A Good Beginning
People ask me all the time, "Do you have any regrets?" The honest truth is, no. I feel right at home this year and find myself looking back on the first six weeks and thinking about how well it's gone this year overall.
"My fourth grade...." I groan loudly to my fifth grade class. "They are so pathetic and pitiful."
"You said that about us last year!!!" they tell me.
"I did? Are you sure?" I probably did. But this year, the fourth grade is the most pathetic group I've ever taught. That statement will probably seem laughable come next April. It always takes me a long time to get my fourth grade class to wear I want them, no, need them to be. They come in to me unsocialized, with no study skills and a chip on their shoulder. After all, they get to leave the regular classroom. They are so much smarter than everyone else , etc. I spend the first six weeks convincing them this isn't true. I actually teach them that, in the grand scheme of things, they don't know much. Yet.
But, I promise to teach them. I manage to persuage them that I will provide all the keys to a wonderful future in which they will indeed be smarter than those around them. First, however, I have to teach them how to study and how to learn. They've cruised through school for so long putting in the minimum amount of effort, that this is a real culture shock for them, and their parents as well.
For gifted students, achieving an A is not the goal. The real purpose of education is to learn new information. Students who achieve A's based on what they have already learned are gaining daily practice in underachievement. All students have the right to struggle. Struggling is essential to growth. It means that the student is stretching to attain new power in learning. And gifted students actually enjoy struggling to master new material - if they haven't been so pruned into grade-getters that they are afraid of a challenge.
Dr. Linda Silverman, Do Gifted Students Have Special Needs?
Gifted Development Center in Denver, Colorado
9 Comments:
Reading your blog and I figured you'd be interested in advancing your life a bit, call us at 1-206-339-5106. No tests, books or exams, easiest way to get a Bachelors, Masters, MBA, Doctorate or Ph.D in almost any field.
Totally confidential, open 24 hours a day.
Hope to hear from you soon!
This site is great, nice job!!
I have a SEO info site. It is about seo cources articles and stuff.
Drop by when you can, nice site here!
I read over your blog, and i found it inquisitive, you may find My Blog interesting. My blog is just about my day to day life, as a park ranger. So please Click Here To Read My Blog
I read over your blog, and i found it inquisitive, you may find My Blog interesting. So please Click Here To Read My Blog
http://pennystockinvestment.blogspot.com
Who can help me with .httpaccess ?
where i can fined full information about .httpaccess file syntaxis?
Hi there
What does everyone think of what is going on in Iraq?
By the way, I love that too! Where did you get that at?
See you soon! Girly Girl
how I make money with paid surveys
Hello!
what is your favorite color of....mine is pink!
Wow, I've found the same to be true too! How did you find that?
See you soon! Girly Girl
see how I make free money with paid online surveys
Hi there
what is your favorite color of....mine is pink!
Wow, I've found the same to be true too! How did you find that?
See you soon! Girly Girl
see how I make free money with paid online surveys
Hi there
what is your favorite thing that oprah said about hawaii?
By the way, I love that too! How did you find that?
See you soon! Girly Girl
see how I make free money with paid online surveys
Post a Comment
<< Home