The environment is completely different, the circumstances are less threatening, but the goal is the same -connect with and educate students.
Warren County native, teacher and author of several books LouAnne Johnson, who turned her experience teaching at-risk students in California in the early 90's into the book "My Posse Don't Do Homework," which in turn was made into the movie "Dangerous Minds," presented a unique professional development session in the Warren County School District.
"Because of them, I really believe in the power of the human heart more than I do many expert diagnoses because all of my students were labeled unteachable," Johnson said of her teaching experiences.
Now they are mothers and fathers, one is a software developer in Silicon Valley, another joined the Navy, became a journalist and now is a stock broker in New York City. Another is a session drummer, while another is a licensed dental technician.
"When my unteachable students decided to learn, they taught me how to teach them," she said.
"She really gave them a lot of just good strategies for connecting with kids," Director of Secondary Education Amanda Hetrick said.
A few of the insights Johnson shared include teaching high school students to understand the "power of choice" and "there are very few things we can't do if you're really willing to do the work that it takes to make it happen."
Students who entered her room were given amnesty because students carry their past experiences, failures and interactions with teachers when they enter a classroom.
"I tell them, I don't care what you did last year, last month, two seconds before you walked into the room. I will base my opinion of you on the way you conduct yourself in my class. The way you treat yourself, me and the other students," Johnson said.
"You don't know how hard my life is," some students will reply.
"No, I don't," Johnson said. "You choose the kind of person you are."
Recently, Johnson's work has lead her to integrate brain research and the connections between emotions and learning in the classroom, which she believes can greatly impact a students ability to learn.
"Reading is a skill, not a measure of intelligence," she said.
Further research into the conditions of the classroom that Johnson described as having a positive effect on students ability to learn include school lunches, the effect of light sensitivity on reading, the amount of sunlight in a classroom, double vision incorrectly diagnosed, and students who need more time to process information, all of which when implemented have shown to change the "whole dynamic of the classroom."
After the session Johnson said she hoped the WCSD teachers would take from her lecture that they should not to be discouraged if results are not immediately visible in the classroom.
Johnson hoped teachers in the WCSD would walk away with the idea that they should not be discouraged if results are not immediately visible in the classroom, she said after the lecture.
"It doesn't mean that nothing is happening inside the student's brain, it just means you don't see it," she said. "Especially now with all the focus on scores and testing and things, if you don't see immediate results I think people sometimes get discouraged. It's important to remember the big picture."
Johnson's website, www.louannejohnson.com, contains links to research and teaching related issues for teachers, parents and students.
