One of my focus students made two comments that really got me thinking.
The first comment came when the class was working on writing down what they know about the animal they are researching. I noticed that this focus student wasn't writing anything down. I went over to talk with him and have him verbalize his ideas to me. I told him he had some great knowledge and he show write it down. His response was, "I don't want to. I can't do it. I just want my mom to be able to read it."
This broke my heart. This student does have a hard time writing and I can't really read what he writes unless someone has helped him. While I know this is a struggling are for him, and he can see he struggles with it as well, I just hated that it his self confidence was so low that he didn't even want to try to start writing his great ideas down.
The next time we had a sub and she was playing the game "Around the World." This game is to see who can get their math facts down the quickest. Two students go head to head. This focus student was up and he didn't get the problem faster than the student he was up against. He then said, "I'm just the stupidest person in this class." *instert heart break number 2*
I have a hard time knowing how to bring his confidence up and have him enjoy doing the assignments and not having him feel the he is the least smart person in the class. Does he need more praise? Do I just continue to work with him until he builds his confidence and he can see his own progress? How do you make it so students don't compare themselves in a classroom? Is there ever a time where comparing can be beneficial?
It is a good thing that you have this time to listen so closely to him and to think so carefully about how to best teach him.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to think of the last time I had to get down ideas via handwriting. If I had to do that, I'd lose many of the ideas because it's just so much slower than other ways I now organize my thinking before writing (drawings, sketches, typing out quick ideas that I can then easily organize into sentences and paragraphs and move around). These are adults skills that we don't teach much in school, and I wonder why not.
What does he do very well? How can you find out? What does he love doing? How can you leverage that and build on those things? Where can he be the expert on something? Comparing can be fine with kids close in experience and able to see what "better" looks like if they can attain it.
Can you look this week for his hidden strengths?
Your post makes me think of an experience I had with one of my focus students this week. I appreciate how you are carefully thinking about what this student needs from you and how you can better reach him. It is important as teachers that we really get to know our students and I think this is a great example of you doing that with this student. You want to be able to provide him with opportunities that will be most conducive to his learning.
ReplyDeleteAt my main placement, one of my focus students has some struggles when it comes to writing. He will often “shut down” at just the sight of a writing assignment and I am wondering what his hidden strengths are. Like Jane asks in her comment “Can you look this week for his hidden strengths?” I think it is important to not focus too much on the struggles the student has, but rather at what his strengths are in writing. My particular student is good at writing; the shut down typically comes in the collection of ideas—the brainstorming of what to write about. So maybe with the opportunity to draw what he wants to write about it would help him ease into the writing task better.
So maybe with your student, you could think about what he enjoys doing or something you’ve seen him do in the classroom where his confidence is high. Is there a way you can take that and incorporate it into a writing task for him?