The Struggle Is Real


Struggling and Difficulty in Reading: 

Managing Vulnerability

Image result for memes related to reading


Most of a teacher's planning and thinking can be linked to ensuring that their most vulnerable students are being supported (i.e. "struggling" readers). But who qualifies as a "struggling" reader?

Struggling readers are often defined as students who are lacking skills in one of the five essential areas of literacy. This "deficit" can be viewed as something that negatively affects their academic performance. Leading to the belief that they would benefit from remediated instruction or extra practice in those areas. 


Image result for struggling definition

"Anyone can struggle, and no one struggles all the time. No two readers struggle in the same way" (Bomer, 89). 

Students that struggle in any aspect of their academics often feel embarrassed and singled out. Students that struggle with reading feel as though the words they are reading on a page are in a different language that they do not comprehend. Instead of classifying these students as "strugglers", educators should move more towards working to create a safe and supportive environment for these readers that require more attention by:
  • Reading alongside the student
  • Ask questions to monitor if the reader is comprehending the material they are reading
  • Using the syntactic cueing systems (i.e. the student taking long pausing) 
  • Create stopping points within the reading to allow time to follow up with the student
  • Scheduling one-on-one time, or conferences, with the students that need more assistance
***Another good tactic that educators can utilize would be having all students choose books they find difficult, and work towards overcoming this as a group. Doing this ensures that no reader feels "singled out".

Moving Forward:

All leveling of texts and/or readers can be considered as harmful. We should stop addressing and classifying readers/books as "higher" and some as "lower" levels. We should eliminate "fourth-grade reading levels and second-grade books and eighth-grade readers" (Bomer, 97). We should no longer be thinking of a certain group of students as being apart of a "lower" reading club. This is not okay as it shows that we expect their analysis to be less intelligent compared to those of a higher reading level. 


Image result for struggling definition



References: 
Bomer, R., & Bomer, K. (2001). For a Better World: Reading and Writing for Social Action. 

Questions:
  1. Using the examples provided in Chapter 5 as a guide, what are some activities you could do in your future classroom for students that are struggling with the material provided?
  2. What can you do as an educator to eliminate the testing/ranking or sorting of your students, despite the expectations of school administrative leaders? 
  3. Have you ever been in a situation where you struggled with something that lead you to feel "singled out"? How did you deal with this? What was the outcome?

Comments

  1. I want to expand on the third question and extend beyond a specific situation to mentioned two significant challenges in my life, which left me feeling singled out in the classroom. The first of these two obstacles revolved around my speech disability, because not only was I in speech classes throughout elementary school, but I was one of only three students in my whole middle school who remained in speech classes. I felt single out, especially once I entered the older elementary school grades and middle school since I was the only student in my class who left to attend speech classes. Although I maintain a reading score on standardized tests high enough to become placed in honor classes, when I was required to read aloud, I would sometimes have difficulties physically pronouncing the words, even when I could comprehend the words in my head. Therefore, I felt singled out among my peers in the honor classes because when my speech provided barriers to pronouncing words correctly, I sense that people thought I was less intelligent. Although not at the same level as throughout my childhood, often, I still must formulate my thoughts in my head when talking towards a whole class because I maintain anxiety about stuttering. Despite being relatively popular throughout my schooling, personal isolation would become perceived because people would laugh at me in class and make jokes about how I talk. The way I overcame this issue was through perceiving myself in a strength-based manner and realizing that because I often exhibit a unique thought process, I believe people would listen to my opinions regardless of the barriers which have perpetually obstructed my capability to present my spoken expression. Moreover, I have used other outlets, such as writing poetry, as a form of expressing myself.
    The other critical challenge, which isolated me in school, resulted following experiencing a severe brain injury during my junior year of high school. I felt isolated in the classroom because I could not absorb curriculum material, I experience never-ending migraines, a lot of the previous information learned became eroded, I could only respond a couple of sentences at a time, and people made degrading jokes towards my brain injury daily. The isolation faced from my brain injury continues as I transition from an honor student into someone who potentially might not graduate from high school. A significant change, steering away from this direction of academic isolation, arose after reading two books, Concussion and The Ghost in My Brain: How a Concussion Stole My Life and How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Helped Me Get It Back. Taylor (2018) states, “When students engage with texts allowing them to recognize aspects of their own plight in the lives of the characters, they can be extended an invitation to release and relive” (p. 465). Through the text Concussion, I read about NFL players, who experienced Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, manifests numerous analogous symptoms as myself. Although my brain difficulties resulted following one specific incident, whereas the NFL players in the text showcased these symptoms after years of constant physical contact, through reading about players dealing with similar obstacles as myself, I finally felt that I was not alone in this battle. Therefore, by reading Concussion, I could relieve myself from this traumatic and arduous experience. Additionally, how I overcame this challenge and isolation occurred following reading The Ghost in My Brain. Through discovering the plasticity of the mind from a real-life character, who overcome a severe brain injury, I started exhibiting a growth-mindset, enrolled in college, and spent countless hours towards building intellectual competence.

