by Elaine Grant

Created on: September 06, 2008

School can be a frightening, insecure place for many children even those who are average or above average. A child with excellent verbal skills, may be struggling with math. Some students may be creative, writing beautiful stories while others may be excellent artists. There are those students who are close minded and others who are open ready to learn. Children are not little paper dolls cut from a universal pattern. Each child is a unique design. I taught elementary school for more than twenty years and I encountered more differences than similarities among my students. Consequently, it is necessary for teachers to be flexible, adaptable, nurturing, and most of all patient.

Teaching is a challenging creative career which requires a gentle understanding touch when shaping the young growing mind. The goal for a teacher is to teach and create children who are good learners. This is a difficult task and requires infinite skills. Part of these skill involve being a counsellor and psychologist with an understanding of children's psyche. Children do not learn well when they feel intimidated, and especially when they suffer from a poor self image. A nurturing teacher tries to make their students feel good about themselves and their abilities.

In a structured school system where everyone is expected to achieve at a high level on standardized tests,those students whose abilities are below average often become discouraged,give up, and sometimes act out. It is my contention, that many of these children will eventually succeed, but it may take them a longer time. Words of encouragement, help from concerned teachers and parents, and praise for other things they do well, will go a long way to help them continue toward success.

Every child has value and they should be nurtured. I can remember one incident in my career that showed this. Each child had a personal diary in which they were to write a story about a meaningful experience. I set aside part of each day for them to share one of these stories with the rest of the class. This part was purely voluntary. One day a little girl who was achieving at a low level, but was the most enthusiastic about writing stories and sharing them with other students raised her hand to read her entry aloud. She held her diary close to her face to read what she had written which went something like, "My Day at the Park with my Daddy." "Yesterday my Daddy took me to the park. He had two sandwiches for us to eat and two boxes of juice. We sat

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