A response to October 1, 2011 "When Caring is Hard" -Deborah

I have to agree to an extent with Danielle.  I think there are benefits to giving the children with special needs the opportunity to be educated with their peers.  I also believe, however, that we must hold the best interests of ALL children as a priority at all times.  In order for mainstreaming to be effective adequate resources must be available.  Without adequate and appropriate resources, benefits to all children are compromised.  The needs of some children require a great deal of time and attention both directly and indirectly from teachers, admin and support staff.  I believe a great deal of thought needs to go into planning appropriately for these children.  There are many variables that need to be considered.  Mainstreaming requires incredible commitment and dedication from all.  Ideally, wherever possible, resources should be in place prior to the commencement of the school year because once the year begins, time ticks away very quickly. 

A response to October 7th, 2011 -Choosing Between Students -Tammy

I believe you made the correct decision in celebrating the success of the top five achievers in your class. You are the role model that provided them with the tools to accomplish this great endeavour. Without your positive care and guidance they may not have accomplished this on their own.Your students would have expected you to be present for the entirety of the assembly. I like Cendu's point,"They may be strong academically but these students may still need your social and emotional support". As their teacher, you should be proud of yourself for being able to use a teaching strategy that proved to be affective. Teaching is very complex because of the diversity of learners.
Subconsciously, you felt strangely uncomfortable because you are person who genuinely wants everyone to succeed. The students who were in the study hall may be working at a different pace than the others. Students do not need an award to show that they are successful. A simple kind word of encouragement can go a long way. When a teacher acknowledges students strengths rather than there weaknesses, intrinsically they will want to try harder. I also agree with what Emily said, "Making sure you follow up with that discomfort by making an effort with those who weren't at the assembly".

A response to September 20th, 2011 -Too Much Prep -Maryam

I agree with you when you mention that “ So teaching less content but relationally has more value than teaching a lot of content without understanding where the students are emotionally, socially and cognitively.” I believe that it is crucial that as educators we are teaching for a purpose and have a goal of how the content will be delivered. I also firmly believe that we need adequate time to plan for our students. I recall as an Early Childhood Educator, in one of my placements I had to document all of the spontaneous teaching that I did. At first I thought well if it is not planned, it’s not teaching. I later learned that I was able to teach a preschooler the concept of sink and float by being attuned to her interest in throwing pebbles, leaves and other things in a puddle on the playground. I have seen teachers not fully prepared and pull last minute lessons out of a hat; this is a dis-service to our students. I have also seen teachers spend all of their weekends writing lessons and are exhausted the rest of the week. This again is disservice to our students. I say this because if we are not fully energized and able to engage our students because we are swamped with work we are not able to meet the needs of our students. Just like everything else in life there must be a balance in planning and teaching authentically.

Cristine's response to Oct 7 2011 -Choosing Between Groups of Students

Rob, the situation of your discomfort crosses my mind every time I am at my placement. I fear that I continuously say "good job on your art" or "great job on your math today" to those who normally do well and those who are on the contrary don't get much attention. At my placement school they have a virtue assembly every month. Every month the school focuses on a virtue and a child from every class receives an award for illustrating that virtue. Furthermore, other awards are given, such as "the most improved student". Two students from each class get an award every month of the school year, which I think provides a lot of opportunity.

In your case, however, it's a little more complicted. I always wondered what the award is based on? Is it just that they achieved the highest mark? Most improved? Although the student with the highest mark in the subject well deserves the award I feel that it shouldn't always be based on highest marks. This may discourage some of the students, especially those who just can't seem to do well. This is a tough situation. I try hard to acknowledge every student in my placement class, but, it is hard. However, I know that it makes all the difference, especially those who struggle.

I remember when I graduated from elementary school, there were many awards given- I didn't recieve one. Many of my friends did though and it wasn't that I did badly in school, I just didn't recieve the highest mark. I was kind of upset by it. My teacher actually briefly talked to me about it and asked me how I felt. She explanined that she was just as proud of me, but, she had limited awards. Her sincere conversation made me feel a ot better

 As a teacher I think we know the students that may feel bad about recieving an award and a simple motivational conversation might bring the studnent self-esteem back up. After all, it may not be about them feeling upset, for the most part students know when they deserve something and when they don't. Furthermore, maybe it's just that they feel as you do, except that they feel uncomfortable about not getting an award just as you feel not giving them one. There are plenty of ways for teachers to honour their students. You may just want to have a conversation before the award assembly stating that awards will be given and some students will get on and others won't and that's okay because you're proud of the hard work they have done all year. Schools should really change the awards process- they should be peer voted just like the valedictorians are chosen!