Since we did not have a face-to-face meeting for our Monday class we will share our learning online. Tuesday class please feel free to participate if you would like.
Read: Beautiful Minds, by Wesley Clarkson from the Charting a Professional Course book.
Select two of the four questions to respond to by posting your comment to this post.
After reading Chapter 4 in the Introduction to Teaching book respond to Discussion Questions 1 or 2 and 5 & 6 at the end of the chapter.
Scroll down on the blog and locate video clips. Watch the video clip Inclusion in American Schools. State how you feel about being responsible for working with children with disabilities in a general education classroom.
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11 comments:
“Beautiful Minds”
Question #3 In which area do you think educators should invest the most resources?
I think that educators should invest the most resources in classroom materials. While the other areas of financial investment are important, the classroom materials, in my opinion, are the most important area. According to the author, teachers are provided with just a simple curriculum guide and a small library of materials to use in class. I understand that it is expensive to provide each teacher with an extensive, large library of materials to use in class, but doing so would be so beneficial for the students. For example, if gifted students were expected to do research above and beyond the usual expectations of their grade level, they would need to have resources available to them in the school to do so. A good thing about investing in classroom materials such as books or computer hardware and software is that they are investments that will last over the years. The initial start up cost of a good classroom library of materials will be great, but in the following years, it should be less of a cost.
Question #4 How will you respond to the academic needs of gifted students in your classroom?
I will respond to the academic needs of the gifted students in my classroom by giving my students the opportunity and motivation to achieve the most that they can. Depending on the programs for gifted students at my school, I will be flexible and work with the gifted education teacher. If my school does not have programs for gifted students, I could have the gifted students work together when we do group work, encourage my students to do independent study assignments, or provide students with alternative activities after they have mastered the material through curriculum compacting.
Chapter 4
Question #1 How would your role as a teacher change if you worked in an upper-SES suburb? In a lower-SES part of a city?
My role as a teacher would change depending on the SES of the city/area where I worked. Depending on the SES of the students, there are several factors that influence their success such as the fulfillment of basic needs, family stability, school-related experiences, interaction patterns at home, and paternal attitudes and values. As a teacher in a lower-SES part of a city, I would probably find myself dealing with fulfilling students’ basic needs of food, shelter, and medical care. Time will be taken away from teaching those students when they have to visit the school nurse to get the medical care they do not have the opportunity to receive from a doctor. Students who go to school hungry, or students with poor nutrition, will have a harder time focusing, learning, and paying attention, so I will have to adjust my teaching to meet their needs. Despite where I work, I will have students suffering from family issues. Typically, children from lower-SES families will come to my classroom without a sense of safety and security or have more emotional problems than the students from a higher-SES background. I will have to be understanding and try to make those students feel safe and welcome in my class. Students from upper-SES families are more likely to be encouraged to do well in school and go to college by their parents, so they will most likely excel in school. My role as a teacher will definitely change depending on where I work and the SES of my students’ families.
Question #5 What strengths do students placed at-risk bring to the classroom? How can teachers take advantage of these strengths?
Some at-risk students have been able to rise above adverse conditions to succeed in school and other aspects of life. These students are called resilient students. They have well-developed “self-systems” with high self-esteem and feelings that they are in control of their destinies. They set personal goals, have good interpersonal skills, and are motivated to learn. Teachers can take advantage of these strengths by being attentive and encouraging to their students. A caring teacher that gives attention to students as people and learners can be the motivation it takes for an at-risk student to set personal goals and have a high self-esteem.
Question #6 What will be your biggest challenges in working with the parents of students placed at-risk?
I feel that the biggest challenge in working with the parents of students placed at-risk would be making the parents realize that I care about their child and want them to succeed and learn. I would imagine that it would be hard for a parent to know that their child is at-risk, but I would want that parent to know that I will do everything in my power to help their child to learn and do well in school. I think that parents of at-risk students may come to the conclusion that because their child is at-risk, it means that the school will not help them. I would want the parents to know that I use the effective practices for teaching at-risk students. Those practices are communicating high expectations for student success, emphasizing student responsibility, using interactive teaching with frequent questions, increasing structure and support through use of clear teacher explanations and modeling, and giving frequent feedback and ensuring high success rates.
