Solidarity, courage and heart

Solidarity, courage and heart: what teacher educators can learn from a new generation of teachers. By Sonia Nieto


At first I really didn't like this article, I thought it was kinda boring but as I read more I really felt the author brought up some really good points and questions about how to improve both teacher education and classroom practices. I liked when she said " good teachers make the single greatest difference in promoting or deterring student achievement" I feel this is so true. If a teacher is boring and does not really respect their students why would the students want to learn more. But if the teacher is respectful and encourages the students to learn by providing them with fun hands on activities they are more likely to be willing to learn more.

I really liked some of the personal stories that she wrote in the paper. I always feel more inspired when I read something that happened in real life. I think hearing personal stories are more influentinal in learning to become a good teacher, because its not going to be a walk in the park, and problems will arise and its nice to see how others may go about dealing with situations. I also liked in the paper that she was not trying to say that this is the correct way to teach and that everyone should follow what she says...she was just giving ideas. I liked the checklist she posted at the end about what she thought were good things that schools should consider to make a more diverse environment and how it could better student learning with intergration.