Chapter 3
We, as teachers, need to help the students have equal chances. Not only do we need to make sure this happens, but we should also make sure the students know that you are trying your hardest to provide them an equal chance. I liked the example of the teacher who greeted each child individually and had the student put their “troubles” in a basket on their way into class and write down a word they aren’t familiar with (which they go over later on in the day). I liked how it talked about mentors, advocates and partners. I can see the benefit of trying to be all three of them to our students
Chapter 4
I like how it talks about mistakes can be helpful. Even the teachers mistakes, when shared with the students, can be used to show why something doesn’t work, or how to figure out the correct answer when you’re wrong. I liked how the book told about a teacher who created a code word. “Bingo” meant that the students had done their absolute best work. So when the teacher asked if a paper was bingo, and the student answered yes, it meant that the student had worked their hardest and done their best on the paper. I think that you could find a word that means something to your students and have it be a code word for excellence. If the word means something, like an acronym, the students might feel like the word is even more significant. I liked the ‘teach up, work up’ because it reminded me of the saying, “Shoot for the moon, even if you don’t hit it you’ll make it to the stars!” If you give your students work that is slightly above their level, they will still try, and who knows, maybe they’ll be able to make it! But even if they don’t quite make it, they will have tried and have learned something new! I liked how it said that your observations of the students should be 50% on the positive things they’re doing, and 50% on the deficits. I think that is very important; it means you don’t focus on their deficits any more than ½ of the time! Another thing is that while observing the students, keep in mind that whatever conclusion you come to should be taken tentatively because the student is always changing, meaning the student is always doing better!
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2 comments:
Alli: I'm sort of confused... some of the things you say about chapter 3 were, I thought, discussed in chapter 4. Some of what you said about chapter 4 didn't sound familiar at all. Yours is the first response that doesn't talk about how the chapters help them want to be the kind of teacher they've always dreamed of. Would you mind taking one more "skimmed" look at chapters 3 & 4 and let me know what really stands out for you... what you can really connect with?
I will look at the chapters again. I'm not really sure what happened. I thought I had read chapters 3 and 4 but maybe somehow I read the wrong ones! Thanks for letting me know, I'll look at that this week!
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