Video Clip- Inclusion in Elementary Schools
I think that being responsible for working with children with disabilities in a general education classroom is a hard task. It is a great responsibility because you not only have to teach the class, but give the student with a disability extra attention and help. I feel that teachers of students with disabilities should have extra training and education so that they know the best way to teach their students. In the video, the student had an aide who worked with him so that the teacher did not have to take excess time away from the other children in the classroom. I think that it is great for children with disabilities to be included in a general education classroom because they will be included with the rest of society later in life.
Beautiful Minds:
Question 2 - What are the potential ramifications of limited funding for gifted programs?
Since these programs are most expensive, they are going to have limited funding, which may hinder the full learning potential for the students. Gifted students need different materials than other students, and they will not be able to show their talent without the necessary textbooks and materials.
Question 3 - In which area do you think educators should invest the most resources?
I think they should invest most in classroom materials. Without the proper textbooks, students will be effected because they won't get the proper learning they need.
Chapter 4:
Question 2 - How would your actual instruction change if you worked in an upper-SES suburb? In a lower-SES part of a city?
I think in an upper-SES suburb, I would have to take into mind that these children are highly educated, and that I would need to challenge them more to let them learn and perform up to their full potential. In a lower-SES part of a city, I may have to tone my lessons down a bit to ensure that all of my students are getting the same amount of information and are understanding the material.
Question 5 - What strengths do students placed at high-risk bring to the classroom? How can teachers take advantage of these strengths?
Usually students placed at high-risk are able to work with their problems and 'rise above'; be resilient. Teachers can take advantage of these strengths by helping the students to develop resilience, which is having the student be able to 'bounce back' from their adverse condition and be able to succeed in school, as well as in their own life.
Question 6 - What will be your biggest challenges in working with the parents of students placed at-risk?
I think the biggest challenges will be convincing the parents that their child can succeed. Many parents of at-risk children think that their child has weakness in their schoolwork, as well as other areas of their life. I would want the parent to let their child know that they have many strengths as well, and that they can succeed if they put their mind to it.
Inclusion in American Schools:
I think if I was responsible for working with children who have disabilities, I would feel extremely intimidated. I think it's already going to be hard enough do deal with some students, let alone a student with a disability. On the other hand I would feel good about being challenged. I would try my best to work with whatever disability my student has to make them feel like they are learning just as much as their classmates, in a different sense.
"Beautiful Minds"
Question 2: When funding for educational is limited, educators must make difficult choices in the distribution of resources. What are the potential ramifications of limited funding for gifted programs?
I think that if you have limited funding for the gifted programs and you are not able to give the gifted students what they need you are going to have to work harder to keep them interested in what you are teaching. They may not get all the necessary attention that they need and I do not believe that they will get as much out of the program as a gifted program with a lot of funding.
Question 4: The students in your classroom will possess a wide range of abilities. How will you respond to the academic needs of gifted students in your classroom?
I think that I would focus on keeping them challenged. I would give them assignments that would keep them challenged and that were harder than the other students assignments. If they were gifted in every area I would maybe see how the parents and administration would feel about them skipping a grade to keep them advancing at their level.
Chapter 4
Question 2: How would your actual instruction change if you worked in an upper-SES suburb? In a lower-SES city?
I think that if I were in a upper-SES suburb, my instruction would change because I would have more resources to teach the students and I would not have to worry as much about discipline. In a lower-SES city I would have limited resources and probably would not have computers or a lot of technology in the classroom and I would have to worry a lot more about discipline.
Question 5: What strengths do students places at-risk bring to the classroom? How can teachers take advantage of these strengths?
Students placed at-risk have been know to rise above these standards. They have been told that they can not do something so they do it to spite someone. I think that as a teacher you can thrive from their determination.
Question 6: What will be the biggest challenges in working with the parents of students places at risk?
