On 7/28/07 7:46 AM, "elaine garan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I have long
> thought that part of the problem is that too often teachers only see
> the kids in the grades they teach. If we focus on and test for skills,
> and if we have kids who can "read" and sound good, and perform on those
> skills test-wise, then there is an illusion of success. We are often
> not aware of what happens when kids get out of a class and start moving
> up to more complex material and the rules change. That actually is the
> explanation for the big drops in ESL's in the federal studies. It's
> also known as the fourth grade slump and the phenomenon is repeated
> across many, many studies. Anyway, it's something to think about. Elaine
> On Friday, July 27, 2007, at 09:09 PM, Marlene P Azzo wrote:
>
>
This is SUCH AN IMPORTANT OBSERVATION. Thank you Elaine. I agree whole
heartedly. I have long thought that all teachers need the opportunity to
gain experience over the full range of development. I bemoaned moving 18
times in my first 20 years of teaching but eventually realized that it did
give me the benefit of a much wider perspective than most teachers
experience. It was K - university span. Then ending my classroom teaching
- my last 4 years - in a school organized for multiage - well that was one
of the most amazing learning experiences of my teaching life. Knowing
children and watching them learn and develop over two years instead of one
profoundly changed my understanding of how learning unfolds. I was
definitely more patient. I also understood children to be far more
brilliant than I had ever known before. And because I was also becoming a
teacher researcher and keeping student work, anecdotals, reflections and so
on, I could also see my own growth over that time.
At the broader level, when are educators and policy makers and all finally
going to "get" the cause of the fourth grade slump? If they could really
grasp this, then maybe we would be able to undo some of the harmful
approaches that are happening now. It is soo unfortunate that we as a
society it seems like always operate with wanting to see results
immediately. We need to listen to the Indians and their commitment to
acting always for the good of the seventh generation!
Sally
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