Marva Collin's Impact
A teacher’s struggle in our last article inspired me to write about Marva Collins.
Collins, who worked in inner-city Chicago, subbing for many years, noticed things weren’t changing. So, she founded her school and made an impact.
Marva Collin’s Impact
With some of the highest testing scores in the nation, Marva Collins and her teaching methods were highly regarded. Having attended a Marva Collins workshop myself, I was inspired.
Collins was a black woman of vision.
On a mission to change how we looked at students, what impacted me the most was how Collins put everything back on the educator. She believed that if the students weren’t learning, it was because of the teacher. As difficult as it was hearing it, I recognized the essence of her words.
Collins believed teachers should do everything in their power to ensure students learn and set high expectations. So, in honor of Women’s History Month, I want to share some of Collin’s words of wisdom.
Marva Collin’s Words of Wisdom
“There’s a brilliant child locked inside every student.”
“Teaching children to read was one thing. Keeping them interested in reading was something else.”
“An error means a child needs help, not a reprimand or ridicule for doing something wrong.”
“None of you has ever failed. School may have failed you. Goodbye to failure, children. Welcome to success.”
“Everything works when the teacher works. It’s as easy as that and as hard.”
“Praise is essential in developing the right attitude toward learning and school.”
“You can pay people to teach, but you can’t pay them to care.”
“When someone is taught the joy of learning, it becomes the life-long process that never stops, a process that creates a logical individual. That is the challenge and joy of teaching.”
“When our students fail, we, as teachers, too, have failed.”
“What all good teachers have in common, however, is that they set high standards for their students and do not settle for anything less.”
“Kids don’t fail. Teachers fail, and school systems fail. The people who teach children that they are failures, they are the problem.”
“Don’t try to fix the students. Fix ourselves first. The good teacher makes the poor student good and the good student superior. When our students fail, we as teachers, too, have failed.”
As we can see from her words of wisdom, Marva Collin’s legacy lives on through the lives she touched, including mine.
My experience and thoughts?
Teacher expectation is vital.
And so is praise.
Learning that is interesting, relevant, and engaging is made perfect.
So, too, is a teacher’s passion for teaching.
Sure, students can learn the content,
but they’ll soon forget them without these elements.
In addition, let us remember the following.
Anyone can grow…with the right conditions.
Something to think about:
Think of a teacher who has positively impacted you. How has your life changed?
Thanks for reading,
Elvira