• So much of a child’s personality and skills are set in the early years. It is kind of depressing when you are a middle or high school teacher. But should we throw up our hands and say there is nothing we can do? What hope do we have with a student who has had low grades for years and has lost all motivation?
• What ideas do you have after reading the chapter and listening to the TAL episode about how we can better help our students succeed in life?
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I would have to say that the first thing you can do for that student who has lost all motivation is to start small. Give them chances to be successful in the tiniest of things. Give them responsibilities that you know they can fulfill and feel proud of. If they start to see that they are actually successful, perhaps it will start to have an affect on their way of thinking. Another thing you can do is give them as many poker chips as you can, as often as you can :)
ReplyDeleteIt seems a little depressing, but people do change! When I think about my reading/studying habits in high school (or even the first year of college) I can only laugh at myself. People are (hopefully) always changing their ideas and perceptions of the world. This is the only way that progress ever get accomplished in my opinion. Katey's got the right idea...The students can't succeed unless we give them that opportunity -one they may not be getting from anywhere else. The Matthew Effect works both ways. The more they are successful, the higher the probability that this positive behavior will continue.
ReplyDeleteThis is what really excites me about teaching elementary students. They are so impressionable. They are interested and excited by the smallest things, as an elementary teacher I can make things enjoyable and give them the encouragement that they will need to continue and grow. --Jenn V
ReplyDeleteI think that at times you should focus on what the student is interested in the most and go from there. When I was shadowing at GMC, there was a student that was quiet and not interested in his classes throughout the day, but he had a substitute at the end. He was allowed to draw during this period, and his ability was absolutely amazing for his age. He was grinning from ear to ear, and all of the girls in the class came over to brag about how talented he is at drawing and singing. I never would have known if he was not given the opportunity to express himself in such a way. This talent could be used as a pathway to succeed in other areas by incorporating it into the lesson.
ReplyDeleteGetting the parents involved is a huge step. In the TAL story it seemed to be the main factor of success of baby college was the parent involvement. I know they were dealing with infants and how much an infant has to say about their lives is much different than a high school student but I think if we had a significant increase in parent involvement we would also see an increase in interest in our students. I received the most motivation from home. The difference in students who have parent support and who do not is huge and if we work to change that we could change how our students perceive themselves.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Claire parent involvement is a crucial part of a child's growth and success. in the TAL story Baby College I thought was a good idea in a way. It showed parents how they can be involved and how important it is to be involved with your children. As teachers I think that we should find ways to get students parents involved whether it is by offering activities for students and parents to participate in or by just contacting parents and letting them know what they can do for there child to help them succeed in the classroom. To a child I think encouragement is the greatest thing we can do for them, we should encourage all students to do better and give extra encouragement to those who do not get it at home. ---Jenn V.
ReplyDeleteI think, as middle school and high school teachers, we have to begin the year or semester by making a serious effort to really get to know our students. If we know what they are curious about, it helps tremendously while planning lessons. I know that not every child is going to be excited or curious about every single lesson I teach, but I think it is worth my effort and energy to try. As so many people have already said, starting small, like building a lesson around an idea or theme that the kids are interested in or already know a little about, provides an opportunity for small successes, which lead to bigger ones.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, programs like Baby College (and to a certain extent, GCEC) get recognized for their effectiveness and become more widely instituted. Unfortunately for the time being we have to work with who we are given. The first part each year or semester may have to be devoted to "reprogramming" the students in order to erase their misconceptions and to give them a foundation on which to build the new data they will learn. Encouragement and kindness are both crucial in this phase -I have had some brilliant teachers and professors that I totally tune out after the first day because of their attitudes. If we are equipping them for life and not just our field of study then we need to show them how successful and knowledgeable people act.
ReplyDeleteThe Baby College idea is pretty ingenious, but like Lee said, the misconceptions and/or preconceptions should be addressed with older students. Parents play a crucial part in child development, and if the parents were not involved early on in the child's life, it will be our responsibility as teachers to get the parents involved. The difficult part will be guiding the parents in involvement without making them seem like they are bad parents. To make the students more motivated will depend on the situation. I think that providing opportunities to excel is the key for more student participation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything! The problem is that people have to want to change. THere are people out there that are just fine with raising their kids like they were raised. "If it was good enough for me, then it'll be good enough for them." It takes work to change and our society has become very lazy as a whole. However, there is hope for the future and I believe focusing in on young parents is key for our societies future.
