My philosophy about education aligns with Madeline Hunter’s which is best reflected in her statement,”Kids don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care!”  In essence, you are not going to reach some kids academically until you first reach them on the “human to human” level. Sometimes the subject matter in our classrooms can’t compete with the “drama” in their lives. The main ingredient missing in a lot of our classrooms today is a “connection with kids.”  I believe that research is clear, when students know you value them as a human being, not just another student; they will work harder for you and challenge you less. In addition, teachers don’t need any more theory and new, trendy programs with catchy names.

I believe that teachers need to be given research based, proven, practical strategies and applications that they can start implementing immediately – without throwing anything out that is working in their classroom.  Without question,  educators have the toughest job in America as they are asked every day to wear many different hats – mom, dad, nurse, counselor, teacher, advisor, judge, jury, lawyer – just to name a few.

My many years as a classroom teacher helped me to understand that students come into classrooms and schools with different backgrounds and cultures; and with a wide range of cognitive abilities, assets and experiences.  Sometimes the only thing students have in common is their age! The “one size fits all” approach never did work and is certainly not working now.

Through years of experience, I know that one of the biggest unchallenged educational assumptions by many today (especially politicians) is that kids are coming to school willing and ready to learn. As educators, we know this is not the case. We have a generation of kids coming to our schools basically un-socialized. Many students are learning behavior from TV shows, video games, social media and a myriad of other influences which can interfere with the teaching/learning process.

I know there’s not much that we can be do from 4:00 PM until 8:00 AM but there is much that can be accomplished from 8:00 AM until 4:00 PM.  As such, I am dedicated to helping educators be successful through motivation, inspiration, humor and a common-sense approach to stress management. Most importantly, I  leave educators with as many proven, practical strategies as I can. After all, the teacher is the most important factor to student success in any classroom!