Perspectives
Your Hidden Power
Host Doug Stephan welcomes Author/Educator Nat Damon welcomes Author/Educator Damon. During his two-year London sabbatical, 25-year independent school educator researched and wrote a book about relational teaching titled, "Time to Teach: Time to Reach" - Expert Teachers Give Voice to the Power of Relational Teaching.
Time to Teach: Time to Reach is informed by over 100 interviews with K-12 school educators in the US and abroad.
A Teacher's Take: Why Relational Communities Matter
We rarely discuss the role of belief in schools. Yet belief is an essential part of the ecosystem. Students look to their teachers to be their mentors and motivators. They want to be validated for their effort, thoughts, and ideas.
They are hungry for people to believe in and for people who believe in them. Teachers, in turn, want to be believed in for the work they do to motivate, challenge, and explore.
In order to believe in someone or something, there must be trust, which takes time to cultivate and a nanosecond to break.
Press Release: May 3, 2018
New book focuses on what great teachers really do, and finds that great practice - and great learning - is driven by relationships
Cambridge, UK, 3 May, 2018 - The Relational Schools Foundation is delighted to announce the launch of Time to Teach: Time to Reach - Expert Teachers Give Voice to the Power of Relational Teaching by Nat Damon, a US-born educator living in London.
Drew Kugler's Tell Me What to Say Podcast
I can kind of see the zigzags that connects the kids, forming a type of web in the classroom. And that to me —is a web that's that's fused by ideas—is a healthy optimal classroom dynamic. And when you have that web achieved, it's not so much the teacher at the front of the classroom being on the stage, and the font of all knowledge; it is the permission that comes within the classroom for kids to be able to take risks, be able to share ideas of their own, and and gain the confidence that comes with their own peer feedback, as well as the feedback of the teacher in front of them.
After Parkland, Where Do We Go From Here?
Protecting students and teachers must be a priority
As we move forward, the hope is that we replace the often inauthentic “thoughts and prayers” with concrete solutions that not only debate policy issues but also address the role of the school, as it contributes to the livelihoods of our young people. Are schools viewed through a corporate, quantifiable lens that places their successes and failures on student test scores and robotic teaching of a top-down curriculum?
How To Have A Fun And Productive Parent-Teacher Conference
Nat Damon, author of the forthcoming book “Time to Teach: Time to Reach” says approaching a school administrator is not out of bounds if you walk away from the conference with deep-rooted concerns. “This is not to piggyback or leapfrog; rather, it’s to communicate the concern in hopes that the administrator will keep an eye out for the relationship between the teacher and your child. Also, know that conferences can always be followed up with another meeting later.