The biggest challenges will be if the parents have given up on the child when I refuse to give up. They may not want to help the child or may not have time to help them so they will be getting not educational attention at home. They may also not want them to succeed because the parents did not finish school and they think that if their child finishes school they will move away so they will not help them.
Inclusion in American Schools
I actually have a really hard time with this idea. I think that I will try to spend extra time with the student but I would hope that like in the video I would have someone to help me. I would also hope to have special training because that would be very helpful to the situation as well.
Video clip:
I thought the vido clip was very informative with how many schools are when dealing with students with disabilities. I thought it was great that there was a special helper in the classroom that helped with the student. In my experience, I cadet taught at a school in Chesterton where there was no special helper in the class, and it was very hard for the classroom teacher to do her daily lessons with him in the room. There was, however, a kind of pull-out program for this student. An aid came and pulled him out each day for about an hour to work with him. As a future teacher, it will be very hard to accommodate these children with disabilities. It may be difficult to teach the rest of the class and also provide extra help to the student with the disability. I would be up for the challenge. I do think though, that having that special helper in the room would really help. I do agree that teachers who help with the disabled children need to have extra training and experience.
"Beautiful Minds"
Question 1- Clarkson describes a range of educational services for students identified as gifted. What are the merits and limitations of these different approaches to gifted education?
The first program listed is the Enrichment program. This kind of approach is the most common, and one that I've seen when I've assisted teachers in their classrooms. The teachers in the classroom carry out normal teaching and also provide some extra learning for the gifted children by having them do projects and other kind of related tasks. This is good for the gifted kids because it gives them extra opportunities to advance their knowledge. I do think these kids deserve to be challenged in school. I think maybe this kind of program doesn't do enough for the gifted children. The pull-out program is another approach. This program pulls out the gifted students for either one hour a day or weekly. I think this is a good idea, because it provides a special program for them, what I think could be a limitation is that these kids are learning leadership skills and about creativity rather than challenging academics. Seperate Gifted classes is another approach that has to do more with high school. These types of programs are very common in high schools because there is a higher population of students. This approach offers students to take special classes, such as higher level math, science, English, etc. The last approach is special schools for the gifted. These kinds of schools include charter and private schools. This could be hard for students to get into since private and charter schools are more expensive.
Question 4- The students in your classroom will possess a wide range of abilities. How will you respond to the academic needs of gifted students in your classroom?
I think when it comes to gifted students, we as teachers, need to accommodate them as much as possible. It is important that they are challenged as much as possible and that they do not become bored in the classroom. If there were no pull-out programs at the school for these kids, I would do my best to offer special assignments to them to further their knowledge. Whether it be through reading, or projects, or some other kind of approach, I would challenge these kids as much as I could to keep them interested in school.
Chapter 4 questions:
2. How would your actual instruction change if you worked in an upper-SES suburb? In a lower-SES part of the city?
I think my instruction would chage dramatically. In an upper-SES suburb, I would strongly suggest having their parents take them to the library to check out books that appeal to them to get extra reading in outside of the classroom for fun. As a kid, I would love to participate in the book reading competitions, where if you got all the stickers on your button, you won a free personal-pan pizza from Pizza Hut. I thought that was really fun, plus I got to read books that I wanted to read. That would be something I would do if I were a teacher in an upper- SES school. I would encourage reading outside of school. I would talk to the parents more often about their children and the lessons being taught in the classroom. I would encourage the kids to think independently and about responsibility. In a lower- SES city, I would pay more attention to the students' needs and necessities. I would make sure that the kids feel very safe and welcome in the classroom. I would probably encourage more reading inside the classroom since some parents of lower-SES do not encourage reading outside the classroom.
5. Many students who are placed at risk rise above conditions and actually succeed in school. These kids usually have a high self-esteem, set personal goals, and have good interpersonal skills. These are the good qualities that they can bring into the classroom. As a teacher, we can take advantage of these strengths by using them as an example for other students as well.
6. I think the biggest challenge of working with the parents of children placed at high risk will be communication. I would want the parents to know and understand that I will be doing everything I possibly can to help their child succeed. I think trust will definitely have to be established between the teacher and the parents.
