Reflections on Advocating for Our Students
As a teacher it is essential to advocate for your students in order to ensure success in the classroom. At its most basic form, advocating should reflect a value and acceptance of each student as an individual in the classroom. No two students are alike in their background, life experiences, or learning styles, and therefore curriculum instruction, assessment, and classroom management must be built on an appreciation for each unique child.
Getting to know students is essential to the understanding of individuals. At the beginning of each school year I invite my students to create reflective representations of themselves through picture collages, writing exercises, and poetry. Self-expression is a valuable way for students to better know themselves as well as an opportunity for them to control and share who they are with peers and teachers. Additionally, students create family trees in which they share their cultures, heritages, and backgrounds. Throughout the rest of the year students have a foundation of knowledge about each others’ unique backgrounds and experiences to connect through, and I have a better idea of who the students are and what they are interested in. If students feel “valued, affirmed, connected, and at-home” (Martin, 1996, p.12) in school, it is easier to succeed and grow. Because the basis of community in Catholic education is to accept individuals for what they are the stories they bring, it is easier for teachers and students to form a relationship in order to better learn in the classroom.
Knowledge and understanding of individual students also helps the teacher to create “real-life” connections to the curriculum. Regardless of where students are coming from they are given a unique opportunity to connect with learning material if they can engage in the subject matter. As students begin to engage, an appreciation for learning can be fostered, and the teacher is better equipped to empower the students he or she teaches.
All students must be empowered by the teacher to find information on his/her own; this should be the goal of every lesson regardless of student level. When planning lessons, therefore, the initiating activity should be used as a common experience for the whole class in order to engage students while gathering prior knowledge- every student must be able to access the material. It is the teacher’s job, therefore, to ensure that the lesson caters to a variety of learning modalities while still effectively encouraging students to discover the information independently. Demonstrations, hands-on activities, note taking, reading aloud, and class discussions are all effective but vastly different ways of exploring content material.
The benefits of this differentiation are significant. Students are able to function as the individuals that are valued in the classroom, while avoiding a seemingly permanent label of ability that comes with some grouping methods. This not only allows students to be grouped flexibly, but it also varies student interaction and collaboration. Additionally, some students will be in the most knowledgeable category for some concepts and in the lowest level of prior knowledge for others. The projects are varied and allow for multiple approaches and choice in assignments, therefore empowering the students to engage in learning. Advocating for students is contingent upon an appreciation for individuality, an understanding of varied learning modalities, and an emphasis on appreciating diversity in the classroom.
Getting to know students is essential to the understanding of individuals. At the beginning of each school year I invite my students to create reflective representations of themselves through picture collages, writing exercises, and poetry. Self-expression is a valuable way for students to better know themselves as well as an opportunity for them to control and share who they are with peers and teachers. Additionally, students create family trees in which they share their cultures, heritages, and backgrounds. Throughout the rest of the year students have a foundation of knowledge about each others’ unique backgrounds and experiences to connect through, and I have a better idea of who the students are and what they are interested in. If students feel “valued, affirmed, connected, and at-home” (Martin, 1996, p.12) in school, it is easier to succeed and grow. Because the basis of community in Catholic education is to accept individuals for what they are the stories they bring, it is easier for teachers and students to form a relationship in order to better learn in the classroom.
Knowledge and understanding of individual students also helps the teacher to create “real-life” connections to the curriculum. Regardless of where students are coming from they are given a unique opportunity to connect with learning material if they can engage in the subject matter. As students begin to engage, an appreciation for learning can be fostered, and the teacher is better equipped to empower the students he or she teaches.
All students must be empowered by the teacher to find information on his/her own; this should be the goal of every lesson regardless of student level. When planning lessons, therefore, the initiating activity should be used as a common experience for the whole class in order to engage students while gathering prior knowledge- every student must be able to access the material. It is the teacher’s job, therefore, to ensure that the lesson caters to a variety of learning modalities while still effectively encouraging students to discover the information independently. Demonstrations, hands-on activities, note taking, reading aloud, and class discussions are all effective but vastly different ways of exploring content material.
The benefits of this differentiation are significant. Students are able to function as the individuals that are valued in the classroom, while avoiding a seemingly permanent label of ability that comes with some grouping methods. This not only allows students to be grouped flexibly, but it also varies student interaction and collaboration. Additionally, some students will be in the most knowledgeable category for some concepts and in the lowest level of prior knowledge for others. The projects are varied and allow for multiple approaches and choice in assignments, therefore empowering the students to engage in learning. Advocating for students is contingent upon an appreciation for individuality, an understanding of varied learning modalities, and an emphasis on appreciating diversity in the classroom.