In this final chapter I was disappointed to see that Hicks went back to using the hard to read and understand language of the first couple of chapters. However, this chapter did close the book in an appropriate way. I think that Hicks overall points were summed up and the conclusion that I came to was that Hicks just wants us to understand that we need to educate all children of all statuses individually rather than treating them all the same and providing all the same instruction for everyone. I believe that children who come from the working class are the ones we really need to keep an eye on. They are the ones whose parents have little time to spend with them at home working on academic improvement and this especially hurts the students who are labeled with learning disabilities. We as teachers are going to have to find ways to reach each and every child in our classroom no matter how hard that turns out to be. I truly believe that if we keep working toward this goal of individualized education for everyone, that we will be able to achieve it one day.
The story about the boy who was tracked into a vocational class/program by mistake really made my heart ache. I was so glad to see that someone took enough time to see that he didn’t belong in that track and made sure he was put into the one that was best for him. As a high school teacher this is something I work with everyday. I have an advisory group that I help choose classes for next year based on the track they are placed into. I also help them choose the track they want to pursue by looking at previous grades and test scores and this is a huge resposibility. I hope that I never make a mistake and put a student in the wrong course because it could follow them for the rest of their lives. Thankfully we are trained and taught how to know which track best suits which type of children and this helps a lot, however there are some cases that can be iffy. I just hope with the right guidance, mistakes like that are never made at my school. And then to find out that this young man became a teacher was such a surprise. I don’t know why it surprised me but it did. I can only hope that one day a student will come up to me and say that I changed their life, or that I made a difference with them. That is my ultimate goal. To hear one of those phrases at least once in my life and then I know that I will have done something good in this world.
I think Hicks did a good job summing up the book in a well to do manner. She expressed how we as educators need to understand the many different elements that come into play of our students lives everyday. Gender, race, class and who knows what else makes a big difference in how our students perform in school. And unless we know how to teach those different elements, and understand them on a one on one basis with the student, we will never be able to get through to some of the most needy children.
Overall I am glad that I read this book. I was a little skeptical at first but I enjoyed reading about the lives of these children and I realize now what a powerful tool it can be to know the lives of my students. I will continue to teach using my own basic philosophy but I belive I will make the addition of getting to know my students a little better and teaching them more individually than I already do.
~Kristen Billings