The Importance of Students Feeling “Known” 

“Feeling valued as a member of the school community means believing that people genuinely care about who you are as an individual,” says consultant Russell Quaglia in this interview with Lawrence Hardy in American School Board Journal. “The percentage is low because teachers do not show students that they care about them in ways that are perceptible to students… Of course teachers care – they just need to overtly transfer this understanding to students. They need to know students’ names, and their hopes and dreams, and they need to show connections between their lives and the curriculum. Teachers need to care if students are absent from school – and ask how they are doing when they return.” 

Quaglia goes on to say that fun, creativity, and excitement are totally compatible with the quest for high test scores. “The problem is that when schools become so concerned about raising test scores, they forget about the factors that motivate students to learn,” he says. And it’s also vital that teachers help students develop a concrete plan to fulfill their dreams. 

“Q&A with Russell Quaglia, Expert on Student Engagement” by Lawrence Hardy in American School Board Journal, September 2013 (Vol. 200, #8, p. 8-9), www.asbj.com 

From the Marshall Memo #498