I thought you made an excellent point in stating that preparation (familiarizing herself with the curriculum, meeting other teachers, etc.) would help ease her anxiety. I too believe that, when possible, it is important to have a solid classroom management plan in place at the beginning of the term, especially in a situation like Joan’s where there is some anxiety felt by the teacher.
You say that you feel teachers should make allowances for certain exceptional students, but that those students should compensate in other ways. Do you think this is true for all learners, or only in certain cases? Can you provide an example so I can better understand your argument? As Martin pointed out in his response, there is a difference between being fair and being equal. Some students do require exceptions in order to achieve at the same level as their peers. I wholeheartedly agree that it is important to help students preserve their pride. We should want to nurture our students not only as learners, but as people. What kinds of compensation would you suggest for exceptional students to help them preserve this pride?
Finally, I also thought your point about the importance of incorporating elements of our own lives and experiences into our teaching. Allowing the students to gain a sense of who their teacher is as person will contribute the creation of a classroom community.
Are you in Hawaii? I hope you are and that you are having fun on the beach.
Thank you Kristin, I appreciate your comments as well as your questions. I did some research prior, regarding the importance of students being able to compensate in other ways when accommodations have been made for them.
The reasons behind this theory are that it helps students maintain a sense of pride and accomplishment in other areas that they are strong in and it is fair for the other students who received no special accommodations. The idea is that students are not all the same, they are all unique and also all learn differently. So in answering whether this is true for all learners I think it would really depend on the extent of the learning disability.
If teachers address this idea about individualized learning at the start of the school year and tell students that she/he will do their best to accommodate each student's learning styles using modalities that suit them, then hopefully the class as a whole won't feel that particular students are an exception to the rest because all of them are.
Not only that, but teaching integrity, dignity and human kindness and harmony should come into play here. It's about helping one another in a collaborative effort to succeed and giving students choices in how they choose to show what they know, and in as fair a way as possible. This can be discussed as a whole.
For me, for example I was never good at math and just accepted early on in life that I would have to work harder at it, stay after school, practice more at home and even attend summer school. I never heard anyone complain that I was getting more attention, they just seemed to understand that I needed it. Sure I felt it was unfair when my brother didn't have to study but I have different strengths and he has different weaknesses. He also got in trouble more and so was often grounded.... sometimes his 'smart attitude' caused him to make some bad decisions.
Anyways I could be wrong here but this is my personal perception. My thoughts are that we can't expect to all achieve at the exact same level. Teachers can work at helping students set goals at their own individual (realistic) level and help them learn how to achieve them. I believe this is more fair in the long run, therefore hopefully compensating in one area for another becomes the norm for everyone. : )
I hope I answered your question(s)? Thanks again for commenting.
Sherri,
ReplyDeleteI thought you made an excellent point in stating that preparation (familiarizing herself with the curriculum, meeting other teachers, etc.) would help ease her anxiety. I too believe that, when possible, it is important to have a solid classroom management plan in place at the beginning of the term, especially in a situation like Joan’s where there is some anxiety felt by the teacher.
You say that you feel teachers should make allowances for certain exceptional students, but that those students should compensate in other ways. Do you think this is true for all learners, or only in certain cases? Can you provide an example so I can better understand your argument? As Martin pointed out in his response, there is a difference between being fair and being equal. Some students do require exceptions in order to achieve at the same level as their peers. I wholeheartedly agree that it is important to help students preserve their pride. We should want to nurture our students not only as learners, but as people. What kinds of compensation would you suggest for exceptional students to help them preserve this pride?
Finally, I also thought your point about the importance of incorporating elements of our own lives and experiences into our teaching. Allowing the students to gain a sense of who their teacher is as person will contribute the creation of a classroom community.
Are you in Hawaii? I hope you are and that you are having fun on the beach.
Thank you Kristin, I appreciate your comments as well as your questions. I did some research prior, regarding the importance of students being able to compensate in other ways when accommodations have been made for them.
ReplyDeleteThe reasons behind this theory are that it helps students maintain a sense of pride and accomplishment in other areas that they are strong in and it is fair for the other students who received no special accommodations. The idea is that students are not all the same, they are all unique and also all learn differently. So in answering whether this is true for all learners I think it would really depend on the extent of the learning disability.
If teachers address this idea about individualized learning at the start of the school year and tell students that she/he will do their best to accommodate each student's learning styles using modalities that suit them, then hopefully the class as a whole won't feel that particular students are an exception to the rest because all of them are.
Not only that, but teaching integrity, dignity and human kindness and harmony should come into play here. It's about helping one another in a collaborative effort to succeed and giving students choices in how they choose to show what they know, and in as fair a way as possible. This can be discussed as a whole.
For me, for example I was never good at math and just accepted early on in life that I would have to work harder at it, stay after school, practice more at home and even attend summer school. I never heard anyone complain that I was getting more attention, they just seemed to understand that I needed it. Sure I felt it was unfair when my brother didn't have to study but I have different strengths and he has different weaknesses. He also got in trouble more and so was often grounded.... sometimes his 'smart attitude' caused him to make some bad decisions.
Anyways I could be wrong here but this is my personal perception. My thoughts are that we can't expect to all achieve at the exact same level. Teachers can work at helping students set goals at their own individual (realistic) level and help them learn how to achieve them. I believe this is more fair in the long run, therefore hopefully compensating in one area for another becomes the norm for everyone. : )
I hope I answered your question(s)? Thanks again for commenting.
Sorry, Kristi not Kristin : )
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