child's progress monitoring graph after every assessment.

Give the intervention time to work. To know if it's helping, the school needs data. Wait at least a few weeks before you ask the school if it's time to try something different.

Ask the school how you can help your child at home.

If you think your child's skills aren't improving, you may want to request an evaluation for special education. Remember that you can make this request at any time.

Use this list of questions to learn about your school's RTI process .

About the Author

About the Author

worked as a classroom teacher and as an early intervention specialist for 10 years. She is the author of Amanda Morin The Everything Parent's Guide to Special Education. Two of her children have learning differences.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Elaine M. Niefeld, MA, MBA is a consultant and former associate director of the RTI Action Network.

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RTI aims to identify kids who are struggling in school. It uses targeted teaching to help them catch up. An important part of RTI is measuring progress and providing more support to kids who need it. If you look inside any general education classroom, chances are good that you'd see different students struggling for different reasons.

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By recognizing the needs of our students, it shows them that we care about them, and that we pay attention. Children want to feel important, and if they're not receiving that attention they crave at home, its our job to help them feel noticed. If a child is acting out in class its important for us to realize what they need, want, why its going on, and what can be done to help them. A lot of children act out because they don't receive that attention when they're at home, but they have figured out how to get it while at school.

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how I agree 100% that teachers need to pay attention to their students. I also believe that it is best not to judge them right off the bat. Get to know them. You never know, it might only take one teacher or influence of good to shape the rest of that child's life.

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The Teacher Who Changed My Life | Dan Lok | Goalcast

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Since we will see our kids every day of the school year we will need to build a relationship with them. Students should be able to trust us as teachers. They should be able to come to us with anything and I believe most of us would drop anything to help out a students needs. Paige Mendenhall

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Whether you're a special education teacher or not, you likely teach students who are on the autism spectrum or who have learning disabilities, dyslexia, ADHD, anxiety disorders, or emotional disabilities.

Differentiating instruction for such students can be challenging. But as an urban middle school teacher with more than 30 years of experience, I've identified some strategies that increase the chances that we're meeting all students' needs on a daily basis.

Collaborate with colleagues. I currently work with a teacher team that is well-synchronized when it comes to serving diverse learners.

As a learning disabilities teacher, I ensure that, from day one, all teachers are familiar with our 6th grade students' individualized education plans (IEPs) and necessary modifications.

Two sections of students in our grade are co-taught by special education faculty and content-specific teachers. Our paraprofessional and I alternate each day between the two sections. We move from class to class alongside our students, carrying binders with copies of all student materials so that we can co-teach alongside our colleagues.

Throughout the year, I co-plan with teachers, discussing tests, quizzes, projects and just day-to-day routines. We work on progress reports, reflect on our teaching strategies, and share concerns about students who may be struggling.

Cultivate consistency. For some of our 6th grade students, the shift to middle school is their first experience with "changing classes" throughout the day. Some consistency across classes can be helpful for students who have IEPs and those who simply need familiar routines and structure.

In each class, the general education teacher posts an agenda for the day on the board. And all classes begin with some kind of opportunity for students to review material or make the bridge to a new topic. A "science starter," for example, might require students to describe what phase of the moon occurs during a solar eclipse, or math class may begin with a quick problem that asks students to translate fractions into decimals. This provides all students with the opportunity to connect the class with previous learning.

The homework, posted on the board, is always explained verbally and accompanied by reminders to "take out your agendas and copy this down." Co-teachers circulate the classroom to ensure each student is copying information correctly.

We use common policies and procedures across classes. For example, if students forget to turn in major projects or take tests when they are absent, they'll find an "IOU" task listed on the blackboard.

Develop a student-centered mindset. Our efforts to boost learning are most effective when we share the same philosophy: It's about the kids, not us.

From the English/language arts teacher to the art teacher, all of us know about students' modifications: "who needs what" for tests, quizzes, classwork, and homework. Most students with learning disabilities (along with many of our English-language learners) use word banks when completing homework, classwork, and tests. For students who have difficulty copying, teachers provide printed copies of all notes, although they expect the students to try note-taking (often a goal in their IEPs). Some readers have access to novels on CDs. In math class, some use math reference sheets, a multiplication chart, and calculator-even on tests.

But a "student-centered mindset" goes beyond initial modifications: We pay close attention to individual students' progress and adjust our approaches throughout the year. If a student is struggling, our response isn't, "Well, that doesn't surprise me!" or "I've done my part-oh well." Instead, it's, "Why is this student struggling and what can we do to help?"

For example, sometimes it turns out that a student hasn't done her work because she needs a less distracting environment or additional guidance in understanding the project. We respond by offering opportunities for her to get an early start on projects and long-term assignments, both during and after school.

