Yesterday I had the opportunity to do a training, with our school social worker, for the paraprofessionals in our school district. We had a professional development day, so it was nice to be able to talk to some people I don’t always get to talk with and learn with them.
Our task was to motivate and talk with our paras about connecting and motivating students. We had a mixture of experienced teacher assistants and aides and ones who were just beginning. We provided plenty of opportunities for everyone to share their experiences and it was great to see everyone learning from each other.
We started the day off with this video:
And then gave them this quote to think about:
The very intention to teach is an act of love.
The next few slides are below:
We asked everyone to think about themselves, as communication starts with what we say and how we say it.
From there, we tried to pull everything together.
We asked the group these questions:
Really, the very intention to teach is an act of love, and if we go back to the slide with the student survey, kids think of their paraprofessional as their primary teacher. They have the possibility to be that student’s favorite teacher. The one they will think back of when they think of feeling loved and connected in school.
While this was for our paraprofessionals, I think we as educators need to realize the importance of having students feel connected, loved, valued, and heard. I know that how I want my students to feel.