"Beatuiful Minds"
Question #3 In Which area do you think educators should invest the most resources?
I think that a big portion of the resources should be invested in the teachers themselves because I beleive that the more qualifiedthe teacher is the better learning quality/enviroment you are going to have.
Question #4 How will you respond to the academic needs of gifted students in your classrooms?
I will respond to the different needs of those students first of all by finding out what the indivdual needs are and then plannig my lessons around those needs. This means that if I have some students that are ahead of the others , I will give them an assignment that is a little more advanced than the rest of theclass. The same for a student that may be behind the rest of the class, I will make extra time for them throuhgout the school day to give them extra help that they may need.
Chapter 4
Question #2 How would your instruction change if you worked in an upper SES suburb? In a lower SES suburb?
If I were to teach in a upper SES I would have to keep in mind that my students are probably more advanced then the students in a lower SES school, only becuase the parents in the upper SES school might have more resources to help their children with education. Thus for the instruction I would have to challange the students because of their advance knowledge. For the students of a lower SES I might have to spend more time on the various subjects in order to allow them to learn their best.
Question#5 What strengths do students placed at risk bring to the classroom? How can teachers take advantage of these strengths?
The strengths that the high risked students bring to the classrooms are resilensy because they are able to overcome things that we think seem impossible. The teachers can take advantage of these by being attentive to each individual students needs, and also just to be encouraging to the students.
Question #6 What will be your biggest challanges of working with the parents of students placed at risk? The biggest challange between me and the parents will be communication about the students needs and strengths, an also another challange would be letting the parents know that just because there children are labeledat risk , I care about them and that I am not just giving up on their children.
Video-Clip
I feel that it is vital that students that have special needs/ learning disabilities should be included in a regular classroom, I feel that this is going to help them become an adult that can function with people like you and me, and also it allows them to have more friends. I also think that it is vital that the right teachers are brought into a classroom becuase you need to be sensitive to their students needs and then also be able to balance those needs between your special needs and other students.
"Beautiful Minds"
Question #3
I think that many educators should invest in the classroom materials for the students.Acording to Wesley Clark, teachers are provided with a simple curriculm guide and a small library of their materials. This is not very benificial for the students. If a child with a disibility needs to do reasearch on a project, then they would need a larger library. This may cost a lot, but it would cost less in the end. If they don't have proper materials, they will struggle in the future.
Question #4
I would respond to their needs by giving them the motivation to suceed in school. I would put them in groups and have the class learn from eachother.
Chapter 4
Question 1
My role as a teacher would change depending on where I live. I would have to put many aspects into consideration like; basic needs, the childs health, family stability, and paternal attitudes and values. If I was working in a lower SES region of town, I would probably find myself trying to help these problems with the students. I would not want their class time to be taken from them by haveing to go to the nurse for medical care that usuall only higher SES families can afford. If I was working in a higher SES region of town, I would see myself raising the motivation that the students would alreadly have.
Question 5
Some students were able to rise above and suceed in school and other aspects of life. These children tend to have a well developed self system, self-esteem, and tend to be in controll of their own destinies. They become motivated to learn in school and do their best. Teachers can take advantage of these strengths by encouraging the students to do their best and take and active role in their schooling.
Question #6
My biggest challenge with dealing with the parents of students placed at-risk would be assuring the parent that I care about their child. I would tell them that I will do my best to help their child in every way to suceed in school and work with them on what they do not understand.
Video Clip- Inclusion in Elementary Schools
To me, working with a child with a disibility would be a challenging task. You have to teach your class and give the child with the disability extra attention. It is helpful if you have an aid, like the child in the move had, so that you do not have to take up so much of the other students learning time. It is a good thing though because ou are able to learn new teaching methods and you get to see your class grow by learning about a child with a disability and it prepares then and that child for the future.
