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a). I believe the messages from these teachers are very powerful.  The recurring theme seems to be about how the students are our priority and our job is to foster their learning.  Curriculum and content are important surely, but we need to remember what our job really is.  I feel these teachers really understand this importance. I find it challenging sometimes when some teachers that I work with only want to focus on getting through as much curriculum as possible, but do not always look at the real needs of our students.

b). It is always inspiring to see teachers that get it.  This is especially true at the beginning of a school year as motivation and something to strive for.

c). I relate most with Cesar Bona as he truly focuses on the true needs of the child and not just their academic successes as grades.

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I'm a little exasperated by all of these videos that wax philosophical about how educators need to think outside the box in order to "be great" - I need practical, applicable evidence on how I'm supposed to do my job. I went on 15 interviews with 13 different schools before I was finally offered my current position as a school library media specialist – what did I do right? What was I doing wrong? I am completely lost and terrified of not meeting the expectations of this new position. While completing my first master’s degree I was infuriated by the number of classes I had to take that spent hours upon hours analyzing conjectural structures and critical theories on everything from race to capitalism to gender and only spoke about things like cataloging and library infrastructure in abstract, vague terms. The most useful classes I had were the ones that actually put me in a real, physical library working with patrons, students, and staff members. There was a lot about the process of interviewing and professional decorum that I knew nothing about, nor was I taught about – in the weeks after completing my MLIS in 2017 I went for career counseling, which helped me finally get a job in my field 3 months after graduating. In the world of hiring that isn’t very long – but my professors and advisors weren’t the ones who gave me the real-world advice that got me where I am today, and it’s maddening that there’s still so much I don’t know.

What are the best vendors for ordering library materials? Where can I go to get information about the most reliable K-12 databases? I can watch 100 hours’ worth of TED talks and still not have answers to these questions.

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"Student questions are the seeds of real learning." -Ramsey Musallam, TED April 2013. This is something that I have always believed as an educator, but have also put on the back burner in previous years. There is so much pressure as an educator to make sure you are teaching all of the standards and covering all of the curriculum. However, we often forget that we are also teaching to the students and their interests. If they are not interested in what we are teaching, they are less likely to learn and retain the information. More recently, especially during virtual/hybrid learning, I have tried my best to keep my students interests in mind to ensure they are staying engaged. It is hard to ensure that you are peaking the interest of 22 six year olds, but when you do, it makes a world of a difference.
Another thing that I have tried to do from the start of my career is not make it seem as if I know everything. I simply do not and probably never will, but I do not want my students to think I do either. Often when you are teaching young children, they look up to you and think you are so smart. However, they are probably a lot more curious about certain aspects of the world as a child, than I am as an adult. Sometimes, they come up with the craziest questions about whatever we are learning. There have been many times throughout my career where a child asks me a question where I simply have no idea of the answer. Now there are times where there is not enough time and I will respond saying, "I am not sure, but I can look it up for you and get back to you with an answer." However, there are other times where we have the extra time to look up the answer to their question on the spot and it can completely transform a lesson. Students often think that we have all of the answers already, but when we can learn about a topic together, it truly creates sparks and you have probably peaked the interest of many students in your class.

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Rita Pierson's comments about telling her students that they were "chosen" to be with her really resonated with me.  I have taught at least one class of basic skills students for the whole of my career, and they are all too aware of where they have been placed in tracking. They often comment about being at the "bottom" of the learning hierarchy.  Over the years, my district has tried time and again to change the name of the course to remove the stigma, but the feeling is still there.  Clearly, tracking is necessary to some degree, and I do not have some brilliant plan as to how to correct this structure.  The best I do as their teacher is try to change the ways they see their value and that the ways in which they view the world  - and learn -  are not wrong or lesser than their peers who are placed in higher level courses.

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"So we cannot forget to educate in empathy, sensibility, in emotions, in respect." - Cesar Bona, TEDXBarcelona 2015. This video was extremely inspiring. It speaks to developing not only academic skill sets but character in our learners. I related to all the teachers' messages, but Mr. Bona's in particular stuck a cord with me. I see a need to create spaces where learners can grow up in a world where differences are respected and opinions are not infringed upon. Today's climate has pitted human beings against each other in a global online space never seen before. As leaders in the continual emergence of educational technology, I feel the responsibility to bring civility into our classrooms where debates are healthy and not destructive. Echoing what Mr. Bona stated about where this must start, schools are the training ground. Our students spend just as much time with us as they do with their families, so we must be a positive example of decorum that our learners can model and imitate. I believe by developing empathetic learners, we can address complex social issues with programs that are solution based. Most problems that are solved start with two key factors - care and concern. So it starts with listening. I look forward to being a part of leadership that inspires and motivates effective change.

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I absolutely love Ms. Pierson. I have seen that full video in the past and I think she is brilliant. You just know from listening to her talk that she creates a safe and welcoming environment for every single on of her students. As a teacher, that is definitely something I hope to do. If the students don't trust you, they won't learn.

