I recently came across two items that profoundly, profoundly “hit me”. Meaning, they spoke to me as an educator about our true calling, our true place in the world. I’ll leave it for these authors to tell more.
The first is a wonderful essay, “To New Teachers: The graduation speech you won’t hear but should”
1. The right to be loved without having to earn it
2. The right to be protected, without having to deserve it
3. The right to feel valuable, even if you came into the world with nothing
4. The right to be listened to without having to be interesting
5. The right to be read a bedtime story, without having to compete with the evening news
6. The right to an education without having to dodge bullets at schools
7. The right to be thought of as adorable – (even if you have a face that only a mother could love).
If you consider the ideas of these authors important – you will get sustenance from the writings of Nel Noddings.
You also might like my post on Teaching and Happiness or A Classroom Hierarchy of Needs
