RE_5539

The first thing that struck me in Chapter 5 was the huge contrast in the way Jake was expected to behave and learn at home versus school. Jake’s parents believed that their children should “learn by doing”. Jake’s home was filled with many different activities that allowed him to move, create, and build. Unfortunately, I realized early in the chapter that these characteristics of home-life would eventually lead to problems in the classroom. In schools, many teachers do not believe in “hands-on” / active engagement. Therefore, I could foresee Jake having huge difficulties sitting in a classroom and working at a desk. As I think about this I definitely see the need for teachers to become more creative and “hands-on” in their classrooms. We need to realize that students have different learning styles. I am not saying that we should cater to Jake and do everything his way. However, with a student like Jake, the only way to reach him may be through hands-on activities.

As I continued to read I began to see the strong role that Jake’s dad played in his life. Jake, one can tell from the get go, truly wants to be just like his dad. This is shown by Jake’s shared interest with his father in carpentry and NASCAR. I also think Jake’s choice of centers (blocks, puzzles) reflects things that his dad would have probably enjoyed as a child. I really enjoyed reading the conversation between Hicks and Jake’s grandmother. Jake’s grandmother truly shed light on the similarities between Jake and his dad. The author states, “These words voiced about Jake echoed themes from his father’s life story: independence, giftedness, as a learner, reluctance to box himself into a single profession.” I actually have to say that I am glad that Jake shared a strong connection to his dad. Unlike Laurie, Jake truly has “good” role models to look up to and model after.

When reading about Kindergarten I was glad to see that Jake was able to start school in a centers based classroom. This classroom provided a good initial transfer form home-life into school. Jake, at times, was able to select the activities that he wanted to do. My only problem with Jake was his refusal to complete many school literacy practices in an appropriate manner. It bothered me when his teacher stated, “He’s always on task; it just might not be your task.” Although I am all for Jake having time to complete hands-on activities, there comes a time when you have to do things that you do not want to do. I did not like the fact that he would blatantly refuse to complete some tasks. As a teacher, I would have probably tried to use Jake’s centers time as an “incentive” to get him to complete his other work as well. I wonder if this is a bad idea. I’ve never taught Kindergarten, so what would be the best way to correct this behavior?

As first grade began I was very interested in Jake’s desire to be “good”. Just like Laurie, Jake realized that being “good” would help his standing in the classroom. As I read about his changed behavior at home, I wondered if this was coming from the fact that he was now trying to be calm and subdued at school. Jake was a very “active” child. He had to get his activeness out somewhere and the only appropriate place for him now was at home. Continuing into first grade, I saw the same problems with Jake that I saw with Laurie. This first grade teacher also strictly adhered to the 1st grade Anthology. Due to this fact, Jake could not read stories with the rest of his peers. Just like with Laurie, I wondered why this teacher did not differentiate instruction for Jake. I also became concerned with the fact that the teacher did not try to connect Jake’s interests with his reading. I know from personal experiences that there are many great books out there related to NASCAR and things that Jake was truly interested in. Why were no connections made for Jake? Jake only responded to things that seemed important and valuable to him. Therefore, I really feel that the 1st grade teacher should have made more of an effort to connect Jake’s interests with his learning!

For all of the first grade teachers out there I am now beginning to wonder about how 1st grade is taught. I realize that 1st grade is tough because the students are for the first time truly beginning to read; however, should reading be taught with just the anthology? I truly feel that Laurie and Jake both had huge issues transitioning from K to 1st. Does this happen with most children? What do you do to make the transition easier?

Once again Jake’s second grade year proves more successful just like Laurie’s. As I had hoped, Jake’s second grade teacher provides more freedom in his book choices. However the following comments made by Hicks truly worried me: “Overall, however, I’m seeing Jake position himself outside the culture of formal schooling, both physically and emotionally unless he can connect it immediately to the worlds he most values.” Once again we see that the teacher needs to find ways to connect Jake’s interests to school. Although this can’t be done for everything, one wonders if a little effort by the teacher to include Jake’s interests might engage him more in the classroom. I truly felt sorry for Jake because he was caught between being valued as “highly gifted” at home and “below grade-level” at school. No wonder he didn’t want to participate. I wish that Jake’s teachers had allowed him to experience success at school. If he had been successful, he might have found school more valuable and worthwhile. Hick’s sums up Jake best when she states: To bring about critical change that we, as teachers, demanded of him, educational practices would have to be at least partly situated in the life worlds that Jake so strongly valued.”