Again, this was a sad read for me. Like Laurie, Jake had a very successful kindergarten year. He was interested in the activities, learned the basic information and had a family that was dedicated to his success in school. But, unfortunately, Jake's progress trailed off just like Laurie's and again, I attribute this to the educational practices. Hicks concludes that this is because there is a gap between the knowledge that Jake learns from home and what is expected of him academically. I agree with this, but what bothers me is that his teachers did not try get Jake interested in school. I mean, I know that I try to find out what really makes my students excited. I have a student this year who absolutely LOVES reading biographies, so I tap into this every bit that I can. Another little boy, whom was having trouble academically really likes animals, so I played off of this interest and allowed him to create power points showing his research of any animal he wanted. I wonder if Jake's teacher ever asked him about Nascar, or his most cherished thing that he built with his dad. Perhaps, if they had gotten to know his interests better, Jake would have been more successful. If I have learned anything in this masters program, it is that you have to give students assignments that are meaningful. I can easily see Jake becoming uninterested in a writing prompt like "one day you found a magic rock". Now, give him one that says "you won a contest to meet your favorite Nascar driver" and I bet you would have a whole story.
I realize that their are gaps between what is valued at home and what is valued at school as far as knowledge goes. However, it seems to me like a lot of kids like Jake are slipping through the cracks because school isn't interested in merging home values and interests into academic practices and this is causing a lot of kids to become disillusioned with the idea of academic success.
Whitney Gilbert
Comments (6)
Hi Whitney. I think the difficulty with individualized education is teacher preparation and continued teacher support. If we hope to reach all of our students, we have to reach and support all of our teachers. They need help learning how to differentiate and individualize instruction effectively. It can be quite overwhelming to meet the individual needs of 20 - 25 students, however if teachers had the support of administrators, curriculum specialists, reading specialists, and each other, they may be better able to accomplish this. I agree with you - give our students something that they would enjoy learning about and BAM - learning happens.
Posted by Amie Snow | April 19, 2009 4:25 PM
Posted on April 19, 2009 16:25
I also think that if teachers are to fully differentiate instruction for a rather large classroom, she needs the support of professionals within her school system. Unfortunately, too often a school district is too understaffed to accommodate all of the needs of every teacher. At the Middle School level, the only support staff that I regularly see are the Exceptional Children's Department (maybe 2 times a week). We do not have school curriculum or reading specialist. Our district has ONE technology specialist, but she also shares two or three other titles. Until we are budgeted more money (which doesn't look promising), this situation will not be improved.
Posted by Heather Coe | April 19, 2009 8:58 PM
Posted on April 19, 2009 20:58
I think it is really important to try to "tap in" to what our students enjoy. I love that you have figured out that one of your students loves biographies. He will probably WANT to branch out more if he is fed interesting biographies, and it will probably help his overall attitude about school if this happens. I try to do the same in my classroom with my outside reading assignment. Students get to choose their own books, and I always try to get a feel for the types of books their interested in. It really does make a difference!!!
Posted by Christy Rivers | April 20, 2009 10:25 AM
Posted on April 20, 2009 10:25
I think it is so true that we have to really attempt to reach every child with their own special interests. I have a number of children whom I know could care less about science if I cannot tie it to sports, cars, or video games. So, most days and with most assignments, I have in some way tied my lesson into one or all of these three things. It is important to capture a child's attention before giving them information. If I can work a little harder and show my students why this could be important to them, they will receive the information much easier.
Posted by Brittany Guy | April 20, 2009 3:28 PM
Posted on April 20, 2009 15:28
"Kids become disillusioned with the idea of academic success"
Not only that Whitney, but kids don't see where they fit in academically. I think the theme of everything that we have been reading is that kids need to see themselves in school. Home and school needs to merge. Not just home being apart of our classrooms, but also our classrooms being apart of home. We have a long way to go before that happens unilaterally, but when it does the American education systen will be a model for the world.
Posted by Cherrita Hayden-McMillan | April 20, 2009 11:06 PM
Posted on April 20, 2009 23:06
Your idea of disillusionment is important. I think that emotion ties into identity, purpose, motivation, achievement, etc. -- it captures all sides of the school experience (and the role of home) and can profoundly change the way a child sees him/herself as a student. And that disillusionment can last many, many years. Good points.
Posted by Alecia Jackson | April 23, 2009 9:08 PM
Posted on April 23, 2009 21:08