Missing from reform debate: The power of caring

10-20-2010

Guest blog by Dorothy Stoneman/Washington Post

So far, I find the public discussion about “Waiting for Superman” missing the fundamental question: What makes for a great school where students feel safe, cared about, and eager to learn? We are woefully off the mark when the conversation is all about superintendents and principals needing power to fire inept teachers and not about using their power to create a caring, learning community. The morning after seeing the movie, I asked students at Washington DC’s YouthBuild Charter School: “Somehow your regular public high schools didn’t work for you and you left. Why is this school working for you?” Their answers were profound: “I love to come to school now because the teachers here care about me. They see who I really am. They ask who I want to become. Then they teach me what I need to learn. (more…)

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Missing from reform debate: The power of caring

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