I Wish My Teacher

Knew EVERYTHING FOR KIDS

HOW ONE QUESTION CAN CHANGE

By Kyle Schwartz
Summary
This is a must-read book for future and current educators. It opens your eyes to all the
underlying problems students might be dealing with that impact their ability to learn. It talks
about building trust, mobile students, students in poverty, different forms of families,
supporting students through grief and loss, trauma and abuse, developing character, self-
efficacy, and student engagement. With a bunch of teacher tools to implement into the
classroom at the end of each chapter. "It is a reminder that teaching isn't a matter of drill
and kill, that the teacher's job is to develop children's excitement about learning as well as their
character."

Relationships Matter
"The type of relationship we build with our students becomes the foundation for their performance in
the classroom" (Schwartz, p.201). Relationships allow us teachers to know who our students are, what
they need, and how we can best support them. What we put into our relationships with our students
comes back to us in the form of student engagement.

"There is no magic device that separates the trouble and joys of

their home life as they walk through our doors" (Schwartz, p.1)
Teacher Tools
Welcome Kits For Mobile Students - All the essentials ready for new students (homework folder,
writing notebook, nameplate for desk, copies of welcome back letters, important handouts)
Figure Out How Many Family Groups Your Students Have - Being able to send home
communication to all the family groups the student interacts with (mom, dad, grandma, etc.)
can help keep EVERYONE informed. Make copies of work for students to show to all their family
groups.
Make Promises We CAN Keep - Instead of saying "This won't ever happen again" say "There
are a lot of people who want to help you. I will always care about you."
High Five Goodbyes - At the end of the day, the students give the teacher a high-five along with
saying a positive note/affirmation. No matter how challenging the day was you end with
something positive and create an atmosphere of optimism and a growth mindset.
Greif and Loss Inventories - Provides the student's name, explanation of the grief incident,
important dates to be aware of (birthdays, anniversaries), known challenges, and behavior
before the grief incident. This ensures all teachers/staff who work with the student are aware
of what the student is coping with that way they can be supportive and empathetic. This also
takes away the need for the student to retell their story to each teacher/staff member.
Food Drawers and Coat Closets - Snacks for available ALL students to eliminate
embarrassment. Students can't learn when they are hungry. Coats for students who do not
have them to be able to go out during recess.
Family Learning Projects - All students have varying levels of resources and family support at
home. Instead of assigning the same project for all students to complete that is going to cost
parents money for supplies, make the project open for interpretation. For example, a map
project. One student might draw a map, another might make a poster, another student might
make a digital map, and another student might decorate a cake as a map. These projects are
completely open to interpretation by the student's creativity and access to resources and
should be optional and ungraded.