All children should have a chance..

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Home : 2004 : October : 3

All children should have a chance..
By Reg

See, I disagree with not giving all students a chance at A's.

First of all, by prelabeling students based on grades achieved in a class before you have them -- you are doing your student a disservice and yourself. Instead
of crossing off A's on their report card, you should ask, "Why is this kid not reading on grade level? What type of experiences has this child had in previous years?" You are also saying that you are not the kind of teacher that can reach that child to increase their reading ability.
Students from at-risk homes where there is little opportunity for reading (i.e., no books in the home,

no parents modeling reading, etc.) typically lose one month of reading level each summer once they begin school.

Students from homes where parents read and provide students with educational vacations (museums, visits to historical locations) and print, (magazines, newspapers, books, and trips to the library) will gain as much as two to three months over summer break.

It is no surprise, then, that by the time children reach the upper elementary grades that they have fallen behind in reading level by YEARS.

Students that are labeled and never afforded the opportunity for success in the classroom will develop "learned helplessness" -- they will not try because they have never experienced any success in the classroom. Where will these students be as adults? Who will be supporting them?

Many of us tend to forget that the "real world" does not operate on the educational model. People are not grouped according to age and academic achievement when they grow up to live and work. There is no agency saying that we must learn to ride a bike by the age of 6 or learn to swim in water over our heads by the age of 7.

It is the same way with learners. Children do learn at different rates. And most standardized "grade level" requirements were not based upon developmental studies of what children know, and when they develop the capacity for understanding. Most standards were developed by committees of teachers and text book publishers who said, "This is the grade in which we always taught rocks and minerals. By this grade everyone should write in cursive handwriting."

Likewise with the lower students, some students are being held back by a "grade level standard." Just as there are students that are two years or more behind on reading level, there are students who are 2 or more years ahead on reading level. What would you give those students? A++++?

Teachers are to teach children no matter where they are. Learning is what needs to take place. By assessing learning, I feel that each child can earn an "A".

It is too bad that the world does not run on the education model -- then everyone could be paid by their IQ or their GPAs. Sadly, with our ever growing emphasis on testing, it may not be too long before our lives and careers are dictated by test scores.

I have had experience in working with student teachers and college students who were labeled as the "poor reader" and did not go to college at the traditional age.

These same students make a decision later in life to go back or return to school. What I have found is that many of these so-called poor readers, actually go back to college as nontraditional students and end up as valedictorians, summa and magna cum laude graduates.

It is because of my experiences with these nontraditional college students that I will never write off my lower achieving students.

Another example is Dr. Ben Carson. You should read his autobiography. He is a renowned neurosurgeon....