0:00:01.149,0:00:04.848
I have spent my entire life

0:00:04.872,0:00:09.173
either at the schoolhouse,[br]on the way to the schoolhouse,

0:00:09.197,0:00:11.796
or talking about what happens[br]in the schoolhouse.

0:00:11.820,0:00:12.919
(Laughter)

0:00:12.943,0:00:15.231
Both my parents were educators,

0:00:15.255,0:00:18.481
my maternal grandparents were educators,

0:00:18.505,0:00:21.600
and for the past 40 years,[br]I've done the same thing.

0:00:22.346,0:00:24.688
And so, needless to say, over those years

0:00:24.712,0:00:28.204
I've had a chance[br]to look at education reform

0:00:28.228,0:00:30.035
from a lot of perspectives.

0:00:30.059,0:00:31.989
Some of those reforms have been good.

0:00:32.012,0:00:34.258
Some of them have been not so good.

0:00:34.282,0:00:36.455
And we know why kids drop out.

0:00:36.479,0:00:37.934
We know why kids don't learn.

0:00:37.958,0:00:40.851
It's either poverty, low attendance,

0:00:40.875,0:00:43.227
negative peer influences...

0:00:43.251,0:00:44.864
We know why.

0:00:44.888,0:00:47.211
But one of the things[br]that we never discuss

0:00:47.235,0:00:49.523
or we rarely discuss

0:00:49.547,0:00:53.815
is the value and importance[br]of human connection.

0:00:53.839,0:00:55.042
Relationships.

0:00:56.076,0:00:59.650
James Comer says[br]that no significant learning

0:00:59.674,0:01:02.123
can occur without[br]a significant relationship.

0:01:02.873,0:01:05.223
George Washington Carver says all learning

0:01:05.247,0:01:09.330
is understanding relationships.

0:01:09.354,0:01:13.874
Everyone in this room has been affected[br]by a teacher or an adult.

0:01:14.946,0:01:19.492
For years, I have watched people teach.

0:01:19.516,0:01:22.874
I have looked at the best[br]and I've looked at some of the worst.

0:01:22.898,0:01:24.696
A colleague said to me one time,

0:01:24.720,0:01:27.219
"They don't pay me to like the kids.

0:01:27.243,0:01:28.808
They pay me to teach a lesson.

0:01:28.832,0:01:30.061
The kids should learn it.

0:01:30.085,0:01:31.991
I should teach it, they should learn it,

0:01:32.015,0:01:33.109
Case closed."

0:01:33.929,0:01:36.179
Well, I said to her,

0:01:36.203,0:01:39.283
"You know, kids don't learn[br]from people they don't like."

0:01:39.307,0:01:41.602
(Laughter)

0:01:41.626,0:01:47.196
(Applause)

0:01:47.220,0:01:50.601
She said, "That's just a bunch of hooey."

0:01:50.625,0:01:51.648
And I said to her,

0:01:51.672,0:01:56.062
"Well, your year is going to be[br]long and arduous, dear."

0:01:56.086,0:01:57.553
Needless to say, it was.

0:01:57.577,0:02:01.339
Some people think that you can either[br]have it in you to build a relationship,

0:02:01.363,0:02:02.600
or you don't.

0:02:03.084,0:02:05.150
I think Stephen Covey had the right idea.

0:02:05.174,0:02:08.692
He said you ought to just[br]throw in a few simple things,

0:02:08.716,0:02:10.997
like seeking first to understand,

0:02:11.021,0:02:12.939
as opposed to being understood.

0:02:13.479,0:02:16.342
Simple things, like apologizing.

0:02:16.366,0:02:17.700
You ever thought about that?

0:02:17.724,0:02:19.880
Tell a kid you're sorry, they're in shock.

0:02:19.904,0:02:21.068
(Laughter)

0:02:21.092,0:02:23.497
I taught a lesson once on ratios.

0:02:23.521,0:02:26.522
I'm not real good with math,[br]but I was working on it.

0:02:26.546,0:02:27.688
(Laughter)

0:02:27.712,0:02:30.494
And I got back and looked[br]at that teacher edition.

