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FEARLESS LEARNING
by Harriett Ball
Harriett J. Ball is a nationally renowned keynote speaker and
repeat presenter for public and charter schools, college and
university campuses, and national/state/district conferences.
She retired early from teaching in Houston ISD to start on her
God-sent mission at the age of 50, to train others how to get
amazing results as she does from under-taught students.
How? Harriett weaves mnemonics (songs, story-lines, audio
and visual memory prompts, movement, and competition)
into her lessons. Each student has equal access to learning
because they are taught in their strongest learning mode.
She addressed 'differential learning' before it was named.
Harriett's miraculous gift is in the areas of Lang. Mechanics,
Reading Comprehension, and Math; but she applies it in
all subject areas to encourage retention, understanding, and
greatly reduce disruptions due to discipline problems.
In 1993, she began mentoring David Levin and Mike Feinberg,
who utilized their new-found method of reaching and teaching
from her to found the first and subsequent KIPP Academies,
which are named after one of her songs, "Knowledge Is Power"
Program. The KIPP Academies are just one of the on-going
testimonies of how effective her strategies serve students who
have not flourished with traditional teaching practices, yet they
thrive and catch up with their peers in one year using her songs,
combination of movement, story-weaving, and catchy slogans.
Her works have been showcased twice on Oprah in 2006;
spotlighted on BET, The Early Show; at the Apollo Theater,
Presidential Convention of George Bush, 60 Minutes,
CNN, C-SPAN Questions and Answers; in the Washington
Post, Houston Press, Christian Science Herald, Teacher
Magazine, Education World, ... She has been nominated for
the Brock Award twice, and holds a Proclamation of Sept. 14 as
"Harriett Ball Day" from the Mayor and City Council of Galveston,
TX for the astounding success on state testing of several of their
EL and MS which had been in-serviced by Ball that year. She was inducted into the HALL OF FAME of the National Public Charter
Schools Convention, held in DC, June 23, 2009.
In the book, '21 NO-EXCUSE SCHOOLS', Mike Feinberg said, "Harriett's teaching strategies enabled their students to
catch up with their peers in the first year at KIPP." Ine
book, "Teachers": The Enlightened, the Exceptional, the
Extraordinary, by John Yow, Lionheart Books, she is spot-
lighted as one of the nation's top educators. In the book,
WORK HARD, BE NICE, by Jay Matthews, tells the story of
KIPP and how it came to fruition with the help of Harriett..
NEXT MISSION: Teacher-Training Institutes that partner
with school districts to utilize their lower-performers to
demonstrate will provide teaching demonstrations, research, and monitor students' and teachers' progress. Certification to educators in 'Alternative Teaching Methods' will afford opportunities for more students across the world to have EQUAL access to learning and have the tools to see their dreams come into fruition.
"ALL of Us WILL Learn"
- Harriett J. Ball
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