Beautiful Minds
Question
There are four different types of services for children with disabilities. The enrichment programs are the most common. There is a teacher who has received special training. The teacher has six to eight gifted students and twelve to twenty non gifted children. There are limited resources in these classrooms for the gifted children. Pull-out programs are programs where gifted education teachers take all the gifted children in the school and instruct them for a few hours either daily or weekly. Separate gifted classes are designed for only gifted students. These classes have a core curriculum for gifted children such as advanced classes. Special Schools are exactly what its name suggests. They are separate school designed just for gifted children. The teachers are gifted education teachers and the curriculum is centered on gifted children.
Question 4.
I will try to meet the needs of all of my students no matter how they learn. I will challenge myself to research how each and every student in my class learns. I will then teach the same lesson in a variety of ways to insure that all of my students can understand. If need be I will design certain times where I can work alone with the children who need the most help.
Chapter 4
Question 2 - How would your actual instruction change if you worked in an upper-SES suburb? In a lower-SES part of a city?
A teacher’s instruction would be better in an upper-SES school. There are more resources and the parents are generally more involved and caring of their children’s education. Lower-SES schools not only have limited resources but education is not as valued by the parents compared to upper-SES students. The teacher has to be able to handle criticism from parents who may not agree with the education system. Teachers also have to make the best out of what they have. They have to be able to provide a good education without many resources and materials.
Question 5 - What strengths do students placed at high-risk bring to the classroom? How can teachers take advantage of these strengths?
Some students that are placed at risk occasionally rise above the others. They develop high self esteem and control. They become good leaders for other at risk students to follow in education. They learn to value education and hold high standards for themselves.
Question 6 - What will be your biggest challenges in working with the parents of students placed at-risk?
Often parents of students placed at risk do not hold education high on their priority lists. They do not encourage their children in learning and they do not care how their child is doing in school. There is not at home support to do well in school.
Inclusion in an Elementary School
I feel that it is a challenge that we as teachers need to take on. I believe that everyone deserves an education. It is a huge responsibility to take care of not only the child with the disability but also the rest of the class. I think that no matter how large the task that all kids have the right to be normal and receive a normal education.
"Beautiful Minds"
Question # 2
When funding for education is limited, educators must make difficult choices in the distribution of resources. What are the potential ramifications of limited funding for gifted programs?
Administrators have difficult decisions to make when it comes to allocating funds within a school. Being challenged is a part of an everyday classroom for all of the students who attend. For those who are gifted the teachers face an additional challenge of keeping the students stimulated in the material being presented. Without the necessary text books and programs it is one more responsibility that falls on the teachers shoulders. As teachers we have to multitask and are responsible for each student that enters through our door. While it is not the ideal situation to have to modify lesson plans to accommodate those who are gifted verses those who are not, I feel that it can be done.
I do not believe that accelerating a child into the next grade is the best option. A student may be prepared academically to advance, but may fall short socially. If a student is not prepared socially to advance an opportunity for the child to fall through the proverbial crack can present itself.
If a child loses interest in what they are learning because it is not stimulating enough they will often look elsewhere. It is never an ideal situation for a child to be bored and as educators it is our responsibility to make sure that does not happen regardless if we have materials at our disposal to do so.
Question #4
The students in your classroom will possess a wide range of abilities. How will you respond to the academic needs of gifted students in your classroom?
I believe backup plans are essential to any curriculum. If a student is more advanced than others in a certain area then present them with the opportunity to take the lesson a step or two further. Allow the gifted children to work within the class community to help the children who may not be as secure in their knowledge of the subject content.
Supply reading material that can be accessed through the library or utilize the information that can be found on the internet, as long as it is in a controlled environment and the sources are verified.
As a teacher, I think that just by being prepared for all different learning levels is essential to the classroom environment and in meeting individual student needs.
Chapter 4 Discussion Questions
#1. How would your role as a teacher change if you worked in an upper SES suburb? In a lower SES part of the city?
I do not know that my role as a teacher would necessarily be any different working with children in any environment regardless of the socio-economic status of the area. My goals as a teacher would be the same, to engage the children in my classroom with effective class lessons, instill a sense of community, help shape social and life skills, and to challenge my students to always try to do their personal best within a safe learning environment.
