What Every Educator Must Know

As an educator each teacher must attend to fundamental foundations of learning environments, the competencies of designing and maintaining coherent models of service and supports, and understand strategies of causing formal tools (e.g.IEP) to be in service to the first two (fundamentals & coherent models).

This brief statement is focused on attending to fundamental foundations of learning environments. What every educator must know is that there is an umbrella theory which holds two foundational strategies. The Main Concerns theory asserts that qualkity learning environments start when whole attention is turned to the Supreme Excellance* of the student as a base for the design, creation and implementation of Democratic Processes and Symbiotic Relationships. The Main Concerns theory must be understood and implamented prior competently actualizing coherent models and engaging formal structures and regulations.

The Theory of Supreme Excellence. The cause of supportive and nurture based education is understanding the student’s spirit and essence. This act of understanding leads to a reliable guide of the students divinity (interests) and will reveal the required functional skills which will be embraced by the student.

Based on Herzberg’s theory, students are not motivated by higher grades, special privileges, or grade level advancement. Students are motivated by expectations of success at challenging assignments. A teacher reports that the students primary concern is to feel that they have control in the advancement of their own destiny. It is the teacher’s job to provide opportunities for students to achieve so they will become motivated. The theory of Supreme Excellence requires opportunity be based on the individual talents and divinity of the student. Herzberg asserts that 80% of satisfaction comes from achievement, the task itself, responsibility, advancement and growth. . When a teacher was talking about Larry she could see that his obsession was a solid factor in his learning. If he is interested he is able to find information and learn it according to the teacher.

Seymour Sarason (1993) points out that one truth of education is that we view children as in need of taming. The data reflected this, as some professionals would say that, especially during the transition years, the children must learn what the real world is and how to deal with it. “Where students are” is ignored and “what students are” is something we should fear and therefore, tame or extinguish, according to Sarason. Sarason further asserts that the result is we have classrooms in which students are passive, uninterested, resigned, or going through the motions, or unruly, or all of the above. The Theory of Supreme Excellence is supported by Sarason’s work. Are teachers getting lost in the details of daily living? Viewing peoples actions, interests and behaviors as only relevant to the present. Better for the students and us is to see the three dimensions of behaviors actions and interests of past, present, and future. What people do, say and dream now are communications of desired futures based on past experiences and the truth of the soul (destiny).

A three part trilogy will soon be published as a guide for educators.

*Term indicates that which makes up a persons individual identity and path of destiny (Neuville, Thomas, 2000)