Our 6th grade team also made this decision: If any student performs poorly on a test, we analyze the data, then work with him or her individually or in a small group to re-teach the skills and concepts. Then students have the opportunity to retake the test after school or at lunchtime.

Set aside time to focus on study skills and extra support. Most students with IEPs attend a class that focuses on development of organizational and study skills. We also use this time to review concepts and guide students in understanding homework assignments. Because our paraprofessional and I have been observing and supporting students in all of their classes, we can make strategic decisions about how to structure this time.

Use multiple forms of assessment. Tests are never more than 35 to 40 percent of a child's grade (which also includes consideration of classwork, homework, participation/preparation, and projects). This ensures multiple opportunities to demonstrate knowledge and understanding in a variety of ways.

Draw on other professionals' expertise. Serving all students effectively requires us to pull in others promptly when students need specialized assistance. We have to be aware of when it's time to do so-and whom to contact. Our team regularly calls on our speech and language therapist, reading teachers, occupational therapist, school psychologist, and guidance counselors to advise us or to work with students on specific issues.

Partner with families. Last, but certainly not least, it's critical to involve families in the process of reaching all students, as some of my Teacher Leaders Network colleagues have been discussing this month at Teaching Ahead. Our 6th grade team's weekly common planning time provides an opportunity for families to meet with us as a group. We're flexible-if a parent or guardian is unable to come into the school, we set up phone meetings, check-ins with the team over email, and/or weekly progress reports.

I work with a great team this year-and I shudder to think that some of you may be reading this and thinking, "Yeah, this would be useful, if I had different (fill in the blank: administrators, colleagues, support staff, planning time)."

I know what you mean-I've been there-but I also think that you can, as Gandhi put it, "be the change you wish to see in the world." Be the one to push for common planning time (and to use it well). Be a dissenting voice when others say a particular student is a failure. Be the one who inspires colleagues to think outside the box about how to support that student. Be a teacher who is committed to helping all students succeed. You are not alone.

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Strategies for Meeting All Students' Needs

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Whether you're a special education teacher or not, you likely teach students who are on the autism spectrum or who have learning disabilities, dyslexia, ADHD, anxiety disorders, or emotional disabilities. Differentiating instruction for such students can be challenging.

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Recognizing the needs of our students might very well be the most important things that we as teachers need to do; along with meeting those needs. If we are not meeting those needs, then we are not accomplishing our roles as a teacher. Our whole purpose to to be able to help them progress and meet the needs to make that possible. Often times teachers are just trying to get through the material and not help them truly understand.          Connor Phelps

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I think of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs with this question. We can't expect students to fulfill their potential unless their basic and psychological needs are met first. My school district (Kane County) is a small, rural district with a lot of students who are classified as Inter-generational Poverty (IGP) students, so these basic needs are really a road block to student learning. The district works with a group called Frontiers for Families to give additional support to families that struggles through a wraparound program, advocacy, and education. Additionally, our school district has started to provide psychological counseling for students. Both of these programs has helped increase student learning according to administrators. Being aware of what our community and school district offers is really critical in making sure we get our students on the pathway to success. Here's a link to the Frontiers for Families if you want to check into it.  http://www.nffutah.org

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I think it's so easy to dismiss the need to get to know and understand our students as individuals and just focus on teaching them what is required in the most objective way. We might be lulled into the thinking that its best to not get involved on a deeper level and just focus on surface level connections. This is proven to be ineffective. When we don't take the time to get to know and form deeper connections with those we teach then we risk not reaching these students at all.
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/111011/chapters/Knowing-Our-Students-as-Learners.aspx

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I think that you cannot properly educate your students without knowing and understanding their needs. To say recognizing your students needs is important would be an understatement. I think a great way to understand where each student is at, is to individually assess your students. Pulling students aside to work on a few problems they might be struggling with in any given subject, is a great way to understand what needs to be done to help them gain that knowledge and in a way that make sense to them. https://teachingcommons.stanford.edu/resources/teaching/evaluating-students/assessing-student-learning savanah peery

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It is important to understand that not all of our students will learn the same way or at the same pace. We have to make sure that our lessons are geared towards different types of learning styles. Also, each student is coming from a different environment. Some students may not even be getting there basic needs met. It is important for teachers not to shove every student in the same category and expect the same results from everyone.

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(Maslow Really Knew!) by Elaine Gallagher
When you're in the classroom, with 30 + students, it's hard to realize that each one of them has different needs, different learning styles, and different ways to show what they've learned. Educators have a tendency to treat the 30+ students as a glob of humanity, a single entity, reacting in similar ways to similar stimuli. Nothing could be further from reality.

