Reflections

This Suit’s For Wearing

Whether we like to admit it or not, the myth of the normal child affects our perceptions of our students. How will you challenge this myth in your own practice?

The “myth” of the normal child is a very common preconception most teachers have. This myth essentially entails that every student learns, is taught and assessed in the same way. Just how Mr. Dyer assessed all his students the same even though Ngoc and Noor did not benefit from how he was teaching and assessing the lesson. In reality, every student is different and each class is filled with diverse learners. Unfortunately this myth can be very damaging as it usually entails that just because a student may learn differently they are labelled as “different”. Just as Alejandra was labelled a “freak” by her peers.

There is always a reason why students act the way they do – perhaps like the “corner girls” some struggle with family issues, or undiagnosed mental health issues, or maybe some students act out because they aren’t getting enough attention at home. In the teaching program we have been taught that this is when we would use UDL (Universal Design for Learning) for students in each lesson and apply that in our teaching. This impacts how the student is taught, assessed and how they learn.

When I am a teacher I will as myself questions like “What teaching strategy/approach is best for this student to maximize their learning potential?”. To be the best educator I can be I have to realize that not every student fits the same “mold” so to say. I know that the teachers that adapted to my learning needs were the best teachers I’ve ever had – because they took the time to get to know me and understood I learned differently than other students did. In the end, Mr. Dyer realized that each student is an individual who all have different needs and that perhaps not all students benefited from his way of assessment.

 

Flipping Burgers

How does Elizabeth address learned helplessness in her classroom, and what are the positive and negative implications of her approach? 

             Elizabeth addresses her concerns to the principle Dianne. First she asks Dianne if it’s okay that her class write and preform a play in front of the school instead of doing individual speeches. She approached Dianne again asking if it would be okay that she let her students revise and resubmit assignments to which Dianne approved of her approach.

Elizabeth changed her approach because she noticed that her students were more concerned and “stressed” over their marks than their learning. A student voiced their concerns as well by telling her that they just “can’t do math” and that they have always been a “C student and that’s the best they’ll ever do”. The positives to this approach is that she noticed that her students were taking more of an interest in learning, and in turn their grades were improving. She believed that by giving them a chance, and believing in them, that their self esteem and their marks would improve. Which they did. Teachers like Elizabeth adapt and don’t take preconceptions of students to heart. She gave them a chance to take control of their learning. Teachers like Kevin stick with judgments made and don’t give them a chance to help them improve. Learned helplessness can lead to serious mental health issues, so by giving her students this option Elizabeth helped provide them overcome it. As a student you always want to have a teacher looking out for your best interests.

The only negative implications to Elizabeth’s approach that I thought of while reading this case was that she was giving the students multiple chances to resubmit their work. As she said, one student handed in their work seven times. Although done with good intentions, you don’t usually get opportunities like this in high school, university, or in your career.

 

Alone In a Crowd

“Is the regular classroom always the best place for students with special needs? Why or why not?”

I think that it 100% depends on the student and their needs. When Nan came to talk in our class the other day about inclusive education I feel I had more of an appreciation of the topic after her presentation. Beforehand, she gave us a sticky note and asked us where we think children with disabilities should be “placed” – in segregated education or inclusive education. I put my sticky note in inclusive education because during our program we have talked about practicing equality with our students. After the presentation, however, I changed my view. For example, throughout the case study, Darlene has outbursts towards her peers when something happens and “goes wrong”. The case doesn’t specify what different needs Darlene has but by putting her hands over her head to drown the noise, inching along the lockers to avoid bumping into other students, and having outbursts that affect her peers and teachers, perhaps a regular classroom environment does not work for her.

For other students, perhaps a regular classroom setting does work for them. As Nan said in her presentation, one of the students she talked about thrived in a classroom setting. As future educators, we will have classrooms filled with many diverse students with a high chance that some of them might have higher/different needs than other students. This is where differentiated instruction (DI) comes in. I want to be the best teacher I can be so this entails understanding my students well enough that if they are struggling in the regular classroom setting that an alternate setting might be a better fit. And visa versa, if an alternate classroom setting doesn’t challenge the student enough then maybe a regular classroom setting might work better for them. This will, of course, require communication with parents and guardians and the student themselves.

Responses

This Suit’s For Wearing – Response to Indigo J.

Hi Indigo,

I agree with your thinking about the lower level learners or those with learning disabilities tend to be the majority of students who are segregated in a classroom. I believe as well that there will be certain students in our classrooms that will need extra help but how can we do this without bringing attention to it and not segregating these students? In my elementary school, instead of singling out one student our class was separated into groups of like minded students who learned a similar way (either higher or lower levels of learning, or both). Although this doesn’t completely encompass the learning diversity of students, I found that it helped me when I was in school. That way students aren’t labelled as an outsider and they are all integrated in the classroom.

Alone In a Crowd – Response to Taylor M.

Hi Taylor,

I also did this philosophy question as one of my replies and I couldn’t agree with you more. I believe that students like Darlene might benefit from an alternate setting than the classroom full-time. As you said, students with different needs might benefit from short breaks, smaller group settings, or even project-based learning! As future educators, I think it is so important that we practice inclusion as much as possible and understand our students to know what is best for them.