Students need to feel safe and invited, educator says

WARREN — “Don’t even think about teaching your students if you can’t help them feel safe or invited,” a nationally known educator advised Trumbull County teachers Thursday.

Cathy Hamilton, who holds a doctorate in education administration and has more than 30 years experience as teacher and consultant, spoke before a teacher conference at DiVieste’s Banquet Hall.

She said today’s instructors face a number of challenges under the No Child Left Behind Act, which sets higher standards for schools and teachers, and focuses on specific children it considers at risk.

“There are five groups of children that the law refers to as ‘subgroups’ and we have to reach them,” Hamilton said. She identified the groups as minorities, those who speak English as a second language, children with disabilities, the poor and the gifted or intellectually advanced.

“We’re not going to get through to these students unless we provide them with a sense of physical safety and a sense of welcome,” Hamilton said. “That means if we see someone being bullied, we need to step in and stop it.”

Read more in Friday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com