I understand what you're saying, Marybeth, but I think that the author was placing us, as the reader, inside the mind of the person in the scenario each time. Based on the school I'm in, these scenarios are very real. I see the sad faces of students and hear the stories from teachers and guidance counselors. It's amazing that some of them get to school each day. Might I add that they are some of the most engaging, albeit shy, children I've ever met. They are so open to the kindness of a caring adult after they are able to register it as such. One thing these chapters did for me is understand why my co-op teacher says she can't make time for the cool lessons I want to do, as she says she's behind schedule with scaffolded, mandated lessons on basic thinking skills, such as: connections, schema and inference. These kids don't have what we take for granted in most middle schools. The downside is that there is too much of that kind of spirit numbing lesson. The students all seem to read well, so I wish they could have some pure, free reading time. They never get to read for the sheer pleasure of getting lost in a story, which I feel would go a long way in building cognitive skills. Also, they have no technological experiences with their learning and will be behind their peers in the wider community, within that context.
The point about relationships was key for me as a teacher. We have the responsibility to be that person who lifts a child out of poverty and shows them the path to opportunity.
I forgot to talk about one of the exercises I did in chapter 8. The chart on page 128 challenged me somewhat, because I answered in the context of a writing assignment and it might not have been formulaic enough. You can tell me in class discussion if I'm off target. Also, I passed all ten questions on the "poverty" IQ test! I find it noteworthy that we can shift "downward" in discourse with ease, but others cannot shift "upward" with similar ease.
ReplyDelete