    References
    Taylor, K. M. (2018). Rewriting John Henry: Using Texts to Interrogate Personal Trauma. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62(4), 463–465. doi: 10.1002/jaal.919

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brandon, I think you brought up some really important points. By connecting to the text and by sharing your personal experience and how this text helped you feel less isolated, we as future teachers can better understand how influential text can be to our students. It sounds as if you found that the book almost had reflected a part of you identity which made you feel less singled out. This related a lot to Rewriting John Henry: Using Texts to Interrogate Personal Trauma, as the author states "Texts also provide affirmation to readers by showing reflections of their identity and experiences. (Taylor, 2018)" Because our students have such a variety of lived experiences and cultural backgrounds, I think it is so important that as teachers, we build libraries that represent both many and all aspects of varying cultures as well as that represent a variety of different experiences that students may be able to relate to as well.

      Taylor, K. (2018). Rewriting John Henry: Using Texts to Interrogate Personal Trauma. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy , 463-465.

      Delete
    2. Brandon, I think that your connections to question three are powerful not only as they have affected you, but as they can help me learn to be a more effective educator. By seeing things that you have experienced and struggled with, I can better gain an understanding of what some of my students may face in the future, thus allowing me to better understand how to help these students combat their struggles. It is important for educators to have text in the classroom that, “provides refuge for students who are grappling with trauma” (Taylor, 2018). In your connections to the question, you show how your connections to text helped you visualize yourself and maybe not feel so isolated or left out. Taylor (2018) also states that, “text selection should be reframed and viewed as a shared activity between teacher and student.” I think that this is something that I will need to enact in my classrooms so that my students can feel I am on their side. Something that I am curious about is whether your teachers suggested you read those books, or whether you found them on your own? If a teacher didn’t suggest them to you or have you read them in class, how do you think you would have felt if one or both books were given to you to read for class?
      References
      Taylor, K. M. (2018). Rewriting John Henry: Using Texts to Interrogate Personal Trauma. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62(4), 463–465. doi: 10.1002/jaal.919

      Delete
  2. Great blog Sophie! As you have laid out the examples as a guide for your first question, I was trying to think of additional activities that may be beneficial to students who are reading at varying levels. As expressed on page 91 of For A Better World Chapter 5, I think one thing that would maybe help students most is to pair them with a peer. (Bomer & Bomer, 2001) This way, they can encourage one another and help each other, learning along the way. By having students reading in pairs while using challenging materials, they could help one another understand the context of the reading. I think another thing that is really important is to create a positive classroom environment that supports the diverse group of readers in your classroom. It may be beneficial for teachers to display a variety of books, with different content, cultures, and reading levels. As a teacher, you could explain the benefits of reading different types of books to all of your students, including books that may seem to be "lower level." By not allowing some books to seem as "higher" than others, you may prevent students from feeling lesser than their peers if the books they are reading are not the same as their classmates.

