The Rights of Learners

The July/August 2013 issue of Exchange focuses on Rights — the rights of children, teachers, parents, and administrators.  In her contribution to this collection, "Respecting the Rights of the Learner", Lilian Katz offered these thoughts...

"Respectful teaching conveys, through the relationship between the teacher and the learner, confidence in the child’s potential ability to overcome difficulties and to persist in the face of some inevitable obstacles.  A respectful teacher is one who helps learners of every age who have persisted in the face of setbacks to accept their limitations gracefully and to be satisfied that they have done their very best. 

"A respectful teacher is also one who helps students, even the young ones, to evaluate their own accomplishments as they progress, not in terms of whether their work is good or bad, or right or wrong, but in terms of other criteria they can gradually develop the habit of using.  For example, you can ask in a serious and respectful way, 'Is the drawing as complete as you want it to be?' or 'Does the story you wrote (or told) include as much detail as you think it should or could?' (Is it complete? Clear? Strong?) Even preschoolers have been observed to respond to such appropriate queries thoughtfully and to indicate the beginning of a life-long disposition to evaluate their own efforts thoughtfully."

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