0:02:30.518,0:02:32.322
I'd taught the whole lesson wrong.

0:02:32.346,0:02:33.650
(Laughter)

0:02:33.674,0:02:35.968
So I came back to class[br]the next day and I said,

0:02:35.992,0:02:38.200
"Look, guys, I need to apologize.

0:02:38.224,0:02:41.570
I taught the whole lesson wrong.[br]I'm so sorry."

0:02:42.070,0:02:43.899
They said, "That's okay, Ms. Pierson.

0:02:43.923,0:02:45.919
You were so excited, we just let you go."

0:02:50.950,0:02:55.394
I have had classes that were so low,

0:02:55.418,0:02:58.156
so academically deficient, that I cried.

0:02:58.831,0:03:01.783
I wondered, "How am I[br]going to take this group,

0:03:01.807,0:03:03.854
in nine months,

0:03:03.878,0:03:05.989
from where they are[br]to where they need to be?

0:03:06.529,0:03:09.108
And it was difficult, it was awfully hard.

0:03:10.202,0:03:12.679
How do I raise the self-esteem of a child

0:03:12.703,0:03:15.044
and his academic achievement[br]at the same time?

0:03:15.726,0:03:17.768
One year I came up with a bright idea.

0:03:17.792,0:03:19.613
I told all my students,

0:03:19.637,0:03:23.254
"You were chosen to be in my class

0:03:23.278,0:03:24.802
because I am the best teacher

0:03:24.826,0:03:26.348
and you are the best students,

0:03:26.372,0:03:27.793
they put us all together

0:03:27.817,0:03:30.266
so we could show[br]everybody else how to do it."

0:03:31.382,0:03:33.267
One of the students said, "Really?"

0:03:33.291,0:03:35.551
(Laughter)

0:03:35.575,0:03:38.574
I said, "Really. We have[br]to show the other classes

0:03:38.598,0:03:41.034
how to do it, so when[br]we walk down the hall,

0:03:41.058,0:03:43.585
people will notice us,[br]so you can't make noise.

0:03:43.609,0:03:45.219
You just have to strut."

0:03:45.243,0:03:46.436
(Laughter)

0:03:46.460,0:03:48.112
And I gave them a saying to say:

0:03:48.136,0:03:49.404
"I am somebody.

0:03:49.428,0:03:50.769
I was somebody when I came.

0:03:50.793,0:03:52.693
I'll be a better somebody when I leave.

0:03:52.717,0:03:54.686
I am powerful, and I am strong.

0:03:54.710,0:03:57.376
I deserve the education that I get here.

0:03:57.400,0:03:59.768
I have things to do, people to impress,

0:03:59.792,0:04:01.540
and places to go."

0:04:01.564,0:04:02.784
And they said, "Yeah!"

0:04:02.808,0:04:04.312
(Laughter)

0:04:04.336,0:04:05.732
You say it long enough,

0:04:05.756,0:04:08.544
it starts to be a part of you.

0:04:09.189,0:04:15.986
(Applause)

0:04:16.010,0:04:19.367
I gave a quiz, 20 questions.

0:04:19.786,0:04:21.462
A student missed 18.

0:04:22.625,0:04:25.927
I put a "+2" on his paper[br]and a big smiley face.

0:04:25.951,0:04:27.504
(Laughter)

0:04:27.528,0:04:30.647
He said, "Ms. Pierson, is this an F?"

0:04:31.276,0:04:32.608
I said, "Yes."

0:04:32.632,0:04:33.878
(Laughter)

0:04:33.902,0:04:37.057
He said, "Then why'd you[br]put a smiley face?"

0:04:37.081,0:04:39.305
I said, "Because you're on a roll.

0:04:39.329,0:04:42.190
You got two right.[br]You didn't miss them all."

0:04:42.214,0:04:43.377
(Laughter)

0:04:43.401,0:04:46.796
I said, "And when we review this,[br]won't you do better?"

0:04:46.820,0:04:49.325
He said, "Yes, ma'am, I can do better."

