Teaching Kids Rather Than Grades: Is that Possible?

Found some interesting commentary and link on a fellow blogger's site, regarding teaching to the development of the learner rather than grade placement based on age.

The End of Grade Levels
I believe there are solid pluses to this idea, which are some of the same reasons multi-age classes can be powerfully successful: less stigmatism for meeting, or not, some benchmark that has been placed on that grade level; the opportunity for students to learn more from each other; and teach kids to learn and truly work with others rather than segregate based on age. A discussion I started to have frequently this spring with some of our students was that only during your school years will you be surrounded by people your own age. In the workplace, or even college, you will have folks of all ages in your classes or environment and it is better to learn how to deal with both the positive and negatives of that, than it would be for me to not schedule freshmen in the juniors' classes when needed.

And, as with anything, there are certainly some negatives to prepare for: the stigma of not "keeping up" with peers will remain depending on how actual groupings are created; the the application of the concept so that slower learners are challenged and don't end up floating through an even bigger black hole of education.

Done correctly, we can instill a solid love of learning and build self-esteem which only benefits everyone. Many private LD schools have achieved this for quite some time. The challenge is how to set the expectations, implement them AND have people feel comfortable trusting that system.

Change is challenge and excitement all rolled together!!!

Screen Readers

We use Universal Reader frequently at school, but have still struggled sometimes with a screen reader for a pdf file. Thanks to Twitter, I found a link with tips for setting yourself up for a screen reader for pdf files: RNIB.

Enjoy!

New Case Law

According to a recent posting at Wrights Law, IDEA language requires that all states "to identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities' to ensure that they receive needed special education services.". On June 22, 2009, the Supreme Court ruled on a case that will directly impact the delivery of a Free and Appopriate Education and determining what it means to have a disability in a public school. To read more of the Wrights Law article click here.

Focusing on the Need for Esteem

Children of the Code is a project I have been following since it started. It is growing and serves as a vast resource for those interested in teaching or learning more about how children read.

The Children of the Code project has five major components:

1. A Television, DVD and Web documentary series;
2. A college, university, and professional development DVD series;
3. A cross-indexed website/database containing videos and transcripts of our interviews with the world's leading experts in fields related to reading;
4. A variety of professional development events for educators;
5. A series of presentations for parents, policy makers, and the general public.

video tour of CoTC project

RtI Resources

LDA of Michigan has developed an RtI Blog to extend the learning available at our annual conference. This blog is focused on the topic of Response to Intervention (RtI)and is being offered as an outreach service of the Learning Disabilities Association of Michigan to professional organizations and educational professionals. Enjoy!

disABILITY!!!!

Bringing more awareness to learning disabilities:

There are many misconceptions about people with learning disabilities which can best be eased by education and/or personal experience. How easy it is for us to inwardly recoil when we hear “learning disability” and perhaps make a quick judgment about another person. How mistaken we are to assume that one with learning disabilities or even mental health problems is less of a person. The way Boyle has taken what seems to be a disability and has turned it into ability is the perfect example of the above definition of inspiration.

I really didn't know who Susan Boyle was, but I know that she has accomplished great things. That rocks!

Spaces for Teaching

A recent post on Edutopia (Re-Creating Teaching Spaces, 2/5/09) has me thinking about space. I have read quite a bit about making sure our schools and classrooms are conducive to learning and usually this is geared to thinking about the students. What about the teacher? I always ran my classroom as a community of learners and that included me, the teacher.

I do not have the best skills as creating what may look like an orderly environment to outsiders, but it worked well. Often there were things hanging from the ceiling or posted on the cupboards - student artwork or organizational tools from one project or another. Student personalities blended with mine and it was a community; this was also the way I survived best.

It was important for me to be respectful of all my students and their needs. It was also important for me to tend to my needs if I expected to be good for anything all day long. The goal is learning; and how does that happen best. . . .

Stephen Hurley's posting got me thinking because a school is the workplace of a teacher. We have to live there as much, if not more than, the students. All is better if we provide openness for student needs. Why is it then that many teachers feel that their space is not supposed to be reflective of themselves? Why are all classrooms suppposed to look the same (or are they)? How is orderly defined in each classroom? I do think about this idea frequently, because I want to make sure to not overly-distract my students.


This fall, I transitioned into a different position this fall and now have an office rather than a classroom. I slowly eeked my personality into my office and no matter what I do, I cannot get away from piles. Neat piles, but piles none-the-less. As I moved things out of my classroom and tried to decide what to take home and what to store at school somewhere, I had haphazardly hung a plastic chestplate of armor (from our study of the middle ages)on a protruding nail in my office. I figured I would replace it with a calendar or some tasteful work of art for my professional space. That was August. The chestplate still hangs, without any context for new visitors, but my students prefer it there. My niece explained to me that it helps the office feel more like me. They still think it's not busy enough to reflect me, but they'll settle for leaving the chestplate on the wall. I'm okay with that - though I doubt that that type of learning community could ever be properly assessed on a test or report card....