The 5 principles of highly effective teachers: Pierre Pirard at TEDxGhent

Summary

The speaker, a former CEO turned teacher, shares his insights on leadership and teaching. He emphasizes the importance of believing in one's team or students, setting ambitious goals, making those goals a priority, and planning strategically for success. Drawing from his own midlife crisis and transition from corporate to classroom, he highlights the transformative power of education and the role of teachers as leaders in guiding students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, towards achieving their potential.

Takeaways

• 😀 Leadership is crucial in both managing companies and teaching in a school, as it helps in guiding teams and students to achieve great results.
• 🎯 Successful leaders apply four basic principles: belief in their team's ability, setting goals and vision, prioritizing these goals, and careful planning to achieve objectives.
• 🌟 The speaker experienced a midlife crisis that led to a career change from CEO to a teacher in a challenging school environment.
• 🏫 The school in Molenbeek, Brussels, serves underprivileged children with low socioeconomic backgrounds, presenting unique teaching challenges.
• 🤔 The speaker questioned why some students achieved poorly in certain subjects but well in others, indicating the importance of teacher impact.
• 📚 Mrs. Anony, a successful teacher, emphasized the importance of believing in students' potential, setting ambitious goals, making these goals a priority, and planning purposefully for success.
• 🔑 A key to teaching is to invest in students' lives, as demonstrated by Mrs. Anony's proactive approach in engaging with students' families to support their learning.
• 📈 The speaker learned that teaching, like leadership, requires hard work, resilience, and a steadfast belief in students' capabilities despite setbacks.
• 🌱 The experience taught the speaker that teaching is not just about humor, authority, or content mastery, but also about restoring students' self-confidence and making school meaningful again.
• 💪 True leadership in teaching involves guiding students to success, ensuring they perform at their best and fulfill their potential.
• 🌍 Education is viewed as a powerful tool for change, with the speaker advocating for access to excellent education for all children, regardless of their background.

Q & A

What are the four basic principles of leadership mentioned in the script?

The four basic principles are: 1) Believe in your team's ability to achieve great results. 2) Set goals and develop a vision for the company. 3) Make the goal or vision the everyday priority of the employees. 4) Plan carefully and purposefully to achieve objectives.

What was the speaker's professional background before becoming a teacher?

The speaker had a background in managing companies for 25 years, focusing on making each quarter more profitable.

What prompted the speaker to change their career from a CEO to a teacher?

The speaker experienced a midlife crisis, which led to a desire to give more sense to their work and to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged children.

What challenges did the speaker face when they first started teaching?

The speaker faced challenges such as low student motivation, lack of basic knowledge among students, and the reality that teaching was not as easy as they initially thought.

How did the speaker's perception of teaching change after interacting with Mrs. Anony?

After learning from Mrs. Anony, the speaker realized that teaching, like leadership, requires believing in students, setting ambitious goals, investing in their lives, and planning carefully for their success.

What is the significance of the story about Sadya and the book by Barvel?

The story illustrates the principle of setting ambitious yet achievable goals for students and how it can motivate them to overcome their dislikes or difficulties, such as Sadya's aversion to reading.

What was the issue with Hannah's spelling deficiency and how was it addressed?

Hannah had a significant spelling deficiency. Mrs. Anony addressed it by setting a goal for Hannah to stay after school for additional practice and by personally convincing Hannah's parents of the importance of this extra help.

What was Mustafa's goal and how was it tailored to his interests?

Mustafa's goal was to be able to summarize a difficult article in 200 words every week. Mrs. Anony tailored the goal to Mustafa's interest in football by giving him articles related to the sport to help him concentrate and improve.

What is the secret to Mrs. Anony's success as a teacher according to the script?

Mrs. Anony's secret to success is a combination of believing in her students, setting ambitious and meaningful goals, investing in their lives, and planning carefully for their success, along with the understanding that hard work is required from both the teacher and the students.

How does the speaker describe the impact of education on changing the world?

The speaker quotes Nelson Mandela, stating that education is the most powerful weapon to change the world, and emphasizes the importance of ensuring access to excellent education for all children, regardless of their socioeconomic background.

What personal realization did the speaker have after their midlife crisis and change in career?

The speaker realized that leading as a teacher involves the same principles as leading in business, and that there is immense satisfaction in seeing students who were expected to fail succeed in life, such as opening their own businesses.