Carol Ann Tomlinson
One to Grow On
Respecting Students
Becoming
clear about the
attributes we
In this issue, Educational Leadership debuts a new
column by educator and author Carol Ann Tomlinson. Tomlinson draws on four decades of K– 12
teaching—heading programs for both advanced
and struggling learners. In this monthly column,
“One to Grow On,” she will share with early-career
teachers her reflections, encouragement, war stories,
and suggestions for how to thrive on the teaching
journey.
about them, appreciating them, relating to
them, admiring their strengths, and caring
for them. Young people are dignified and
strengthened by adult respect. The absence of
such respect is corrosive.
aim to live out in
the classroom
makes it more
likely that we’ll
learn from what
we do.
Carol Ann Tomlinson is
William Clay Parrish
Jr. Professor and Chair
of Educational Leadership, Foundation,
and Policy at the Curry
School of Education,
University of Virginia
in Charlottesville;
cat3y@virginia.edu.
She is the author, with
Marcia B. Imbeau,
of Leading and Managing a Differentiated
Classroom (ASCD,
2010).
Acolleague recently reflected, “Meaningful teaching has to do not only with the skills you acquire, but also with the
person you seek to be.”
Like many profound
thoughts, this one is easy
to recall and repeat—and
profoundly challenging to
enact. In pondering how
to guide new teachers, I
thought of this colleague’s
words. The start of a
teaching career is one of
those rare times in life when
we have a chance to con-
sider who we really aspire
to be—and to begin anew.
Becoming clear about the
attributes we aim to live out in the classroom
doesn’t suggest that we won’t make errors. But it
makes it more likely that we’ll learn from what
we do, becoming stronger professionals and
people as a result.
Perhaps the most powerful attribute a teacher
can attain is respect for students. That’s a little
different from aspiring to be respected oneself. I
know many teachers who seek respect and don’t
quite get it. I can think of none who’ve worked
consistently to be respectful of students who did
not also gain students’ respect—and the respect
of parents and colleagues.
Respecting students means regarding them
with special attention, honoring them, showing
consideration toward them, being concerned
Cultivate Positive Beliefs
Respect for students is rooted in teachers’ beliefs
and exhibited through our words and actions.
One of the finest teachers I know told me about
a colleague who found time each week to stand
in the area where the elementary students got
off the school bus. She greeted each child with
a comment or question and
said to herself as each one
passed, “There goes another
kid who can change the
world.” No doubt she found
it important to turn her
attention toward the reason
she chose to teach.
Teachers who respect
students
n Understand the power
of beliefs in shaping their
practice. They rid them-
selves of any covert per-
suasion they may have that
kids who are like them in race, economic status,
language, beliefs, or motivation are somehow
better or smarter than those who are unlike
them.
n Believe their work can make previously
unimpressive students shine—and can raise the
ceilings of possibility for impressive students.
n Teach students how to grow academically
and personally.
n Enlist students’ partnership in creating a
classroom that dignifies each person within it.
Choose Your Words Carefully
A middle school student said to his teacher,
“When you hollered at me last week . . . ,”
at which point his surprised teacher interrupted