    Bomer, R., & Bomer, K. (2001). For a Better World: Reading and Writing for Social Action.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree with one of the methods an educator could benefit students of various reading levels is by pairing students with a peer. Although I believe the Vygotsky's term "more knowledgeable other" is subjective as individuals exhibit unique expertise, through paring students with readers who can assist scaffolding the student, the student may enter the zone of proximal development, which is vital because Vygotsky determines that children learn most efficiently when a "more knowledgeable other" scaffolds the students to complete a challenging task that the student would not have completed by themselves. Allowing students to enter the zone of proximal development through reading partners would become beneficial as an educator can only scaffold a certain number of students at once. Therefore, more students can simultaneously receive scaffolding by reading in partners. Moreover, this ideology has become proven through research where students with learning disabilities have benefited from reading with partners. I believe when students are supporting one another in this manner, a student who struggles with reading would feel less isolated analogous to when students perceive the support provided towards their academic success by their educator. Furthermore, this ideology is analogous to having a workout partner. Despite one workout partner may potentially possess more fitness knowledge or physical attributes than the other partner, through providing support for one another, the workout partner who may feel isolated in comparison to their peers at the gym, receives support to continue pushing themselves to progress in their physical development. Additionally, by comprehending the student's interests, cultural assets, and expertise, an educator can incorporate an analogous ideology through pairing students with similar reading attributes to support one another while simultaneously allowing students to use their multiple perspectives and background knowledge to build upon each other conceptual framework and deepen one another's understanding of the text.

      Delete
    2. Ilyssa, like what Brandon said in his response, I too believe that pairing students with each other to read is beneficial. Personally, I learn best from collaboration, and I thrive in environments where I get to learn from other students’ thoughts. For me, this type of learning would be very beneficial. Not only would I get to hear my peer’s thoughts on the readings and what they notice, but I can also learn how to look for new things in a text that I previously had not been paying attention to. Along with Brandon’s response though, I can see how this type of learning would also be beneficial to the educator as they would be able to allow the students to teach each other in ways and the educator could work with groups to guide students rather than working with each individual student in which there may be not a lot of time for that. As chapter 5 says, as educators we need to be meeting with students who struggle with reading, and we need to not neglect the other students, so this could be a way for time management in which all students are being guided and met with in the way that best fits their needs.
      References
      Bomer, R., & Bomer, K. (2001). For a Better World: Reading and Writing for Social Action.

      Delete
    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    4. Ilyssa, I think you make some really good points form the book. Pairing students up without their peers can benefit them and also the teacher. The students are able to be strategic with other classmates and see how they are answering or solving the questions. This one fits for me because sometimes I have a hard time understanding the question. Being in pairs or in small groups helps me because I can hear others thoughts. I also agree that you need a positive environment in the classroom. The environment is key in the class. Having a variety can really help students connect to the class because they are able to read about their culture and feel connected.

      Delete
    5. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  3. For question 3, I struggled a lot with math and reading. This was due to me being dyslexic. Many times after school I would go to tutoring or would have to miss recess to do extra work. This was a struggle for me because I felt isolated form my friends. This happened in 4th and 5th grade. I dealt with this by writing. I always had a notebook with me and would write everything down. This help me a lot growing up and it still does now. Writing helped me to see the letters in my own way and I could write however I wanted. I am still struggling with math but am a lot better in Reading. I think what really helped me with reading was my notebook and also choosing the books I read. I would always choose the super long books like The Hobbit or the Chronicles of Narnia series. Giving myself these long tasks helped me in the long run.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Amanda, your response gave me more insight into your life! I have not even thought about the solitary aspect of being dyslexic! You were very productive in working past your struggles! I also chose very long books like the Twilight series to help with my struggles in literacy. Developing a writing style similar to the books I read made me more confident in my writing and it also developed a sense of story telling within my writing, which continues to grow, like with writing my poems! For me, writing poems show depth, critical awareness, and personal reflection without being too concerned with my grammar. Whenever I write responses and essays, I view it as a story I'm trying to tell, which helps me lessen my anxiety. I have also struggled with science and social studies because of the unfamiliar words being used in readings, lessons, and assignments. Math has always been relatively easy for me because it requires only numbers, letters (for algebra) and equations. The best way for me to learn is to keep engrossing myself in topics/contents to become more familiar with these subjects so I can teach students with confidence.

      Delete
    2. Amanda, that is a really neat way that helped you. I struggled with math mainly but also reading at times. I would spend extra time and felt disconnected to friends just like you. It is really hard to be a kid in that position. I think that it is really important to find the things that help you succeed and make you feel better, which clearly you did. I found ways as well and it has helped me in math and reading since then. As future teachers, I think we need to make the extra effort to help our students feel special even if they feel left out, alone or that they are struggling.

