Powerful and Meaningful Quotes from Chapters 3 and 4

"To fashion a dynamic and positive classroom is to contribute in real ways to a more dynamic and positive world" (Tomlinson, 2003, p.26).

Today's children are growing up in a world filled with so many more influential factors than ever before. There are both negative and positive factors. As children grow, they become more and more conscious of the influence they will or want to have in the world. They want to succeed and they want to be a positive and affective impact in their own lives and in the lives of others. Where do they develop this desire to contribute to the world? The answer is, school. School is the initial and one of the most important components of a child's life that will help them to become successful contributors to society. Where does their desire grow within the school? The classroom. Teachers have a tremendous and significant responsibility to create a classroom where children can learn in a positive environment. Often we do not realize the impact that the classroom atmosphere and environment has on a child. As a child spends his/her time in a encouraging and empowering classroom, they will understand the value of a being positive in all aspects of life. As teachers create an inviting, intriguing, and inspiring classroom, they are contributing to a more inspiring and dynamic world because they are able to teach their students values that are not only important in school, but in the world and in life. Teachers and the classroom have the ability to impact the students in so many ways.


"To know you, I must find many ways to listen to you and to learn about you" (Tomlinson, 2003, p.29).


Wow, what a powerful and inspiring quote. I feel that often, too many teachers do not take the time to really listen to their students. Student are not all the same. Each and every child has a unique identity and teachers need to find and strengthen that identity in every child. This relates closely to the concept that each student has their own learning style. If the teacher only teaches to one learning style, then most if not all the students will not successfully learn what is being taught. Teachers seek to know their students in different ways. Many, for the sake of time, get to know them in only one way, often just at the whole class. Students need to be known individually, not as a whole. A teacher may not completely know or understand a child if all they focus on is one specific attribute of that child. We as teachers need to and must look at all the attributes that make each child who they are. We can do this by really truly listening to every student in our class. This may require us to find multiple ways of teaching them, talking with them, learning from them, etc. As we do this, we will come to know each child in our class as an individual who can contribute to the class in their own unique and special way.


"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" (Tomlinson, 2003, p.29).


Every child deserves dignity. When the time is taken to look at what attributes the teacher and each student bring to learning, a powerful change takes place in the classroom. The students need to be partners with the teacher in the complete learning process. If successful and purposeful learning is to take place in the classroom, respect for EVERYONE needs to be present at all times. The classroom needs to be the teacher's as well as the student's. When this occurs, the classroom becomes a magical place and begins to "mirror the world" that both the teacher and students want to be a part of. A teacher must understand that each student has great potential and has many attributes that help in building the classroom community and will help in building a better world. Dignity is accorded to each child as the teacher invites them to be her/his partner and provides opportunities for them to contribute to the classroom in positive and powerful ways.

Sylvia Allan - Morning Meeting Experiences

Let me beging my reflection by saying WOW! I loved every second of Sylvia Allan's presentation. She is very inspiring and powerful! My knowledge and excitement about morning meetings was minimal before I heard Sylvia Allan speak to our class. I have gained an enormous desire to definitely have morning meetings in my future classroom(s). One statement that she made all throughout her discussion which impressed me was: "Morning meeting - it's a beautiful thing". She is very correct, it is a beautiful thing in so many ways. Morning meetings are the KEY to creating a positive, safe, and welcoming environment in your classroom for EVERY student. As Mrs. Allan said, "it's the only time of the day when every single child in your classroom is successful". What a powerful statement. All of us as teachers want every student to succeed, and what better way to extend that invitation to our students, than in morning meeting. Morning meeting creates an atmosphere of UNITY and TOGETHERNESS in the classroom. Social barriers are broken down and students can feel comfortable interacting and sharing with those around them.
I feel that the concepts that Mrs. Allan shared about her experiences with morning meeting can be applied in all classrooms. I feel that I can take what I have learned from her presentation and incorporate the concepts into my own classroom and help create wonderful experiences for my students. There are so many things that impressed me as I was listening to Sylvia Allan. I love how she provides and invites the students to learn and recite the quote or saying of the day and more importantly, the poem they are working on memorizing. The story that she shared about Hunter, who struggled with reaading, touched my heart and strengthened my desire to have morning meetings in my classroom. As she stated, it was a miracle that happened in her classroom when Hunter memorized and recited the poem in front of his classmates. This story helped me to really understand how critical morning meetings can be in a child's (student's) life. Morning meetings aren't just a part of the classroom (school) routine, they become a special and very important part of every individual student's lives in your classroom.
After listening to and interacting with Sylvia Allan, I feel empowered and more inspired to create a positive, uplifting, safe, and fun classroom community in my classrooms in the future. Each part of the morning meeting experience are critical elements in creating and maintaining unity in the classroom. I will always remember the experiences and examples Mrs. Allan shared with us, and I will reflect as I teach, on what I learned from her about morning meetings. Thank you Dr. Anderson for inviting Sylvia Allan to speak to us and let us have a glimpse into her morning meeting experiences. She is an awe-inspiring educator. Please let her know how grateful we all are for the time that she took to come to our classroom and share so many wonderful insights with us.