While Dr. Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences has been around for 30 years, almost three generations of K-12 students, and while many teachers can cite all eight types of intelligences, giving examples of each, they continue to teach to the group, testing based on memorization, with multiple choice items, or worse, true/false answers, as though all students can exhibit learning in the same way.

Long before Gardner's theory was published in 1984, Dr.?Abraham Maslow developed a clear graphic illustrating the five?hierarchical levels of human needs, from the lowest, survival-?level, physiological needs, such as air, food, and water, to the?highest human need, that of reaching one's potential, which Maslow called "self-actualization". The earliest and most widespread version of Maslow's (1943, 1954) hierarchy of needs includes five motivational needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid.

This five-stage model can be divided into basic (or deficiency) needs (e.g. physiological, safety, love, and esteem) and growth needs (self-actualization).?The deficiency, or basic needs are said to motivate people when they are unmet. Also, the need to fulfill such needs will become stronger the longer the duration they are denied. For example, the longer a person goes without food the more hungry they will become, and the more motivated they will be to hunt for food.

One must satisfy lower level basic needs before progressing on to meet higher level growth needs. Once these needs have been reasonably satisfied, one may be able to reach the highest level called self-actualization.?Every person is capable and has the desire to move up the hierarchy toward a level of self- actualization. Unfortunately, progress is often disrupted by failure to meet lower level needs. Life experiences including divorce and loss of job may cause an individual to fluctuate between levels of the hierarchy.
The original hierarchy of needs five-stage model includes:

1. Biological and Physiological needs: air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sleep.

2. Safety needs: protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, freedom from fear.

3. Social Needs: belongingness, affection and love: from work group, family, friends, romantic relationships.

4. Esteem needs: achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, self-respect, respect from others.

5. Self-Actualization needs:? realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.

The figure below shows a common version of Maslow's hierarchy. Even though Maslow's explanation of human needs is more than 65 years old, no one has come up with a better, clearer, or simpler explanation of human needs, so we still use Maslow's version.

In the hierarchy, each level is met once the one below it has been met. The basic human need, physiological, must be met, or the person will die. Once there is sufficient food, water, air, the next level to be met is safety. A safe shelter and freedom of danger permit the child to work towards the next level, love and belonging.

It is at this third level that the schools and teachers play a very strong role in whether or not the child can ever reach the fourth level, self-esteem.

No one is ever born with self-esteem. It develops from external, positive experiences, from praise, from a series of successes, from friendships, from positive participation in clubs and groups, and from supportive family, friends, and teachers, reinforcing love and belonging.

Once there is sufficient external esteem, the child begins to develop self-esteem. Remember what Mariia Montessori said, " Never do for a child what he/she can do for himself. " When we over-protect, or make decisions for the child, or are too dominating and bossy, the child interprets that to mean " I am not capable of doing these things", so does not easily develop self-esteem.

Once a person has met love and belonging needs, and moves on to self-esteem needs also being met, then, and only then, is the person ready to reach self-actualization. Reaching and maintaining satisfaction at one's potential, is the highest art of being human, according to Maslow.

To support and strengthen the third level, love and belonging, the psychological road is being paved to reach the two highest levels, self-esteem and self-actualization. Teachers play an extremely important role in reaching and sustaining the love and belonging needs. Praise, providing activities to promote student success, being just, fair, and tolerant, based on the student's specific needs and learning preferences all build trust, confidence, and help the student to feel loved and part of the group.
Maslow: Some of the characteristics of self-actualized people
Although we are all, theoretically, capable of self-actualizing, most of us will not do so, or only to a limited degree. Maslow (1970) estimated that only two percent of people will reach the state of self actualization. He was particularly interested in the characteristics of people whom he considered to have achieved their potential as persons.

By studying 18 people he considered to be self-actualized (including Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Mother Teresa), Maslow identified 15 characteristics of a self-actualized person.
Characteristics of self-actualizers:

1. They perceive reality efficiently and can tolerate uncertainty;

2. Accept themselves and others for what they are;

3. Spontaneous in thought and action;

4. Problem-centered (not self-centered);

5. Unusual sense of humor;

6. Able to look at life objectively;

7. Highly creative;

8. Resistant to enculturation, but not purposely unconventional;

9. Concerned for the welfare of humanity;

10. Capable of deep appreciation of basic life-experience;

11. Establish deep satisfying interpersonal relationships with a few people;

12. Peak experiences;

13. Need for privacy;

14. Democratic attitudes;

15. Strong moral/ethical standards.

Behavior leading to self-actualization:
(a) Experiencing life like a child, with full absorption and concentration;

(b) Trying new things instead of sticking to safe paths;

(c) Listening to your own feelings in evaluating experiences, instead of the voice of tradition, authority ,or the majority;

(d) Avoiding pretense ('game playing') and being honest;

(e) Being prepared to be unpopular if your views do not coincide with those of the majority;

(f) Taking responsibility and working hard;

(g) Trying to identify your defenses and having the courage to give them up.