ReplyDeleteAs teachers I hope that none of us ever throws up our hands and gives up. There is ALWAYS something we can do, but we have to be commited to our cause. I like the idea that small successes over and over will compound and hopefully turn into larger ones. We also have to believe that every student is already successful in some way or another, then help them realize it. We have to try to get everyone in a students life to buy into that childs success including parents, and also other teachers who have that student in class. It has to be a team effort!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lee in the comment that people really do change! I think we can all find examples of how we have changed even since the time we have been in grad school this past year. To be successful one has to have the ability to be flexible and always have room for growth.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, it is ALWAYS important to never give up on a child. Building a strong relationship with your students and learning what it is they enjoy the most is the first step in turning a child around that has lost all motivation in school. It's all about making connections and building up their confidence so they actually believe in themselves, despite their background and past experiences.
I really liked the chapter in the book and TAL episode. I found them both to be very enlightening.
ReplyDeleteIt is important to teach those non-cognitive skills that are necessary for someone to be successful. One good way is to lead by example, and create situations, assessments, projects, in which your students can cultivate those different characteristics.
As far as the "student who ha had low grades for years and has lost all motivation"...I think our previous blogging efforts gives good ideas. Praise praise praise, talking to them about time and effort verses skill and intelligence, dis crediting the myths about being born smart, and finding evidence in their own lives in what they're successful in.
ReplyDeleteDepressing? Pssh! As if!...Well, high school, maybe. I just wanted to rebuke the depressing comment by stating my personal feelings that there is still some strong and significant shaping to be done in middle school. Typically, the structure begins to change in middle school, with different teachers in different classes instead of one teacher covering a variety of subjects. It is at this time where they begin to develop their true organization and time management skills. Admittedly, I do feel that by high school, children are far more set in their ways.
ReplyDeleteRegardless... Never give up! Never surrender! There is always something we can do. Dr. Alby has always preached on the pride of reaching those one or two students that present particular problems--be it behavioral or simple disinterest. So, as a teacher, never forget that there are two ways to measure your worth--scholastic with grades, and socially by reaching and finding the motivation to those troublesome students.
I would also like to lend my own words concerning TAL and parent involvement.
ReplyDeleteYes. Yes. Yes.
I am a subscribed Ron Clark-ist when it comes to parent involvement. He went to nearly every child's home in the streets of Harlem just so they could be on the same page. Communication is crucial in every aspect of the real world, and the classroom is no exception. By interacting with parents you increase that communication ten fold and it is a strong indicator to the student that the teacher cares by being involved in their life like that. It is important to promote that you are part of the child's "family." This includes important rules of mutual respect both at home and in the classroom. Work in just the class can be all in vain if not enforced and understood in the student's home.
Like the TAL episode, it also very important to note that the more the parents are involved and take an interest in their child's life the more likely that kid will have at succeeding. Like Claire had stated, the TAL episode focused on infants and how parents could change their future by doing simple things like reading to them. If parents of children who were older used the same mind set than these children could also have a chance of succeeding.
ReplyDeleteI think Alex is right, there is still hope of reaching and shaping high school students. And if we begin seeing this a being something depressing eventually it could be. Keeping positive is something that I struggle with every day and not just about education. But, this year I have learned that it really has a huge impact of you day, week, semester, year. Being positive every day will grow into larger times and I think it has a tremendous ruling over how other perceive you, even your students.
ReplyDeleteAs a few have already mentioned, I think you do have to set them up for small successes at first and then grow upon that. Also, the children need to see that you are there to support them be it emotionally or standing up for them in certain situations like we saw in the article and TAL recording. I think no matter where a person is in life, if they know that they do not have to face things alone, then their perspective on the situation can be altered.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I have learned through a short time of teaching is that students watch and see EVERYTHING! As Claire pointed out, it is always important to have a positive attitude and as several others have mentioned be a good role model. Students mimic behaviors and attitudes they see from adults and if we provide a good example then we may give them something they arent getting outside of school.
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