There are many attributes that go into being a successful teacher. In the Ted Talk video, “Every Kid Needs a Champion” Rita Pierson, an educator, and counselor discusses what she believes is the number one aspect of a great teacher. Pierson states in the video that having a relationship with each student is what reaches students the most. Without a true connection with a teacher, it is hard for students to learn and be successful in the classroom.
Pierson discusses how there are obvious reasons for failure in schools, she states, “We know why kids drop out . . . . poverty, low attendance, negative peer influences . . . . one of the things that we never discuss . . . is the value and importance of human connection.” Society discusses the obvious troubles students have, but never dig any deeper into the issues. Pierson wants to bring to the audience’s attention exactly what she believes in teachers should improve on to prosper into greater teachers for their students. Pierson uses logos, ethos, and pathos to support her argument for how important having a connection with students truly is.
The use of logos is used within Pierson’s speech to get the audience to understand the logical reasoning behind her argument. It is clear that children learn better with someone they get along with. She claims, “You know children don’t learn from people they don’t like.” (Pierson). Anyone who has gone through school can vouch for this statement. It is extremely hard to open up and learn from a teacher that clearly doesn’t care about having a bond with their students.
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When a student has a strong bond with a teacher, they want to succeed for both themselves and their teacher. Teachers are humans, just like everyone else. They have their bad days, but great teachers learn to hide those bad days from their students. Pierson uses the short statement, “teachers become great actors and actresses.” It is a teachers job to teach and help their students grow, not take their problems out on them. She strongly uses logos to show the audience the simple logic of the importance of focusing on the student as people rather than grades.
Pierson catches the respect and mind of the audience by showing her credibility at the beginning of her video by using ethos. Pierson states that she been a teacher for forty years. She goes on to discuss how her parents were educators, just as her grandparents were also. She has taught elementary school, special education, middle school, has experience being a principle, and also a counselor. Pierson has much experience with the education world. Stating all the experience she has makes her stand stronger. Someone who has this much experience with teaching will know what it is that makes a successful teacher.
Without stating all of her backgrounds in education, the audience would have not taken her theory and argument as seriously. Pierson also makes her claim more credible by using quotes from, Stephen Covey and George Washington Carver. These two men have much experience with studying human relationships. This shows Pierson has even more credible sources besides herself on the argument of how important human connection is. She is well rounded within the knowledge of her argument by displaying ethos within her speech.
To make a connection with her audience, Pierson uses pathos to keep the audience entertained while also educating them on the argument she is giving. She has a casual and humouristic tone throughout her speech which makes it more likable for the audience to listen to. Pierson tells stories of her teaching experiences that were amusing. She tells a story about a past student only getting two answers right on a quiz, but how she still praised him because he did not get all of them wrong. That student was shocked that she was still praising him even though he failed the quiz.
This gave that student motivation to learn what he got wrong, and do better next time. She speaks how important it is to never stop encouraging students no matter what. According to the article “Benefits of Praising your Students.” written from Imagine Learning, it indicates what research says about praise in the classroom. The author of this article, Rhett writes, “Studies show that praise can encourage students in many positive ways—like helping them pay more attention to detail and giving them more incentive to try harder.” (Rhett). It is proven that praise is what most students need. Besides bringing humor into her speech, Pierson also brings a stronger emotion into it by speaking of her late mothers funeral.
At her mothers funeral Pierson describes, “There were so many former students at her funeral; it brought tears to my eyes but because she left a legacy of relationships that could never disappear.” Pierson’s mother was a former educator who had left an impact on many students throughout her teaching career. By adding this story to her speech, it gives stronger support to her argument of being able to form that relationship with students is so meaningful. Even after her mother had passed away, her legacy still lived on. Adding pathos to her speech made it easier for her to persuade listeners to truly focus on how they could become better educators, and overall better humans by focusing on making those strong connections with students.
Pierson strengthens her argument by using the rhetorical devices, ethos, pathos, and logos. These devices helped her persuade the audience into focusing more on their relationships with students. A child who has a teacher they look up to and admire, are more willing to succeed inside the classroom. Having a close bond with students even gives them a confidence boost outside of the classroom too.
A teacher might be the only person a child can turn to in times of need. Pierson argues that having that special connection with each student gives them a reason to try harder in everything they do. If a student knows they have at least one person in their corner backing them up, they will work harder. Pierson actively tells her listeners the reasons behind her theory of relationships.
She believes that teachers are specifically born to make a difference, “We were born to make a difference because every child deserves a champion.” Her thoughts are teachers were put on this earth to provide stability for their students. Some teachers believe their only job is to teach a lesson, and creating a bond with students mean nothing. She argues against how wrong it is to just expect kids to learn from someone who does not truly care about them as an individual.
