Robin Cullum: Teacher

Today's conversation is with someone who is making a big difference in the lives of the young kids who call her their teacher, Robin Cullum. I first met Robin years ago, and through bits of fate, I've gotten to know her more and more. Robin teaches kids that are deemed to have special needs. They may receive this designation for a variety of reasons, but the main thing they have in common, is that teaching to the lesson, is probably not going to work for them. These kids need to be engaged in different ways, to stoke their interest, and pull them into the fold. And Robin has come with ways to be an effective educator to them, so effective, that she has won awards for her teaching. This is one of those episodes, where what we talk about, transcends a lot of the specifics, and gets more into larger changes and happenings in our society. The kids are our future, after all. And the strategies and techniques Robin has developed, may be the way to move forward, while building relationships between educator and student, based on mutual respect and understanding, and teaching to the strengths of a student, rather than just trying to make them all fit the same lesson plan.