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Teacher Reads: OPENING MINDS

"Failure to attend to children's moral and social development will lead neither to happiness nor to economic security." - Peter H. Johnston


Opening Minds: Using Language to Change Lives, by Peter H. Johnston, asserts that words have significant power in the lives of students. The ideas and research presented in his book echo many of the same themes in my other readings this year, but Johnston's book adds depth and context. Throughout the book, he explains that teachers need to be deliberate in the words they use to engage and motivate students. In turn, students need deliberate opportunities to rehearse using the power of their own words.

He begins by explaining the impact of fixed- performance and dynamic-learning frames through Dweck and others' research. I was reminded of Dweck's "power of yet" TED Talk. To encourage dynamic-learning frames, Johnston encourages positive language over praise and process feedback rather than personal.

Johnston then turns to the role of conversation in the classroom. He offers realistic strategies for making meaningful conversations happen in the classroom.  Not just "turn and talks" but actual dialogue that allows students opportunities to talk, but more importantly offers them opportunities to listen and respond thoughtfully. In doing so, we are opening the door for students to diversity and acceptance. He also reinforces the importance of student-selected texts and silent reading that Donalyn Miller and Kelly Gallagher champion as an effective way for students to explore social problems (or as Gallagher calls them "imaginative rehearsals").

In reading this book, I realized that many of the opportunities I give students to discuss are likely superficial, which results in less than meaningful conversations between students. I hadn't really thought of the complexity of teaching students to think and solve problems together. I also realize that this takes practice and that we can't expect students to fall into meaningful dialogue immediate. It's difficult as a teacher to keep your mouth shut while letting the awkward silences and divergent ideas of your students lead the way. I think many of us were taught in a way where the teacher was the central figure and director of everything that was said and done in the classroom. However, I think it's an old paradigm that is beginning to fade away.

I loved that the focus of this book was on the need to help students become socially intelligent before we can make them academically intelligent. In the end, this conscious work of helping our students communicate effectively leads to students who are able to self-regulate, carefully listen to others, are more resilient, and are more likely to act for social justice. What teacher wouldn't want those outcomes for their students?
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