The student seeks

Last time I blogged about how curriculum and instruction are the vehicle or machine. I did not mention that there are three cogs of differentiation. the curriculum being only the first one of them. The one I want to write about today is what the student seeks. All three cogs work together to create a machine or a functioning classroom of differentiation. The parts of the cog that makes up "the student seeks" are : Affirmation, contribution, power, purpose, challenge. All of these things work together to create what a student wants from their school environment. I think that affirmation is one of the most important and valuable ones. students have a need to feel safe and wanted. This does not only go for kids either. imagine going into a classroom that you did not feel safe or like you mattered or were listened to or accepted in. It would be scary and miserable. I believe this is one of the first things that needs to be addressed in a classroom. the others will all fall into place when true differentiation is happening. I am not saying that affirmation is more important than the others but I do think that without it, the "vehicle or machine" would not function at all. It is just so important that there is trust and respect in the classroom.