'Ik vertel de kinderen dat ik zelf huilde bij wiskundehuiswerk, omdat ik het niet snapte.'

1 november 2015

‘Zo weinig vertrouwen hebben en dan geen leraren hebben die echt, oprecht in je geloven, dat kan echt iets doen met je schoolcarrière. Leerlingen moeten levenslessen krijgen om hen te helpen om te overleven in de wereld’. Lerares Sarah Rich was als kind geen gemakkelijke leerling. De leerstof beklijfde niet snel, ze werd vaak achter in de klas gezet, haalde niet altijd goede punten en kon nooit de juiste woorden vinden om te vertellen wat de reden daarvoor was. Precies daarom besloot ze later als volwassene om kansarme kinderen te helpen met levenslessen, door ze kansen te bieden en ze zelf na te laten denken over belangrijke vragen.

'Now I explain to my students that we all learn differently. When something is hard for them, I'm not necessarily having them master it right now. I tell them I used to cry during my math homework because I didn't understand how to do it. They're in second grade to learn, and I don't expect them to master the material the day that I introduce it. They have the whole year to build that foundation. It's about connecting with them and letting them understand that I'm the same way.'

'"If you don't have the teacher, student, and parent, then you're missing a huge piece of the puzzle. I go above and beyond to make the parents feel comfortable and make myself available to them. I text or email with most of them and don't hesitate to have the kids call. If they're doing something great in class, I'll say, 'Oh my gosh, your reading has improved so much. Let's call Mom and Dad right now.' It's great to have them hear their child saying, 'I just did this really well and Ms. Rich is proud of me.' That helps bring our community together in the classroom.'

Het inspirerende verhaal van Sarah Rich is, begeleid door prachtige foto’s, te lezen op de website van de Huffington Post.

De foto is van James Jones.