I do believe however, that my approach would be different in these situations as far as motivational styles and curriculum pace and focus. While the teaching format that I use may differ I think that all children attend school for one common reason and that is to learn. Whether students know it or not at the time, earning an education and feeling proud about leaving the school at the end of the day knowing more than when they first walked in the door is the ultimate goal of a teacher. I do not think that the goal ever changes; it is the path that we choose to travel to reach our destination that does.
#5. What strengths do students placed at-risk bring to the classroom? How can teachers take advantage of these strengths?
Students who are at risk are often capable of rising above the adverse conditions that have placed them in the at risk category to begin with. These students show resilience and often rise above their current conditions to succeed academically. Teachers who are capable of earning the trust of these students have the opportunity to shape them by setting high expectations and providing the students with routine and a sense of normalcy in a world which may have none otherwise. If a teacher is committed to their students by making themselves accessible to the students they will respond by exceeding expectations and striving for success. The teacher must question the students and allow the students to question them. Holding the students accountable for their work and reevaluating expectations will increase the students’ resilience and empower them to self regulate their study habits so that they are capable of meeting their academic goals.
#6. What will be your biggest challenges working with the parents of students placed at-risk?
I believe that working with the parents of students placed at-risk will be challenging in the aspect that you are not only guiding the student but the parent as well. Parents of the students placed at risk have issues that they are dealing with as adults and to have to coach them into playing a supportive role in their child’s education takes an active, non-judgmental, supportive individual whose commitment is not only to the student, but to the student’s family as well. I think that teachers often feel that their only responsibility is to the child, when in reality it takes a group effort to enable the student’s success. The classroom is a home away from home for the students, in order to obtain balance teachers must have the cooperation and the support from the home as well. In many situations this is not an automatic support, but one that the teacher has to earn by showing that they are equally committed to the success of the student.
Video: Inclusion in American Schools
I am so excited to be able to make a difference in children’s lives on so many different levels. I have a passion for helping children who some might say are incapable of doing things that other children are capable of doing. At a very early age there were indications that my son had spastic cerebral palsy. After intensive physical and occupational therapy on a daily basis and many trips to Indianapolis you would never know that there had been anything wrong with him. Being faced with this challenge, among others that I have faced, has increased my desire to make a difference not only with children on a mainstream level, but on a special needs level as well. I look forward to being educated on how I can make that difference and become an effective teacher in all facets of education and working with children at all levels.
"Beautiful Minds" Q: 3
I think it is important to provide adequate funding for gifted programs. I feel like far too often, financial focus is on the poorest performers in the classroom. Children who are very smart are going to be the next generations of professionals in this world and it is important to challenge them. Money is obviously necessary to create programs for gifted children and i think that the most money should be spent on these programs.
#4
I think these children who are gifted need a lot of extra attention and activities. It would be good for the student to have one on one time with the teacher during group activities. Also, the gifted students could have altered take home assignments and homework that will benefit their level of learning. Gifted students should, however, remain a part of the class at appropriate times so that he/she doesnt feel "different" and become less interested in learning.
"Beautiful Minds"
Question 2: What are the potential ramifications of limited funding for gifted programs?
With limited funding for the gifted programs some of the kids won't be able to reach their full potential because they won't have the money to purchase some materials that might be needed.
Question 3: In which area do you think educators should invest the most resources?
Obviously the most important place to invest in is the classroom materials. The better the materials, the better the classroom, the better the learning environment, which would mean smarter kids.
Chapter 4
Question 1: How would your role as a teacher change if you worked in an upper-SES suburb? In a lower-SES part of a city?
In an upper-SES suburb my role would be more of an instructional teacher than of a disciplinarian. In a lower-SES it might be harder to maintain a classroom because it's more likely for kids with discipline issues to come from lower income homes because of a possible disarray at the household.
Question 5: What strengths do students placed at-risk bring to the classroom? How can teachers take advantage of these strengths?
Students that are placed at-risk could be a much more resilient individual because they could've already gone through so much at a young age. I'm still not quite sure how a teacher could utilize that trait but I know that there's something.
Question 6: What will be your biggest challenges in working with the parents of students placed at-risk?