Chapter 2 - "Emotions trump learning" - Reflection

When I first read this quote while reading, it caught me off guard because I haven't heard the word 'trump' used often. I paused in my reading and thought about the word for a minute and what it means. I also asked my husband what it means and he told me that it means to be higher or above something. After hearing his response I read the quote in the context of the paragraph again and was better able to understand it. "Emotions trump learning", means that emotions are placed higher or above learning.
I then comtemplated what it means to me as a teacher and what it means in education in general. As Tomlinson shares this quote, she also discusses the research results of a study done on the brain. The results indicate that "if a child feels unsafe, threatened, or insecure, the brain blocks off the pathways to learning and attendsto the more basic human needs instead". This is very powerful information for teachers because a student(s) will not learn if he/she does not feel safe, comfortable, and secure in the learning setting (most often the classroom). Students will come in to the classroom with all different kinds of emotions. When the teacher fails to recognize or attend to these emotions, the students' ability/desire to learn will shut off and the teaching will feel useless. On the other hand, when the teacher identifies the emotions and connects with the students, they will feel accepted and know that they can learn what is being taught, in a safe environment.
I feel that as a teacher, my number one responsibility is to create a learning environment where emotions can be expressed, where 'how the student(s) feels', comes before 'what the student(s) will be learning today'. I believe that morning meetings can be the perfect setting in which emotions can be expressed, risks can be taken, and students can gain feelings of acceptance, security, safety, and understanding. Teachers can create the connection of learning to the students' emotions.

Chapter One from Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom

Chapter 1

1b. On page 10 of this reading assignment, Tomlinson says, “… we teach responsively when we understand the need to teach the human beings before us as well as to teach the content with which we are charged. … [It] is important to begin with the conviction that we are no longer teaching if what we teach is more important than who we teach or how we teach.” What does this mean to you?

I feel that this statement is very powerful and critical because we as teachers have the responsibility to first and foremost to remember WHO we are teaching. If we get caught up and too focused in the what and how of teaching, we tend to forget or continually overlook the unique learning abilities/disabilities of our students. I also really liked the metaphor that the book provides of The Little Prince and Differentiation. The taming of the fox is compared to the taming of our students in our classrooms. Sometimes we may feel that we have too much on our plate, too much to do, to be able to take the time and effort to "tame" each individual student. But as Tomlinson states,"if we take the risk to tame each child who comes our way, the uniqueness of every individual emerges". As we teach to the needs of each student through differentiation practices in our classroom, we encourage the uniqueness and individuality to shine brightly in every student. Our focus on creating differentiation in our classrooms will always help us remember WHO we are teaching and will guide us in what and how we teach. I, as a future teacher, want to help all of my students feel "tame" in my classroom. I want to create a learning environment where I will always focus on WHO I am teaching and continually differentiate my teaching to enhance their uniqueness and what they bring to their learning experiences.

Think about this field of wildflowers as a metaphor for a classroom of children. How does your perspective of the picture change as you look for the uniqueness?

As you look for the uniqueness of each student, you begin to see what each student brings to the classroom, each student's contribution to the picture as a whole or the classroom as a whole. Some students may be those who are just "bearing buds", while others may be those who are just yet seeds and need to be planted and nourished for their uniqueness to grow and flourish. Others may have fully bloomed in their own unique way. Each contribute to a beautiful classroom. As you first look at your class, you may not recognize or see the individualism that exists, but as your perspective changes and grows, the picture begins to change and each student's uniqueness begins to shine like a beam of light.