0:04:49.349,0:04:52.957
You see, "-18" sucks[br]all the life out of you.

0:04:52.981,0:04:55.039
"+2" said, "I ain't all bad."

0:05:00.999,0:05:07.038
For years, I watched my mother[br]take the time at recess to review,

0:05:07.062,0:05:09.870
go on home visits in the afternoon,

0:05:09.894,0:05:12.629
buy combs and brushes[br]and peanut butter and crackers

0:05:12.653,0:05:15.363
to put in her desk drawer[br]for kids that needed to eat,

0:05:15.387,0:05:18.626
and a washcloth and some soap[br]for the kids who didn't smell so good.

0:05:18.650,0:05:20.912
See, it's hard to teach kids who stink.

0:05:20.936,0:05:22.299
(Laughter)

0:05:22.323,0:05:24.192
And kids can be cruel.

0:05:24.827,0:05:27.379
And so she kept those things in her desk,

0:05:27.403,0:05:30.904
and years later, after she retired,

0:05:30.928,0:05:33.521
I watched some of those[br]same kids come through

0:05:33.545,0:05:35.505
and say to her, "You know, Ms. Walker,

0:05:35.529,0:05:37.330
you made a difference in my life.

0:05:38.044,0:05:39.256
You made it work for me.

0:05:39.280,0:05:41.294
You made me feel like I was somebody,

0:05:41.318,0:05:44.681
when I knew, at the bottom, I wasn't.

0:05:44.705,0:05:46.808
And I want you to just[br]see what I've become."

0:05:46.832,0:05:49.931
And when my mama died two years ago at 92,

0:05:49.955,0:05:53.135
there were so many former[br]students at her funeral,

0:05:53.159,0:05:55.849
it brought tears to my eyes,[br]not because she was gone,

0:05:55.873,0:05:59.256
but because she left[br]a legacy of relationships

0:05:59.280,0:06:00.968
that could never disappear.

0:06:01.788,0:06:05.511
Can we stand to have more relationships?

0:06:05.535,0:06:06.690
Absolutely.

0:06:06.714,0:06:09.824
Will you like all your children?[br]Of course not.

0:06:09.848,0:06:11.102
(Laughter)

0:06:11.126,0:06:15.024
And you know your toughest[br]kids are never absent.

0:06:15.048,0:06:17.017
(Laughter)

0:06:17.041,0:06:18.657
Never.

0:06:18.681,0:06:20.115
You won't like them all,

0:06:20.139,0:06:23.525
and the tough ones show up for a reason.

0:06:23.549,0:06:26.705
It's the connection.[br]It's the relationships.

0:06:32.230,0:06:35.997
So teachers become[br]great actors and great actresses,

0:06:36.021,0:06:38.260
and we come to work[br]when we don't feel like it,

0:06:38.284,0:06:41.310
and we're listening to policy[br]that doesn't make sense,

0:06:41.334,0:06:43.647
and we teach anyway.

0:06:44.515,0:06:48.555
We teach anyway,[br]because that's what we do.

0:06:48.579,0:06:51.221
Teaching and learning should bring joy.

0:06:51.818,0:06:54.255
How powerful would our world be

0:06:54.279,0:06:58.005
if we had kids who were[br]not afraid to take risks,

0:06:58.029,0:06:59.410
who were not afraid to think,

0:06:59.434,0:07:00.766
and who had a champion?

0:07:00.790,0:07:03.231
Every child deserves a champion,

0:07:03.255,0:07:05.441
an adult who will never give up on them,

0:07:05.465,0:07:08.433
who understands the power of connection,

0:07:08.457,0:07:12.069
and insists that they become[br]the best that they can possibly be.

0:07:12.370,0:07:14.594
Is this job tough? You betcha.

0:07:14.618,0:07:16.837
Oh God, you betcha.

0:07:16.861,0:07:20.071
But it is not impossible.

0:07:20.095,0:07:21.828
We can do this. We're educators.

0:07:21.852,0:07:24.112
We're born to make a difference.

0:07:24.136,0:07:25.503
Thank you so much.

0:07:25.527,0:07:30.820
(Applause)