      Delete
    3. Amanda, I was never pulled out of recess to get better at reading, that must have been hard and I would understand why you felt isolated. Though I was not pulled out of recess, as the reading talked about I was pulled aside to read to my teacher. I was embarrassed because I knew everyone else was supposed to be doing their individual readings, but I knew they listened into me reading. I even remember one time my teacher gave up on teaching me how to write a proper five, so she had one of the kids that I considered back then as "stupid" to teach me how. I was also pulled out of class for the last 30-45 minutes of the day to go to the resource room and I was upset that I missed out the spelling games they played at the end of the day.

      Delete
    4. Amanda, it seems like you had a very good work ethic and also very disciplined. I think it is fascinating that you were able to use your own strategies to help overcome this. You were able to find what worked for you and just stuck with it. There is no way I could have super long books like The Hobbit or the Chronicles of Narnia series. I didn't really like to read growing up and it wasn't because I was struggling reader, I simply just didn't apply myself. However, I enjoy to read now and read a lot this past summer. That was the first time I think I have ever read books for pleasure.

      Delete
    5. Amanda, I love that you did not let being dyslexic stop you from learning, you took the initiative and created a way to learn on your own! This is amazing and I love that you did not give up, when many of us would have. I also think that is great t incorporate into our future classrooms, by giving students notebooks/journals that they can write in whenever may help give them a voice and can even help them with their education! You could even collect it throughout the week and communicate with them or see what they are struggling with. Thank you for sharing your story and giving me a great idea to use in my future classroom to help all students feel included.

      Delete
    6. Amanda I really love the way that you relate this post to your life experiences. The way that you can use that to put yourself in your students shoes can definitely be beneficial for your future students! I think that the more people share their stories like this, then the more solutions for the issue will surface. We need to be inspirational to our students and make them feel welcomed to learn, instead of isolate them until they get their work done/understand lessons.

      Delete
  4. With response to question 3, I have always struggled with literacy, whether it be writing an essay (or response), speaking and presenting, and whole group discussions. When I first arrived in the U.S., I failed every language arts assignment I ever had. I always felt so left out when whole group discussion were taking place and to this day, I still do. What I struggled with the most was that my form of English was not accepted. I would turn in a paper that I felt was very well written and with opinions/argument/reasoning that was backed up by pertinent information, but my grammar was not perfect. My dad forced me to read literature over the summer which led me to become more familiar with American words. I became better with my writing, which was reflected by the grades I received. However, it still takes me quite a bit of time to write; I don't have the privilege of being able to google words, search the thesaurus, and re-read what I'm going to say, which still makes me feel left out when it comes to whole group discussions. I have to continuously remind myself to speak up and just do my best when it comes to relaying my opinions.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great blog! I think you outlined the main ideas of the reading very well. It is so important to not put the reading labels and typical terms used by teachers on students. Looking at number 3, I remember being singled out in math class in elementary and middle school on several different occasions. My teachers knew that I struggled and that I went to a tutor regularly so I feel like they didn't think they needed to do anything personally as my teacher. Every single time I had math, I felt nervous because I knew that if I asked questions or tried to get extra help, my teachers would be annoyed. I chose to go to study sessions in elementary school and also into high school. This was hard for me to do but I continued to do it so that the teacher saw my effort. They never seemed to explain the problems, but just let us try to figure it out on our own. That didn't work for me and it still doesn't to this day. I remember a specific time in middle school when my teacher said she couldn't help me when I asked a specific question. This was in front of everyone and I felt so stupid. I just wanted help but she wouldn't take the time to do that for me. There was never really an outcome to be honest but I have found ways that help me understand math better as I'v'e gotten older. I know what type of learning I need and that is hands on and repetition. Due to my experience with math, I know that I never want my students to feel this way and will make all the effort to make sure that they never do.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great response Abby! You're so right that we don't want our students to feel the way we did so it is important for us to make all the effort we possibly can so our students don't feel singled out or bullied. Definitely something to think about and look for as we head into the classroom next semester.

