Great Video featuring Sir Ken Robinson
The best part of this video is not only how it dissects education and the problems we face, but how it exemplifies visual learning at the same time. Let us know what you think!
Anne Ford- A Special Mother
Anne Ford, former Chair of the National Center for Learning Disabilities, has a great new book out entitled “A Special Mother.” This is a book all teachers should read, to help understand the parents of students who struggle in school, and what they go through on their children’s behalf. Likewise, it’s the book teachers should have ready to suggest to parents who are on the fence or seem in denial about their child’s school struggle, and may help them both acknowledge and accept their child for who they are, as well as help them be good advicates for their kids.
When differentiating instruction, teachers need to try to ensure that all students benefit from lessons, regardless of ability or disability. Depsite all your efforts, there will be some kids with learning disabilities in the classroom who will need additional help. You’re going to need to have the vocabulary and understanding of where the parents of these children are coming from, in order to help them recognize and address their children’s issues.
This is not an easy task. But as a classroom teacher, you are probably the person parents most look to for a clue that their child’s issues are not typical and need “something else.” Without your input, your intuition, your heads up, parents may ignore the issue for years. As a parent, I know we all want our kids to be perfect, and accepting that they’re not, and worse yet, may have a “difference” or “disability”, is really hard to hear. But the educators who first helped me understand and address my own son’s learning probalems will always have a special place in my heart, because they got me to move and address a problem early, before it become more serious and potentially harder to address. It’s not easy to say or to hear that a child is struggling. But hiding the facts under the rug, or hoping it will just go away, only makes a problem worse and harder to solve.
With differentiating instruction, you will be assessing children more frequently, and as a result, you will get a great picture of the student’s strengths and weaknesses. Share this information with parents, including when additional testing may be warranted. It will help parents become better and more effective partners in their children’s education, and will help make your job easier as well. Treat your students and their parents like you would want to be treated, and give them the information they need to make good decisions. They still may not make all the right decisions, and they may still choose to ignore problems, but you will have planted a very important seed towards making that child’s life better in the future.
A Special Mother is a great book to help teachers understand the guilt and self-blame many mothers feel. Once you understand this point of view, dealing with those “crazy, neurotic” parents should become easier as well. That Mom who always seems to shake or cry at teacher meetings may be hearing something she knows but has been afraid to say or acknowledge out loud. That parent who gets angry when their child struggles may be seeing alot of their own struggles in their child, and have a hard time acknowledging not only that there’s something to do for the child, but that no one helped them when they were a kid, and may feel like their own parents let them down.
Children struggling in school can push a lot of buttons for parents, and you may be in the unfortunate position of having to push some of those buttons in order to help your students. I know I’ve struggled how to talk to good friends of mine when I know their child likely has a learning disability, and I know they may not want to hear anything about it. This can be very hard. But it needs to be said and acknowledged.
If children are still struggling even in a differentiated classroom, further evaluation may be warranted. Don’t be afraid to say so, to parents or to the administration. Address the problem as early as possible for the sake of the child. And if you are having problems finding the words or helpng parents deal with the cauldron of emotions, suggest they check out “A Special Mother.” It can only help.
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The Possibilities of Differentiated Instruction
Differentiating Instruction is about trying to make sure every child has a chance to learn to their best potential. In today’s diverse classrooms, teachers need to teach not just to the middle of the bell-shaped curve, but make sure the needs of those requiring enrichment are met, as well as those who might be struggling. In many ways, this is the promise of “Individualized Education Plans”- that children will get a customized education instead of one-size fits all. Differentiated Instruction tries to give teachers tools to make a customized education a reality for all students, not just those with IEP’s.
With the significant administrative burdens of students with IEP’s and 504 plans, the thought of having to do this sort of thing for every student in the classroom could make any teacher cringe. In reality, Differentiated Instruction involves planning, assessment and tweeking lessons on the fly, making the whole classroom a more engaging and interactive experience for teachers and students alike.
This year, I have children in 7th and 10th grade myself. I live in a school district where the teachers are phenomenal, and have shown me time and again they are willing to go the extra mile if the other side of the equation- the kid and the family- are responsive. For example, this morning, my 12 year old woke up with some nasty stomach issues. I emailed all of his teachers asking for work. We emailed assignments to the teachers that needed to be handed in today.
Best of all, at third period, his social studies teacher is going to connect him to the classroom through skype. Timewise, it takes a few minutes to set up, but it means my child will miss one less class, one less instructional day, and at the same time, not get his friends sick. Economically, it’s using tools already inside the classroom and at home, so it’s free. Everyone wins when something like this becomes possible. A child missing school still can get their work done as much as possible, and teachers don’t have to worry about trying to catch them up nearly as much.
I know this is not “normal” and it’s an anomaly. But what if it doesn’t have to be? What if we do go to one to one laptop ratios? What if kids do have wifi at home? What if kids can attend school virtually when they need to? Attendance will still matter, of course, as will handing in all work that’s due, but many fewer kids may fall behind.
Things like this take money and time to be sure. Without a wired school district, this couldn’t happen. Without a wired home, this couldn’t happen. But the “Let’s give it a try” attitude of the faculty and staff is even more important to the overall equation. It may work well or it may not, but we’ll never know until we give it a test drive.
While we wait for class to start, my son’s reviewing activities and podcasts his teacher has placed on her web page. His reviewing social studies and science lessons. The technology doesn’t replace the importance of being in the classroom. It doesn’t replace his teachers. These tech tools augment his learning and allow it to continue outside the classroom. When a kid decides it’s more fun to go and do activities on his teacher’s website- games that also relate to stuff in class- than watch TV, you know you’re winning the battle of engagement.
Engagement and sparking that interest in learning is well over half the battle in education. Once you have attention, you can take kids on an amazing journey through learning. We have to find ways for them to be successful. We have to find ways to make the pathways towards curriculum goals achievable for them. It may not always be easy. But in the end, seeing that kid really excited about going to school, and upset when they can’t go is what every parent and every teacher wants for kids. And it’s what kids want as well- to feel like they are really doing something important and meaningful every day.
Differentiation is one of the keys to getting on that road, and I hope this blog and podcast series will help make that easier for you to achieve in your own classrooms.