The characteristics of self-actualizers and the behaviors leading to self-actualization are shown in the list above. Although people achieve self-actualization in their own unique way, they tend to share certain characteristics. However, self-actualization is a matter of degree, 'There are no perfect human beings' (Maslow,1970a, p. 176).

It is not necessary to display all 15 characteristics to become self-actualized, and not only self-actualized people will display them. Maslow did not equate self-actualization with perfection. Self-actualization merely involves achieving one's potential. Thus someone can be silly, wasteful, vain and impolite, and still self-actualize. Less than two percent of the population achieve self-actualization.

Applications of Maslow's hierarchy theory to the work of the classroom teacher are obvious. Before a student's cognitive needs can be met they must first fulfil their basic physiological needs. For example a tired and hungry student will find it difficult to focus on learning. Students need to feel emotionally and physically safe and accepted within the classroom to progress and reach their full potential.

Maslow suggests students must be shown that they are valued and respected in the classroom and the teacher should create a supportive environment. Students with low self-esteem will not progress academically at an optimum rate until their self-esteem is strengthened.

An important thing to note is that the school can be a haven, a refuge, for some children, and they can begin the path to self-actualization. Just one, great, caring, challenging teacher in the child's school career can make all the difference in the world.

I hope YOU will try to be that ONE great, caring, challenging teacher, to provide your students with a safe haven for learning, for sharing ideas, for critical thinking, and for developing self-confidence, which comes from varied successes, not solely academic success.

------------------------------------
REFERENCES FOR FURTHER RESEARCH:
Maslow, A. H. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper and Row.

Maslow, A. H. (1968). Toward a Psychology of Being. New York: D. Van Nostrand Company.

Maslow, A. H. (1970a). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper & Row

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(Maslow Really Knew!) by Elaine Gallagher When you're in the classroom, with 30 + students, it's hard to realize that each one of them has different needs, different learning styles, and different ways to show what they've learned. Educators have a tendency to treat the 30+ students as a glob of humanity, a single entity, reacting in similar ways to similar stimuli.

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As a teacher we are seeing our students day in and day out. It's really important that we notice their behaviors, their 'norms', their styles of learning, etc. because these things can be important to note changes in. If we notice changes in a student that is usually very happy and outgoing that becomes reserved and sad we would have the opportunity to make sure that child is okay. Although the child's home life isn't necessarily our business, it is our business and our profession to help all children succeed. We can't help them succeed if we don't recognize their needs. I loved the video below because it shows how students think. Students need different things and sometimes we don't think to stop and ask what that something is. I loved the student that said "just ask me what my brain needs." We need to stop and ask our students what they need.   -Samantha Barnette

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Dear Teacher: Heartfelt Advice for Teachers from Students

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Kids with a formal diagnosis, such as autism, Asperger's, ADHD, learning disabilities, Sensory Processing Disorder, and Central Auditory Processing Disorder -- along those who just need to move while learning--often find it challenging to shine in a traditional classroom. The kids who collaborated to write and star in this "Dear Teacher" video represent such students.

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One of the most effective ways to reach a student is through their peers. Other students understand the the difficulties that come while learning and can teach it in a way that other students will understand. Their peers will help motivate them the keep working and become successful.

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https://i.pinimg.com/564x/55/7f/c4/557fc42f575700e500f547ee71546b3d.jpg

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It is important to recognize our students needs because we want them to feel confident in their abilities as learners and see them improve. There is nothing better than seeing that light bulb go on when a student starts to understand. I also think we need to think about what fair/ equity means for each student in the classroom and give them all the chance to learn and be on the same page.

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I have learned that paying attention and learning about the cultural things that make up a child is important.  If we understand about who a child is and where they came from, it helps us to realize that we are more alike than different.  It can develop common bonds that can relieve fears a child may have.

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Its so important to make sure that we know and recognize the needs of our students. Every student learns differently and has different strengths and weaknesses. As a teacher we need to make sure that the students are learning the best that they can. Even if that means we need to change our ways of teaching. http://www.kiotaschool.com/2014/10/how-to-recognize-your-childs-strengths-and-weaknesses/

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https://www.ktvb.com/video/syndication/heartthreads/teacher-dresses-up-to-cheer-up-students/65-2734039

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As a teacher we need to pay attention to the students learning. We need to make sure they understand what we are teaching. If they are having a hard time understanding, we need to help them to the best of our ability.

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Kids need us to pay attention to small details.  Things like recognizing a child who can't read or who comes to school hungry every single day.