Sei's Reflection to Graves (18-20)
Graves Chapter 20 Reflection
How to Help Children with Special Problems of Potential
In chapter twenty, Graves addresses common problems found in children that show an inconsistency between their high potential and actual performance. Along with common problems, Graves also discusses approaches that teachers can use to reach out to these children. He takes his readers on a journey with four children that show potential that is exceeding average, yet show little performance in the area of writing.
I enjoyed reading this chapter because I could relate a few of my students at Kapalama to a certain case. I’ve learned that whatever the case or the child, there’s a solution. I think sometimes teachers become restless and hopeless, forgetting why they became teachers in the first place. When students are ruled hopeless, their future becomes darker and their situation actually does become hopeless. There are children like the four discussed in this chapter. There are children that are extraordinarily brilliant, yet don’t reach up to their full potential in their work. Whatever the reason, it’s the teacher’s role to find a solution. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way” and with the guidance of a good teacher the high potential of students can be met with great achievements.
Andrew-Age 9
Andrew is an extraordinarily brilliant child. His tests scores are above the average of his peers and he shows great intelligence with his spoken words and through his work in every other subject, but when it comes to writing, “his sentences are barely legible, cryptic, and filled with numerous misspellings, though syntactically well-developed. Andrew does know answers, reads voraciously, defends positions, but he views [a[er and pencil activities as superfluous acts since he already knows his answers.
The best approach to helping Andrew is get him writing everyday. He needs to find that “writing works” and needs to realize the power of publishing.
Patrick-Age 7
Patrick is a child that is afraid to make mistakes due to his upbringing. His parents are intolerant to mistakes and expect error-free first drafts, which have made him hesitant to put anything on paper. He puts most of his energy into his detailed artwork at the top of his papers. When asked about his drawing, he can provide detailed information about the subject. Although he knows much about his pictures, he is hesitant to put that knowledge onto paper because of his fear of making a mistake.
The approach to this case is getting Patrick writing and helping him realize that he can always go back and correct. He should be encouraged to “spell ‘as best he could’” and he can later get help with the words that he has circled. In this scenario, parent participation is crucial. Patrick’s parents must be able to realize that he must be allowed to make mistakes in order to learn.
Heidi-Age 10
Heidi is a brilliant writer because she comes from a “strongly literate background.” Heidi is able to produce quality and perfected writing without any effort. Because Heidi is such an excellent writer, her teacher feels as if there is nothing more that he can teach her.
In Heidi’s case, “growth comes when Heidi sees discrepancies between her intentions and what is in the piece: growth is the central issue in Heidi’s learning situation.” In order to help Heidi realize these discrepancies, her teacher must receive her work and provide positive feedback while asking questions about her initial intentions for that piece.
Cheryl-Age 11
Similar to Heidi, Cheryl is also an extraordinary writer. “Her papers are visually appealing: words are placed on the page as if by machine, lettered precisely, with correct intervals, accurate spelling and punctuation.” The problem in Cheryl’s case is that she lacks voice in her writing.
To help students like Cheryl, the teacher must ask for specific details about their writing. The teacher is not doing this to question or interrogate their knowledge, but instead wanting them to “trust [their own] vision, to hear specifics coming through in her own voice through the conference sharing".
How to Help Children with Special Problems of Potential
In chapter twenty, Graves addresses common problems found in children that show an inconsistency between their high potential and actual performance. Along with common problems, Graves also discusses approaches that teachers can use to reach out to these children. He takes his readers on a journey with four children that show potential that is exceeding average, yet show little performance in the area of writing.
I enjoyed reading this chapter because I could relate a few of my students at Kapalama to a certain case. I’ve learned that whatever the case or the child, there’s a solution. I think sometimes teachers become restless and hopeless, forgetting why they became teachers in the first place. When students are ruled hopeless, their future becomes darker and their situation actually does become hopeless. There are children like the four discussed in this chapter. There are children that are extraordinarily brilliant, yet don’t reach up to their full potential in their work. Whatever the reason, it’s the teacher’s role to find a solution. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way” and with the guidance of a good teacher the high potential of students can be met with great achievements.
Andrew-Age 9
Andrew is an extraordinarily brilliant child. His tests scores are above the average of his peers and he shows great intelligence with his spoken words and through his work in every other subject, but when it comes to writing, “his sentences are barely legible, cryptic, and filled with numerous misspellings, though syntactically well-developed. Andrew does know answers, reads voraciously, defends positions, but he views [a[er and pencil activities as superfluous acts since he already knows his answers.
The best approach to helping Andrew is get him writing everyday. He needs to find that “writing works” and needs to realize the power of publishing.
Patrick-Age 7
Patrick is a child that is afraid to make mistakes due to his upbringing. His parents are intolerant to mistakes and expect error-free first drafts, which have made him hesitant to put anything on paper. He puts most of his energy into his detailed artwork at the top of his papers. When asked about his drawing, he can provide detailed information about the subject. Although he knows much about his pictures, he is hesitant to put that knowledge onto paper because of his fear of making a mistake.
The approach to this case is getting Patrick writing and helping him realize that he can always go back and correct. He should be encouraged to “spell ‘as best he could’” and he can later get help with the words that he has circled. In this scenario, parent participation is crucial. Patrick’s parents must be able to realize that he must be allowed to make mistakes in order to learn.
Heidi-Age 10
Heidi is a brilliant writer because she comes from a “strongly literate background.” Heidi is able to produce quality and perfected writing without any effort. Because Heidi is such an excellent writer, her teacher feels as if there is nothing more that he can teach her.
In Heidi’s case, “growth comes when Heidi sees discrepancies between her intentions and what is in the piece: growth is the central issue in Heidi’s learning situation.” In order to help Heidi realize these discrepancies, her teacher must receive her work and provide positive feedback while asking questions about her initial intentions for that piece.
Cheryl-Age 11
Similar to Heidi, Cheryl is also an extraordinary writer. “Her papers are visually appealing: words are placed on the page as if by machine, lettered precisely, with correct intervals, accurate spelling and punctuation.” The problem in Cheryl’s case is that she lacks voice in her writing.
To help students like Cheryl, the teacher must ask for specific details about their writing. The teacher is not doing this to question or interrogate their knowledge, but instead wanting them to “trust [their own] vision, to hear specifics coming through in her own voice through the conference sharing".
posted by Sei | 10:12 PM
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