Help Students Find Their Voice and Power

                                                                Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash

Osamu Dazai who wrote fiction in the 1930s and 1940s, felt completely alienated and disconnected.

He wrote, "I lived so carefully, thinking someone was watching. But the stage was empty, the audience never came." 

No one--neither children nor adults- want to feel this way. 

The teacher's job is to invite students to learn. Students come to class with different interests, abilities, preconceived notions, and challenges.  

The one thing they have in common is that they want to belong. They want to be affirmed and validated. They want their perspective to be valued.

 They want to believe that what they learn is useful and has purpose. 

They want to believe they can create change.

The teacher can do this by helping students find their voice and their power.