Counselor Corner A note from Gail Willits, Happy Hollow Counselor. Two years ago, Happy Hollow made a decision to become a Great Expectations of Arkansas (GEA) school. GEA is based on the following beliefs!

Every Child Can Learn and Wants to Learn and Deserves to Learn

Teacher Knowledge and Skills Are the Foundation of Progress in the Classroom

While there may be what we call “natural” teachers, first and foremost, all teachers must thoroughly learn what they are expected to teach. Teachers must also develop the skills necessary to manage the classroom so that it functions well. As your knowledge grows and you implement practices on a regular and consistent basis, you will find that teaching becomes more enjoyable both for you and your students. Knowledge, skills, and regular and consistent practices equal enjoyment. These are the ingredients for successful teaching and learning experiences.

Self Respect Is Basic to Learning

This belief applies to teachers as well as students. All people, but particularly young children, are crippled if they believe they are dumb, or ugly, or no good, or not worthwhile. When they feel that way, they feel threatened most of the time. They feel people are rejecting them and that something is wrong with them. It is difficult for children to learn when they feel threatened. That is why self-respect is basic to learning. Children need genuine appreciation that recognizes their personal worth. This makes them feel good about themselves. When students feel good, they get more involved with learning. Recognizing and openly acknowledging student abilities is essential if the student is to grow and succeed.

Teacher Attitude and Behavior Define the Classroom

Students take their cues from their teachers. If the teacher is sad, the children will be sad. If the teacher is angry, the children will feel fear. If the teacher rewards performance, the students will perform. If the teacher praises students, students will praise each other. If the teacher recognizes true effort, children will try harder, and so on. This is a fundamental truth.

Mutual Respect Is Essential for Growth

Actually, respect rarely goes just one way. Almost always, if teachers respect students, they receive respect in return. Respect is basically the recognition and acceptance of the qualities found in others. There is always something to respect in everyone, particularly in children, even though it can be difficult to find at times. Showing respect is not something superficial. Students can tell when you don’t mean it. But even more important, if students cannot respect themselves and their own abilities, and teachers don’t respect students’ feelings, efforts and achievements, nothing much can happen. You simply plow the same furrow over and over again. But with mutual respect, children and teachers blossom and grow toward what they are capable of achieving – all because someone believes they can and shows it

Participation Is Necessary for Appreciation and Recognition

This is a simple belief. It says the classroom should be a place where a child’s natural energy and curiosity is directed, not stifled. But so often, children are treated as passive objects to push and pull and form into a predetermined shape that is considered ideal. When every student participates in classroom activities, only then can their efforts be recognized and appreciated. You can’t appreciate something if you can’t see it or hear it. You can’t recognize good when good isn’t practiced.

Accomplishing your personal best is simply the only expectation that is worth pursuing for students and teachers alike. Good enough is not good enough. This belief ties into other beliefs about respect, and skills, and discipline. The more you achieve, the more respect you have for yourself and those around you. The more you think you can do, the higher you will reach. The satisfaction of knowing that you have reached the goals you set for yourself, whether you are student or teacher, is one of the greatest feelings you can have.

Positive Discipline Brings Recognized Achievement

There are two types of discipline – positive and negative. The word “discipline” often means “making someone behave”. This is negative discipline and this approach can kill true learning and growth. Negative discipline works because of fear.

Positive discipline is the discipline that reaches for new goals. It says that focused, consistent, disciplined work consists of setting goals and then achieving them. Sports champions and professional musicians are great examples of positive discipline. That’s why we admire them so much. But the bottom line here is that you cannot do anything that leads to recognition of your achievement if you work only from fear of punishment. Think positive things, do positive things, use positive discipline, and recognition will follow.