      Delete
  6. I really loved the idea of having the students picking and reading books that are difficult for them, not only to keep from singling out a child, but because all students should be reading books that are challenging them intellectually; that’s how they get better as readers. As a future educator I plan to use this idea in my own classroom. In the past I was the reader being singled out for reading on a lower level. I remember my teachers pulling me aside to read to them, only to get an endless amount of feedback about how I could be a better reader if only I did… I do understand the reading alongside a student but knowing how the student feels when they are the only one being pulled aside to do it, it is embarrassing. If a teacher decides they need to listen to a specific student read, they need to do it in a way that doesn’t single out one or two students. I think that a lot of teachers forget about students and how they perceive the situation of being pulled aside (they either think they’re in trouble or stupid).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You make an excellent point about how students will perceive being pulled aside. I remember I always thought something was wrong when it happened to me. One thing I've observed a (first grade) teacher do in her classroom was a rotation. First of all, all of her students knew what books they should and shouldn't be reading, and each child would pick a new book during that day. All of the students would read independently, and they would all take turns going to the teacher and reading to her. This strategy helped her gauge all of her students' progress with reading while not singling out any one student.

      Delete
  7. Great blog post Sophie! I am going to focus on your question three. When I was in elementary school I struggled with math. Still struggle with math now, but not as much as when I was younger. Anyways, I remember in about third grade it was made pretty obvious to my parents and teacher that I struggled with math. So I had to get a tutor and when some of my classmates found out they started to make fun of me. I struggled with this because none of my classmates had tutors so why did I have to have one. I argued with my parents about this and that is when I figured out how to deal with it. My mom sat me down explained to me why it was so important to have a tutor and how much it was going to help me. She told me to ignore my classmates and that one day I would realize how much it helped me. Well as the year went on I noticed myself learning and understand so much more about math. When it came to the end of the year and we took our end of the year assessment my teacher called me to her desk. She sat me down and told me that I had received the highest grade in my class. This was definitely something to brag about since I had the lowest score at the beginning of the year, but I knew that wasn't the right thing to do.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a great story Jessica. I am glad you stuck with having a tutor because it obviously paid off. There are many cases like that I feel like, where if one student has to get a little extra help or take a different path to succeed, they will get laughed at by other students. It will is impossible to always avoid this, but I feel like if teachers establish and safe and welcoming classroom environment, it will reduce the amount of times of this occurring.

      Delete
    2. Aww Jessica, I am sorry that you were made fun of, that never helps our self-esteem. I'm glad you stuck with the tutor and you were able to gain confidence. I hope you continue to grow your confidence in yourself, so when your students go through the same thing you can help them find a tutor or be their tutor. As a teacher is may be hard to see all teasing that may go on, but creating that safe space for our students it should help eliminate most.

      Delete
  8. I really like how you started your blog off with this quote, “"Anyone can struggle, and no one struggles all the time. No two readers struggle in the same way" (Bomer, 89). I think this so important for teachers to know, because we shouldn’t compare students when they are struggling. I think it is great to try methods and share ideas that helped other students who were struggling, but to expect those methods to work I think is almost irresponsible. To answer first question, the activity the book offers I really like is having a scavenger hunt in the school and community for easier and more interesting reading materials (Bomer, p. 91). I really like how this activity includes the community, because it is very important to include the students’ culture/community in the classroom. By allowing the community to be involved this will help all readers because they will find books that can relate to them, therefore would result in more interest in reading. I think this would work extremely well for struggling readers, because I think if a teacher can find them a book they are interested in. I believe they will choose to want to read which relates back to the first tenet of culturally relevant pedagogy, “All students will experience academic success.” (Ladson-Billings, 1995). I think the second question is pose is interesting. I remember having several teachers who would “sort” students by skill level. For example, the “above average”, “average average”, and “below average” students would be sorted into four groups during “station time” in class. I never really agreed to this method, because everyone knew which student was in which group. Sometimes there would even be another group you could say was “way below average.” If I was a teacher I would mix all the students into different groups. I think by putting a student who is below average with a student who is above average it would really benefit them, because of the discussions. Also, the student who is seen as “below average” may end up teaching the “above average” student something because they are given that opportunity.

