ABSTRACT
Veteran educator Rita Pierson reminds us that children and youth respond best when they have a relationship with their teachers. In “Every Kid Needs a Champion” (2013, https://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_ champion), Pierson uses humor, joy, and story to refocus educators on the needs of kids. Her observation that teachers should seek understanding first-before we seek to be understood-is a reminder of the importance of listening in building relationships. Pierson delivers a powerful message for educators:
How powerful would our world be if we had kids who were not afraid to take risks and who were not afraid to think and who had a champion? Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.
