You’re going to hear how Shannon learned so foundationally by an incredibly supportive and generous mentor teacher, how the positive perspectives of that mentor affected not only her future relationships with her own students but with their families as well, how her own classroom was largely influenced by Shannon’s own belief that if we create a learning environment in which students have the opportunity for freedom, they thrive, and how she very reluctantly had to leave her classroom five years later, as her overachieving tendencies led her to accepting far too many responsibilities that ultimately compromised her health.
I think you’re going to be mesmerised by Shannon’s ability to verbally project her experiences and how she was able to form such productive and positive learning environments over her years in a rural charter school, creating a learning environment that reflected her underlying philosophy that the physical and emotional safety of the students comes first, and only then can we expect them to learn. You can find more conversations about education of all levels at Doodles with Donna, and activities that match virtually all methodologies at scaffoldingmagic.com. Let’s now meet Shannon Warner, teacher extrordinnaire and advocate for celebrating the whole child in the classroom. Welcome Shannon!!!
Shannon can be found on Instagram at Having a Mom Moment: or on her new podcast: The Having a Mom Moment Podcast:
Take aways:
Once you have classroom management and a strong relationship with the parents, a lot of the rest of the education comes together naturally.
Three rules Shannon learned from her mentor teacher and those she used in her own classroom:
Be safe
Be respectful
Be responsible
Classroom discussions: What does it look like to be responsible, respectful, safe, …
I didn’t adhere to any specific methodology. My goal first was my students and making sure they were safe and felt safe and cared for, and then caring about the child first and building that foundation, because if any of that isn’t in place, there’s no learning that’s going to happen.
Shannon gives advice not only for teachers and parents but for the stance administrators can take when addressing concerns of the whole school.
The person whose thesis is on the socio-emotional consequences on teaching, is from Stephanie Bacon, in another interview in Doorways to Learning with Donna.
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You can find more conversations like this one at Doorways to Learning with Donna
If you like this episode, treat Donna to a coffee!!
Scaffoldingmagic.com is your entryway into DYNAMIC bilingual learning methodologies, such as Phenomenon-Based Learning, CLIL, EMI, and ESL. You’ll find ways to implement critical thinking tools (DOK) to promote higher level thinking, the growth mindset, instill an ethic of excellence, deep reflection on learning, and all through multi-cultural, interdisciplinary activities. We have the keys to turning competences into action and to creating collective efficacy in your school so you move ahead as a unified, enthusiastic team.