I think the biggest challenges in working with the parents of a student place at-risk could be trying to get them to cooperate with you to help their kid. Parents that are in poverty could be out working a lot to try and keep their heads about water or the parent could abuse drugs or alcohol and show no interest in listening to you.
Video Clip:
I think being more responsible for working with children with disabilities will make me a more responsible teacher overall. Working with these kids will force me to find new ways to teach and these new ways to teach could help students without disabilities even more. Not only will this help my abilities in teaching but it will show other kids how to show more respect for those with disabilities. In today's society there are a lot of jokes with disabilities being the butt of it but it's not very funny when you're actually discussing with a child with a disability.
“Beautiful Minds”
Question 3
Funding seems to be a common obstacle for organizations that are attempting to jumpstart a program. After reading Wesley Clarkson’s article “Beautiful Minds,” I became intrigued by the idea of using gifted programs in the classroom setting. However, it seems that both the opportunity and monetary cost of such an endeavor might be all too overwhelming to undertake all at once. It would be most beneficial to invest a majority of the resources on training of the designated educators for these programs. Students will only succeed and improve through these programs if they have optimal guidance. Educators would be able to learn more about the methods of teaching that are recommended for such gifted programs before money is spent on supplies that no one knows how to use or salaries for people who are not familiar with that lessons they are supposed to be teaching his or her students.
Question 4
I would conduct my classroom similar to the description given for an enrichment program. Through this method I would have a better opportunity to challenge my students and meet all their needs. Students of all intellectual levels thrive when put in a setting with others similar and different when compared to them. A blatant and public distinction of the gifted students and the average students is completely unnecessary. I would create activities that would meet the needs and interests of those of a higher intellectual ability and would challenge the average kids to push themselves. Activities such as these could also increase the amount of interpersonal work encouraging students to help one another problem solve.
Chapter 4 Questions
1. I might easily find myself teaching with the assumption that all my students have a supportive family at home if I working in an upper-SES suburb. Research has shown that the majority of students of this status are often better supplied and prepared for class. An upper-SES suburb would likely have a better reputation for involved parents and consequently students who want to learn. I do, however, need to make sure not to automatically assume that economic status describes the family completely. Each parent or guardian should be addressed on an individual level. If I were to work in a lower-SES suburb I do believe that my job would not stay focused just in the classroom. Judging by the definition given for this social class, I would not only be educating a child in the classroom setting, but also trying to educate his or her parents on how to help their son or daughter. My job in a lower-SES suburb would be a bit more involved, but all that more rewarding when I can watch not only a student excel, but a family as well.
5. Students who have been classified as at-risk will tend to bring a sense of perseverance to the classroom. Some children get easily frustrated and may give up, but others will continue to try. They know they have potential and will push themselves to prove it. I would take advantage of this mentality by creating attainable goals the students can reach. Through this process each child will be able to see how they can accomplish tasks. Their determination to continue to succeed will fuel my passion to help them.
6. One of the biggest challenges I will most likely face when working with the parents of students who are at-risk is denial. Trying to work to improve upon a problem present in a child’s life is nearly impossible if the parents are unable or refuse to acknowledge it. Another challenge will be working to help a child succeed and escape the title of at-risk while his or her parents have already given up. Each child needs to feel as though his or her loved ones believe in him or her. If that positive emotional supportive is absent, the student will struggle.
Video Clip
I absolutely agree with putting students with disabilities in a regular classroom setting. Although I do believe there are boundaries for such a task meaning that the level of a student’s disability would help determine the amount of time in a regular classroom or the use of an aide, for example. Just as Nick, the young boy in the video clip, continues to thrive in the regular classroom, I, too, believe that any student will excel when placed with children who somewhat challenge their abilities. By no means am I encouraging a rival-type, competitive atmosphere, but I do believe that any student, handicapped or not, will improve when put around others who may be classified as more advanced. Another reason I agree with the path Nick’s parents chose to take concerning his education is that by putting a handicapped student in the classroom, students will become familiar with being around someone what may not be exactly like them. This provides a perfect setting that will prepare the students for the future.
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