Rachel’s Challenge was in the DFW metroplex over this past weekend and I was able to participate in one of the sessions. Rachel’s Challenge came out of the death of Rachel Scott in the 1999 Columbine school shooting. This program is committed to preparing students and adults alike how to stop bullying, but it is also about creating a positive school climate. Certainly our libraries can be a major player in fostering a place where students looking out for others is the norm.
The session I attended was presented by Darrell Scott, Rachel’s father. He spoke of a new component coming to Rachel’s Challenge called Awaken the Learner: Finding the Source of Effective Education This module pinpoints the need for teachers to build relational trust with their students. He admits he is not an educator but wants a way to equip educators with the tools needed to bring the message of kindness and compassion to the classroom.
Scott does bring up an educational philosophy that is still used in some schools today, but I haven’t heard about it since my education classes of long ago. The 3H’s…that is the Head, Heart and Hands method… is used to support emotional intelligence as a way to improve academics. I’ll have to research that topic, but isn’t that the point? Grow and learn, learn and grow.
I also came away with two fantastic quotes:
“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.”
Albert Einstein
“I’m not a teacher, but an awakener.”
Robert Frost
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