In recent years Rita Pierson has drawn on over four decades of educational experiences to conduct professional development workshops and seminars for thousands of educators. A former teacher (elementary, junior high, and special education), testing coordinator and assistant principal, Pierson believes that every kid needs a champion.
Watch her recent 8 minute long TED talk on the topic now.
So What?
In this talk, Pierson challenges her listeners to rethink their roles in the lives of children:
Teaching and learning should bring joy. How powerful would our world be if we had kids who were not afraid to take risks, who were not afraid to think, and who had a champion? Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best they can possibly be.
Every child deserves a champion is an idea worth embracing.
- What are you doing to personally act as a champion for at least one child?
- Does your congregation offer ways for interested persons to enter into relationships with children that could result in becoming champions? If so, what do these opportunities look like?
On TV
Watch Pierson’s talk and others tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern on PBS as a part of a one hour program that “brings together a diverse group of teachers and education advocates delivering short, high-impact talks on the theme of teaching and learning.”