Follow Their Lead: A Simple Way to Strengthen Student-Teacher Rapport

In this post, let’s talk about one of the most effective ways to reach and teach a child, especially a child with special needs: following his or her lead in the classroom or on the playground. You might already do this instinctively with your young learners, but I thought this little story really brought the concept to life. It’s a short case story from Making Preschool Inclusion Work, an early childhood inclusion guide from veteran special education experts Anne Marie Richardson Gibbs and M. Diane Klein. This anecdote is a beautiful example of how to engage a child by honoring his natural interests instead of starting your own activity and trying to draw him in.