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: The Buck Stops Here

Teachers Matter

By Stuart Buck, Esq.

From an interview with Judith Rich Harris: LEHRER: You emphasize the importance of teachers in shaping a child's development. How can we apply this new theory of child development to public policy?HARRIS: I?ve put together a lot of evidence showing that children learn at home how to behave at home (that?s where parents do have power!), and they learn outside the home how to behave outside the home. So if you want to improve the way children behave in school?for instance, by making them more diligent and less disruptive in the classroom?then improving their home environment is not the way to do it. What you need is a school-based intervention. That?s where teachers have power. A talented teacher can influence a whole group of kids. The teacher?s biggest challenge is to keep this group of kids from splitting up into two opposing factions: one pro-school and pro-learning, the other anti-school and anti-learning...continue to full post

Full post as published by The Buck Stops Here on July 09, 2009 (boomark / email).