Fulfilling the Promise ch 1-2

I really liked these two chapters because they went a little more in depth about what we spoke about in class last week. I think that chapter one can really be summarized by the quote, "teachers must take into account who they are teaching as well as what they are teaching" (pg 2). Though one thing that I couldn't really relate to was the metaphor with the story of the little prince. Maybe it is because I have never read the story or that I am getting hung up on the word "tame" as it refers to children, but I think there are better examples out there; however, I'm not doing a good job of validating my point because I am struggling with thinking of an original idea myself. There was one aspect of the metaphor however that I did like. It says on page 10 that "both parties are teachers and both are learners. Their roles mingle and reverse." I like that because often times we think of the teacher-student relationship as a dichotomy. Each role separate and defined, when really a good teacher is the one humble enough to be the student.

As I was reading chapter two, something that Dr. Peterson always says came to mind. She always says that students need validation. I think that word covers all of the what the student seeks. Whether it is validation on their contributions to the classroom, or validation of their purpose, or validation in their abilities, all students need validation. I often think about what I need as an adult student to feel good about my work and most of that comes from being validated in all those aspects mentioned on the "what the student seeks" cog. If these are things that I as an adult student need, then how much more a child with an instable home life or lack of confidence will need that validation!