Ch 3 & 4 Fulfilling the Promise

These chapters I found to be very helpful. CH. 3 & 4 were about responding to student's needs. I guess I never thought it was as involved as it seems to be, almost seems a little complicating and that I need to consider more then i thought I would have. One of my favorite quotes from the chapter is on the first page.... " we need to become the kind of teachers who shape their studens' lives to reflect a greater hope, confidence, and promise, than these young people brought to the classroom as the year began." That is so true. I think it would be awesome if I can one day be described as a teacher who gave all my students a hope for succeeding and more confidence. I just loved that! :) It also goes onto saying that we need to make sure to live outside our hopes rather then admiring them from a distance. So much came to my mind when reading this chapter, and I just loved all the good guidelines it gives on how to better respond and listen to our students. Obviously, all of the 5 major points are very important and all need to be considered, but my favorite was the response to invitation. Children need affirmation. My favorite part about this is letting your actions and words know that you believe in them, you have time for them, and you need them there. Making a child feel special and unique should be a huge priority. The trust and everything that comes along with that is great, but I think most importantly it gives that child confidence and makes them feel like they really are able to succeed. Make them feel valuable and celerate their uniqueness. I love how this chapter was called a starting point for differentiation because it really is. Differentaition and learning can not take place if a child does not feel special and wanted in the classroom.
CH. 4 discusses more about responding the students' needs. I like the senarios and different situations that really help put it all into perspective for me. I like the part where it talks about celebrating success and says that a teacher called home to tell the parents how well their child is doing. Parents usually look at a phone call from a teacher as a bad thing, but the fact that she took the time out to resognize the student for a job well done, means a lot to the parent, and really boosts the student up a lot. I think thats a great suggestion and I will definately use that! I also really liked the idea of using a dialogue journal to comminicate with the student. I think students like to get their feelings on on paper for the most part and it is a great thing to use to help get them writing and expressing their feelings and emotions. I also really liked the idea of using goal cards. I never thought to have the students write their goals down and leave it in a place where they can see it while they are working in a group or individually. This chapter has so many great ideas that I cant wait to put into practice one day in my own class! :)