Response to David 1

2 thoughts on “Response to David 1”

1. Kate

   September 18, 2011 at 1:14 pm

   “My 100% Latino classes, 95% of whom live below the poverty line, can come to class, be honored with a way that doesn’t make them feel stupid, move easily to the next level, and thereby have extra time and a chance to improve their GPA, and slowly maybe move further and further away from the poisonous perception that the white corporate power state would like to keep them in, that they are stupid, which they are most certainly not.”
   Yes, yes, and YES! The majority of my students also live below the grinding poverty line and for most of them, Spanish class is the ONLY class where they feel successful. I often have other teachers comment that their most “challenging” students absolutely love Spanish class– and they very rarely challenge me. Luckily I teach elementary kids so they get to experience success early on and I really, really hope that it sticks with them. I credit this method with the connection and confidence boost that they experience– the whole point is that it should be about THEM (which for my kids is crucial- nowhere in the school system do they see themselves reflected even minimally) and that no one should EVER fall behind. If they don’t understand, we aren’t doing our job right! Either we’re going too fast or we are out of bounds! Where else do kids get to experience their own power and greatness and get that kind of support?

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2. Chris

   September 18, 2011 at 6:38 pm

   I teach in a district that is 90% white and for the most part, middle-upper
   21.4% of the student population is economically disadvantaged but the community as a whole has money. It’s a very suburban district. But I still have plenty of students who are “rough around the edges” I teach at a middle school and one of my 7th graders this year got in trouble a lot last year and rarely was able to go out to recess. He is doing AWESOME in my class though, he’s a pleasure to have and I think I have TPRS and early personalization with Circling with Cards to thank for this. This method truly is for every single student and I completely understand now why Ben has said repeatedly that our classes are sometimes the only ones in which some students are seeing success in.

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