Must see, according to me: Rita Pierson

I can watch this video over and over again. There is a something about the stories she tells that signals a strong connection for me…and obviously to a few others – as of this morning, this video has had 4,010,353 views. And so, I call this a ‘Must See, According to Me‘** video for professional development!

Last week I published a blog post over at the LEARN blog called The Connection Between Learning & Passion. In it, I talk a little about why I connect so well with what Rita Pierson had to say and how she said it.

She was one of those people who loved everything to do with teaching and schools and she saw through all of the noise to the heart of what makes things work in education – connecting with our learners.

She once told another teacher that students can’t learn from people who don’t like them. Though she spoke specifically about elementary school, my experience tells me that this connection is true at all levels.

I never had the opportunity to meet her, yet I was saddened by the news of her death in the summer of 2013 – as if she had been one of my own teachers. I guess that is because she was.

**This is the first in a series of ‘Must See, According to Me’, so when you click on the link it will be the only thing there…for now 🙂