    ReplyDelete
  9. To answer your third question, during my sophomore year I took Pre-Calculus Honors. Math was never my strongest area and I always required a little more attention from my peers and teachers in this subject. Prior to my sophomore year, my teachers and friends were always understanding of this. I was allowed to sit by my friends and ask them for help and my teachers made me feel confident and comfortable enough to come to them for help as well. However, my teacher during Pre-Cal H saw me asking my friends for help as me being lazy. He never inquired about if I needed help, but continued to call me out in class for not completing my homework (little did he know I stayed up until midnight and skipped dinner some nights in order to finish what I could before absolutely exhausting my mind). All my friends seemed to understand the material, and despite my efforts to come into class early, my teacher still ignored my confusion and frustration. Although this isn't related to reading, my teacher should have definitely put forth more effort to ensure my success in this class by asking me what specifically I needed to help me learn, taking my efforts to come to class early more seriously and possibly even allowing me to have homework that I would find easier to grasp.

    ReplyDelete
  10. When I read question 3, I instantly knew a time I felt singled out, I was never the best at math I remember when I got my first C on a math test I was in 5th grade and my teacher brought the test over to me and told me that i did not do good job, I needed to try harder. What she did not realize is I was trying as hard as I could, I did not get it, I could not comprehend the questions being asked and she wouldn't slow down on the teachings, so I shut down, never asked questions and continued to struggle with math for the rest of my schooling. I was always in the low math, but never received the proper education to help me move up a math level or even understand math better. I felt like I was just being babysat and it did not matter if I knew math or not. I didn't even have to take a math class my senior year. Once I was in college I continued to struggle I hired tutor after tutor and just got through the courses. Still feeling alone I took the 3 education math courses and passed them, I had a teacher that did not allow me to fail and be brushed under the rug. I did not feel so alone anymore, until I had to take the CASA... 5 times to be exact and I felt like I was all alone again, struggling, my family tried to help me, I went to study sessions, I got tutors etc. I was so close to passing, I am talking 2 point away TWICE. I knew I was so close to passing so I studied harder and finally passed I felt so accomplished I actually cried, I had finally done it, and I realized I was not all alone, my family was just as excited as I was.

    ReplyDelete
  11. To answer question 3, reading was actually an area I always struggled in. I learned to read at a very young age and could always read way above my grade level. However, I am not a fast reader and this was how my school gauged your reading lexile. So, because I read so slow I was forced to read books below where I truly was or lie and hope I picked a good number.
    This was a very embarrassing part of school for me as we were required to say our numbers out loud in class. Clearly it made an impact because I still think about it years later. I think its extremely important that we support our students in striving for success but also practice new techniques of finding these types of answers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow Taylor, I am very sorry that your teacher/s made you read below your grade level and have you share out your number. I have a similar experience, although we didn't share our level our teacher had it up on display for everyone to see, they would always say, "oh, I'm doing better than you...". This would hurt me and made me hate reading.
      As we are going to be teachers at least we know what not to do, to insure that our students don't feel the way we do.

      Delete
  12. In regards to question 3, I struggled with Math a lot and in 6th grade I started to get pulled from class to meet with a different teacher that worked with me and two other students, to help us catch up. This was really embarrassing because I had a small class and because it was a small school everyone knew that the teacher we went with was basically a tutor and we were doing poorly in the subject she pulled us from. I basically just kept my head down and didn't entirely deal with it. I just wanted to catch back up so I didn't have to get pulled from class anymore. Looking back I wish I would've just paid more attention in class and asked my teacher more questions so that I didn't have to get pulled in the first place. I am also kinda glad I was able to get the extra help that I needed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sorry that happened to you, Andrea. I had a similar experience with one of my classmates, though from the perspective of a student who didn't get pulled out. In fifth grade, I had a few classmates get pulled during our English lessons, and through the gossip chain I learned they were going to see a speech tutor. I still know one of the two students from fifth grade and she has explained to me how it really hurt her confidence in herself to complete English-related work -- reading or writing.