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a. My thoughts about the message in the video we’re that to be successful in a classroom is not only through high academic scores, but the type of learners we produce by giving them more than just information. By encouraging students in different ways, such as confidence, a positive self- esteem, health/nutrition, and just being a better person overall.

b. The teacher I relate to the most is Rita Pierson. I think that Rita is establishing confidence and setting the tone of the classroom. I think that she is in a way, doing reviser psychology. By establishing how both students and Rita herself are the best students and teachers, the leaves no room of doubt for her scholars. I also personally relate to this on a educator’s perspective, as I did something similar to my college freshmen course. During the semester, I would always reassure my learners of how they projects was comparable to graduate students work (in most cases it truly did!). As from a student’s perspective, I had plenty of teachers on different education levels brag about how hard it would be to pass their class. Leaving the classroom under a lot of pressure from the beg.

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I really enjoyed watching the 6 Brilliant Teacher video. Ramsey Musallan's statement, "student questions are the seed of real learning" is very inspirational and eye opening to me. When I was little, I was scared of asking questions. I felt that it wasn't okay to not understand material after it was taught. I work in a Special Ed classroom, and have seen first hand that the questions my students ask reveal what they know and what they don't. Their questions have opened the opportunity to guide them in learning new social skills to taking a step back to practice more basic math skills that they missed a long the way. I also appreciated Musallan's humility and admitting that he had been coasting in teaching for ten years. I would really like to know what life threatening situation led to this awakening and how it did. With all of the pressures set on teachers, I understand why coasting or pseudo teaching occurs, but it excites me to hear that it does not have to be that way. I would like to push into that more.

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Last year at our pre-school faculty meeting our principal played the entire recording of Rita Pierson and I found it very inspirational.  It is just amazing the impact one has when you change your mindset and use  a more positive approach or change how you say things to students.  At the beginning of the year I alway do an activity that shows students that when you change your thinking you can change your outcome.  At first they are skeptical, but as the year progresses and I continuously have them change their words to change their mindset I start to see a difference in their group work, class work, and overall engagement in the classroom.
Even though I truly enjoy her talk, the one teacher that I can relate to is Stephen Ritz, because of the program that he is a part of. When I first started teaching I taught in a Title I School in the middle of West Palm Beach. When most people think of West Palm Beach they think of riches and wealth, but the inner city is just as tough and faces extreme poverty just as any other city. These kids had little life experiences due to their families socioeconomic status. In my third year we teamed up with an inner city garden youth program and began a school garden where the students were responsible to plant,grow, and maintain it. It was really something to see these kids step up and take pride in something that they did. They began to develop more teamwork skills, show nurturing skills, and develop a sense of pride in their work. This also carried over into the classroom which made it even more of a valuable program. Engaging students outside of the classroom and showing them that they can be successful in something, usually will build their confidence and spill over into their school work.

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Rita! That is inspiring. Sometimes all we need is someone to believe in us, someone to tell us that we are special. She lifted her students by telling them that they were chosen because of who they were and what they were capable of. That is a world-class teacher and leader that we can all look up to. I want to be in her class.

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For me, inspiration would come from watching the full version of those clips.  The shorter versions left me more with a curiosity to seek them out.  I have seen Rita Pierson’s full video and know that she is inspirational.  The next speaker that I can relate to and would like to hear more from is Cesar Bona, as his talk included key words like empathy and respect, and I would like to know more about his vision for creating a “truly better society,” and whether or not it factors in home life / family.

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I truly believe that many educators get overwhelmed by curriculum and forget about the necessity of teaching the students the most valuable lessons. Beyond the outlined course necessities, teachers are also responsible for helping students to develop emotional awareness. I really liked César Bona’s message of including “empathy, sensibility, emotion, [and] respect”. I work with students with disabilities and these are core emotions that we try and educate them with. Having empathy creates a social awareness for a kid to thrive within. Throughout each of the different subjects, there is a place for each of these values. From respecting each other to respecting the space given to practice education in, the environment for our students has to be encompassing of basic morals.

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I thought the video was inspiring to view teachers from around the world speaking about teaching and learning. I love Rita Pearson and her talk about “Every kid needs a champion”. I watch her video at least once a year for inspiration. I can relate to Christopher Emdin and his talk on “Teach teachers how to create magic”. We all have our own style of teaching and “magic” we bring to the classroom to inspire our students. I believe a little bit of that “magic” comes from our own personality which helps to engage our students. We can learn how to be engaging by watching and learning from each other.

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Like many people, I find Rita Pierson to be an inspiration. She is genuine, straightforward and has a confidence about her that instills confidence in other people, too. As a teacher, you have to lead by example!
The clip featuring Stephen Ritz also resonated with me as he seems to stress the importance of incorporating nature and healthy habits into student's lives. I very much agree with his statement "teaching kids how to count is cool but teaching them WHAT counts is so much more critical" --- well said!
All of the speakers in the video are unique and memorable and deliver messages that I think we all need to be reminded of every now and again.

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Rita Pierson was quite right in the idea that every student needs a champion. Often I relate even here at NJCU where some our students lack confidence in themselves and their own abilities, when showing them that they can succeed if they aren't afraid of being wrong a times. We learn from our mistakes, that is how we grow. Its important as instructors to how them that growth is a path everyone mus undertake.

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My classroom environment reflects the passion of Rita Pierson and the direction of student learning from. Ramsey Musallan. I believe that "student questions are the seeds of real learning"along with showing passion and respect as a human being and teacher.