'Love is the point’ is the lens through which I approach teaching and learning. I became a teacher out of a result of having instructors who recognized me for who I was, who believed in me, and who didn't try to change me but nourish my passion for learning.
Recent research from Harvard Graduate School of Education highlights that when students are given the opportunity to express their ideas, long-term learning outcomes improve dramatically. Every child has a unique, authentic voice, even if they don’t yet recognize it through writing, filmmaking, songwriting, or engineering. Nurturing that voice is a skill that grows with guidance and practice. To add to that, Gretchen Brion-Meisels, an expert in adolescent development and lecturer at Harvard Graduate School of Education, says:
Most young people are inherently driven to create positive change and to be leaders. Unfortunately, we don’t always make it easy for young people to see their inherent motivation as something useful for, or related to, school.
Encouraging student voice isn’t just about letting kids speak; it’s about showing them their thoughts matter and that parents and educators truly value their perspective.
This week, as your child reflects and writes: supporting their creativity with encouragement is the most important lesson of all.