      Delete
    2. This is so sad, sorry this happened to you! Whether teachers realize it or not, other students in the classroom notice when their peers are pulled out. Which can lead to students in the classroom to gossip as to why the student was pulled out. Like Brandt said, it can hurt student's confidence when they have to pulled out or singled out in front of the classroom and not want to learn or go to school.

      Delete
  13. Sophie, Great blog post. To answer question 2, I would like of offer different ways of finding out what my students have learned. I know growing up I had so much anxiety when I had exams or quizzes, even though I knew the information once I took the exam I would freeze up and not remember everything. Personally struggling with test anxiety, I don't my students to have anxiety, so I will provide alternative ways to see what they know. I really enjoyed the midterm for Capstne, so I will ask my students to ask questions on topics we learned in class and have them either record their responses, type them, or meet with me one on one. I want to hear what they recall from our lessons. This can help me see what they learned and what I can help make any clarifications. Also, it will allow me to see if I need to make any changes in the way I deliver the content. Another way I can keep progress on my students is by having them create a project of some sort to allow them to showcase what they learned. The project can be designed in many ways to allow students to be creative and showcase their talents. I feel there are many way to assess students, I hope we learn more this semester.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nancy I think you have great ideas for an alternative to testing students. I also have test anxiety, and feel like I forget everything I have ever learned when a test is put in front of me. Therefore, I also enjoyed our midterm for Capstone! The way we got the study guide, and were able to give a less formal explanation for topics really worked for me. I think that if we spend more one on one time with each of our students to discuss with them their understanding of materials we would not only build a closer relationship by talking with them, but we also avoid test anxiety by creating a more comforting style of assessment.

      Delete
    2. The midterm was also something I really enjoyed as an alternative to paper work. It felt less formal, like I had the freedom to mess up but still get my point across. A previous class I took (Assessments for ENL students) had us doing something similar: create a three-minute video about the essay/chapter of our class text, watch it in class, then lead our classmates in a discussion about their opinions on the matter. It sounds like a great way to change up standard assessing.

      Delete
  14. Addressing the second question: What can you do as an educator to eliminate the testing/ranking or sorting of your students, despite the expectations of school administrative leaders? I think advocating that grades are not the best indicator of understanding or growth through the school year is a strong first step. Allowing them to see that portfolios are a better indicator of growth, with the added benefit of having the students be in charge of analyzing and observing their own work to put on display as evidence of their work progress.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love that you started this out with the quote you did. I love this quote. Addressing the third question, Have you ever been in a situation where you struggled with something that lead you to feel "singled out"? How did you deal with this? What was the outcome? I do not have anything school related but I do have something personal. I had some friends when I was in high school and all they ever wanted to do was go to parties and drink, and this is something that I didn't like doing. I was an athlete, and even if i went to a party and wasn't drinking. With the scholarship I had, if I was caught at a party with underage drinking, I could have lost my scholarship so i had better priorities than going to parties. So with this, some of my friends slowly stopped hanging out with me, and I figured why. I also felt left out though because I kept seeing my friends hanging out together without me. The only thing I could do was tell them how I felt. So I told them I didn't want to stop being friends, but i just didn't want to go to parties. After this we started hanging out more and talking again, but it definitely was not like it was before.

    ReplyDelete
  16. To answer your last question, I was singled out a lot in kindergarten and first grade because I didn't speak English by students and also by some teachers. It hurt my feelings and made me so sad to the point where I would cry when I got home. My parents didn't do anything about it because they didn't speak English so they felt they wouldn't be heard or understood. From this happening to me, I was motivated to learn English and I was reading at a high reading level by the end of first grade. For other students going through this same experience, it might be different for them. Some students might feel let down and refuse to learn or pay attention for being singled out. Additionally, some parents could have gone to the school to tell them about their child's problems while others either don't say anything out of fear or might not know because the child isn't saying anything. So advocating for your students and helping them but not singling them out can help the student while also helping parents who worry for their children.

    ReplyDelete
  17. As an educator we need to be able to differentiate instruction so that our students are able to be met where they are needed without being put into specialized groups. Although high ability classrooms are good for the ones that may need the extra challenge they should not all be formatted this way. You should have a mix of all students in classrooms to help each one build off of the other students strengths.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Don't take my identity