Kate: Education and Students Essay example

Submitted By kateandem
Words: 2298
Pages: 10
Open Document
October 2003 | Volume 61 | Number 2 Teaching All Students Pages 6-11 Deciding to Teach Them All Asking the right questions has an enormous impact on how we pursue equity and excellence in our classrooms. Carol Ann Tomlinson Several years ago, I was talking with a colleague who was teaching in a center-based school for students whose IQ scores registered above 140. She thought deeply about how to stretch her students, whose ceilings of possibility often go unexplored in heterogeneous classrooms. She was a good teacher in that setting. She knew it. Her students knew it. Their parents knew it. So I was surprised by what she said that day. October 2003 "I want to go back to a general education classroom next year," she began. I want to see what would happen if I tried teaching this curriculum to a varied group of students. I believe I could make it work, and it's important to me to know whether I can. She got her wish. Her new group of 5th graders in a different school the following year was certainly diverse. She had students with identified special education needs, students who could not yet read in any meaningful way, students who were learning to speak English, students who were working at grade level, and students who were more capable than many in her previous school. She taught them—all of them—the high-challenge curriculum that she had been using with her class of very advanced learners. To say that no problems emerged and that everyone rose fairy-tale-like to the challenge would be satisfying. But it would not be honest. The truth is that my friend had to make many adaptations in her new classroom that were not necessary in her former setting. She had to find time to work intensively with students who were not yet literate to ensure their growth in the gatekeeper skills of reading and writing. She had to find ways to support some students whose caregivers could not provide transportation, Internet access, or project materials. She had to teach inquiry skills to many students who had not previously encountered them. She even had to figure out new ways to extend the advanced curriculum for students whose reach already exceeded its parameters when the year began. In many ways, this veteran teacher felt like a novice. She wasn't always sure how to arrange time to work with small groups of students with particular needs. She often wasn't certain how to express abstract ideas so that the concrete thinkers could confidently approach them. But from the beginning of the year, one fact was clear: Her classroom was a magnet for each student who spent 5th grade with her. Discovery was a given. Doing was a way of life. Students learned to do better than what they perceived to be their best. Skills had an identifiable purpose. School was the place to be. Learning was the thing to do. No one wanted the year to end. We could say that this teacher decided to "differentiate instruction in a mixed-ability classroom"—that she decided to "teach them all" in a heterogeneous setting. It would be tempting to say that she was a poster teacher for differentiation of instruction. But I learned something more important from her and her students. As I watched their journey, I realized that she was asking a set of questions about teaching different from those we often ask—a profoundly important set of questions. Framing the Questions My colleague had already posed the most fundamental of the questions related to academically diverse populations: Do I intend to teach each individual child? Although there seems to be only one answer to the question, the
Show More

Related Documents: Kate: Education and Students Essay example

Post-Secondary School Curriculum

By definition, education is the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school. In first world countries today, such as Canada and the United States, education is taken for granted. Many students dread going to school, lack in attendance, and have a strong, negative attitude towards learning. However, in third world countries, education is treasured and considered a privilege. Many students walk for hours despite horrid conditions, just to attend school. Although it…

Words 623 - Pages 3

Being Poor Research Paper

Many students when graduate their high school, they will plan to go to college continue their education. Most students like to study, when they finish the college, they will find a better job in the future. In another side, some of the students do not want to, they would like working outside more than study at school. Most parents will being angry when their child stop go to school. Students have their own ideas, they know what to do. For most students stop go to school have a couple reasons their…

Words 631 - Pages 3

Is The American Dream Still Possible Summary

to Poly for Principal Ari Bennett, Head Parrot’s Passionate Voice for Students” written by Karina Avila and Kate Martinez they show us how the American Dream is possible to achieve no matter where you come from, you can do it if you put dedication to it. In my opinion America does provide access to the American Dream even though has now been harder to achieve. The government is constantly cutting health benefits and education for kids, but at the same time they are rising costs for important things…

Words 1732 - Pages 7

Essay on A quick look at Harvard Referencing

authors – use title In your reference list Active learning in UK universities (2011) Available at: http://www.activelearningHE.co.uk (Accessed: 13 October 2013) In your text According to a recent survey (Active learning in UK universities, 2011), students prefer interactive workshops to teacher-fronted lectures.…

Words 422 - Pages 2

Women Portrayed In Kate Chopin Vs Henry James

ENG 233 IN1 Professor Brown 5/9/14 Women Portrayed in Kate Chopin Vs Henry James Henry James and Kate Chopin, are two of the many influential writers of the 19th -20th century, both with their own instinctual writing style. Writers of this caliber are not just borne, but rather they have been formed. The upbringing of Chopin and James played an affluent part in their writing styles. These uniquely separate upbringings caused their minds to perceive things differently, in this case Chopin’s writing…

Words 1730 - Pages 7

Nclb Argumentative Essay

achievement gaps among different groups of students. In passing the NCLB legislation, the government sought to benefit disadvantaged students, with the expectation that they would make better progress under NCLB. However, NCLB has not worked as the government intended and has actually made disadvantaged students suffer. The main issue revolves around the AYP measure of progress. When most schools avoid being labeled as a “failing school,” the disadvantaged students face a serious crisis. For example, in…

Words 729 - Pages 3

Eva Moskowitz Persuasive Speech

“Eva Moskowitz has set out to change education in New York City,” says Jonathan Lamantia in his article in Crain’s New York Business. Crain’s New York Business listed her as one of the 50 most powerful women in New York for this year. This evening, in occasion of Education Week in New York City, it is my greatest pleasure to be here in Baruch College auditorium to introduce Eva Moskowitz, the founder and chief executive officer of a New York City based charter school network called Success Academy…

Words 405 - Pages 2

Sexual Intercourse and Women Essay

2014 America’s Earliest Suffragette Kate Chopin was born in a time of struggle for all women. In the nineteenth century, a woman was considered property of whatever man was head of their family. However, Kate was lucky in that she had a very unorthodox childhood, considering the social conventions of her time. She was raised by three generations of independent and strong women: her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. All three ladies were widows, leaving Kate without any patriarchal influence…

Words 1983 - Pages 8

What Does College Really Cost?

What Does College Really Cost? Each year, more and more students are taking the advice of teachers and parents and attending four-year universities to earn their degrees. Going to college, much less finishing a degree used to be very sparse and few between; however, nowadays, more students are deciding on the track of a four-year university. However, the price tag on the schools may not seem as clear and straightforward as it seems. To add to this problem, across the nation, “the price of college…

Words 747 - Pages 3

Homework: Extracurricular Activity and Students Essay example

Kate P. English 2A January 16, 2013 So Much Homework, So Little Time Homework is a part of life. Most schools operate approximately seven hours a day, five days a week, for forty weeks. Recently, the Board of Education made a recommendation that high school students be assigned at least three hours of homework each night. This recommendation would not be beneficial for the students at our school, or any high school for that matter. Requiring teachers to assign three hours of homework…

Words 745 - Pages 3