The Key to Education is Collaboration
Sasha Borenstein, founder and Educational Director of The Kelter Center.
This month, we are thrilled to spotlight educational pioneer, Sasha Borenstein. Sasha was the founder and Educational Director of The Kelter Center, an educational therapy center that taught students with learning differences how to learn. Sasha’s career as an LA Educator spanned over 30 years—during that time she become a leading voice in LA’s educational landscape, creating her own spelling program and an array of courses on reading development. Though she is now an Oregonian, Sasha has now joined ArborBridge as a consultant and is an integral (and inspiring) part of our educational team.
This month, we check in with Sasha about her beginnings as a teacher and learn a few lessons that she encountered on her journey. What was our biggest take-away? Collaboration between families, teachers, and tutors is key to a child’s academic success.
M: What inspired you to become a teacher?
S: I started college at UCLA as a Psychology major and continued with that for three years. However, in my senior year, I decided on a whim to take a few Education and Special Education classes. As a part of the course, I had to be a student-teacher. My first assignment was with a teenage boy. I wasn’t able to face him or sit beside him as his teacher—I had to stand behind him the whole time. He couldn’t look at me because he was terrified of making mistakes. He was so terrified of making mistakes that he could even become violent. So I did just that—I stood behind him and taught him that way.
By the end of the year, I was able to sit next to him. This was a pivotal lesson in my life. I had to learn how to relate to a student, instead of having any preconceived notions about him or how he was supposed to learn.
Many of my first teaching jobs after that were quite challenging. For example, I took over for a teacher who quit mid-year on a group of middle-school boys. I stepped in, but I had no idea what I was doing. But every time I didn’t know what I was doing, I asked someone to help me. Every time, someone did help me and at the end of that year, every one of those boys had improved immensely.
M: If you could say anything to your past self as a first year teacher, what would you say?
S: You are going to make mistakes—learn from them quickly. And, have a little more humility, Sasha!
M: It sounds like collaboration was key to success in your early years of teaching. How did collaboration play a role in your career as you gained more experience?
S: One of the hardest things about working in education is that you can feel very, very isolated. It is often just you and your student or students. That is not good for educators, because teaching is one of the most challenging professions! When I started the Kelter Center, I wanted everyone to feel comfortable talking about mistakes and challenges. Everyone includes teachers, parents, and students! I wanted the center to be egalitarian. Even if one teacher had more experience than another teacher, I wanted there to be a sense of mutual respect so that everyone could problem solve together. I believe that no matter the level of experience, I can learn from students, parents, and other teachers as much as they learn from me. When everyone believes and acts on that premise—students, teachers, and parents—a true culture for learning is cultivated.
M: How can families and educators work together to ensure that everyone is contributing to a culture of learning?
S: This question really hits on the importance of environments that will allow students to learn the most. Between educators and families, it has to be more than just a strong and happy relationship. It needs to be a relationship that honors transparency and consistency. The more that everyone is on the same page with the child, the better the results will be. Parents are the most important people in a child’s life. Even if the child has a tutor or teacher, the parents still spend the majority of time with that child and the most gains will be made in that relationship. Parents are the nurturers—no one else has that power. Communication between tutors and parents here is absolutely vital. A student’s additional support cannot just be in the one or two hours that the tutor is there. It is best if the parents can also be involved in the learning process.
M: To start the school year off strong, what are some activities that parents can start doing today?
S: That’s easy! Here are a few suggestions:
- Play games! There are so many ways to make reading and critical thinking fun. In fact, there is a great store on the Santa Monica Promenade called Marbles that has a ton of great games.
- Read, read, read. The research is out there—reading to your child is the number one indicator of reading success later on. I believe that you can read to your child starting in utero and keep going all the way up to when they leave the house! When they are older, try reading scripts or screen plays to get the whole family involved.
- Talk to everyone—students, teachers, and tutors. The first step to getting involved is being in the know. Read those lesson notes, ask your tutor what else you can do. I can assure you that they will be happy to respond!
As always, it was a pleasure to check-in with Sasha for a few tips on starting the school year strong. If you have any lingering questions for Sasha, please do let us know and we will highlight her insights in this blog series. Are you a teacher or educational professional that wants to continue the conversation with Sasha? Let us know. Sasha is an inspiring mentor and guide and is looking to expand her mentoring to even more teachers. Contact us at [email protected] if you are interested!
