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.