Allison Cameron and effective teaching

We expect teachers to handle teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, and the failings of the family.  Then we expect them to educate our children. 
~John Sculley

As I was searching for an awe inspiring quote to uplift your enthusiasm for teaching and carry your spirits high above the clouds I found this quote.  I think this quote sets the tone perfectly. To me this quote is honest and real. If you don't believe me just watch the video: Allison Cameron.

Allison Cameron was faced with a challenge. She needed to find a way to engage her group of children who were dealing with the realities of broken families, drug and alcohol abuse,and learning challenges.

What inspires me, and what I hope to implement into my own teaching practice is that Allison Cameron kept on working until she found what strategies worked for her and her kids. As a student I have seen and personally felt the sting of  failure because I could not conform to the teachers style.

Allison found a way to challenge her students in a different way. Through discovering the use of treadmills and exercise to spark the brain and help brain cells grow, Allison was able to have some of her ADHD and ODD children stop taking the medications because they were able to control their behaviour after trying her treadmill exercise every morning.

The most important massage from the video that I received was that you need to engage and challenge you body is different ways and in return you are fully engaging and challenging your brain. Everything in your body is connected. I once read if you study visually you comprehend ~20% of the material, if you study verbally you comprehend ~27% of the material, if you study kinesthetically you retain ~35% of the material. But if you study visually and verbally you will retain ~ 60% and when you being to study using all visual, verbal and kinesthetic skills you can retain ~ 80% of the knowledge.

I believe it is important to be fully engaged in the material and that is something that is a long term goal Allison is striving for, for her children.