Teaching for Hope
Teaching in ways that make students excited about material and hopeful for the future go hand-in-hand and are crucial for fostering student success in and beyond the classroom. Making subject matter relatable to students and what they are genuinely passionate about is a great way to generate interest in classroom activities and, in ELA especially, making assignments about their interests is a great way to create hope about them. Students should be given as many opportunities to write about authentic topics as possible. If a student loves cars or interior design, for example, let them run with that. Create assignments that assess them on their ability to write about something they are excited to learn, obtain, or experience. Create positive associations between writing and their dreams. This will encourage them to write better and more often, so that they can continue to develop and reconceptualize their desires in life. In the process of sharpening their focus on what they want to ...