| Still no answer |
6/10/04 3:26 PM |
| Author:
Patty Dump
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I posed a question about how charter school teachers deal with students.
I got answers about hero teachers, but not an answer to the question.
I teach 60 of them every day. They are the kids no one else knows what to do with. They come in apathetic or angry. They do not want to be in school, but they do not miss a day. Why?
It is because they are searching for safety and hope.
They need a safe place just to be...just to exist. I deal with average to low income students--68% on free lunch another 10% on reduced lunch.
Financial factors negatively affect their lives.
I teach. I tell them to trust me and that they will learn. I let them know verbally and nonverbally that they do matter to me and that I believe in them. If I do not teach sentence structure one day because I am dealing with the life needs of my students, I don't care. If they don't score high on an assessment, I don't care.
I care that when my students leave my room they have accomplished the tasks that I have given them. I care enough that I will stay until ten at night the night before they graduate to make sure everything is done.
I care enough to say, "Yes, you can do this. Trust me."
I trust them and they know that I trust them. I explain what trust means and give them examples. I live it. When they see my disappointment when trust is broken, but not my rejection, they learn what trust is.
Guess what?
They do score significantly better on standardized tests than before they entered my classroom.
When they leave, the greatest compliment is to say, "Thank you for never giving up on me. I didn't think I could do it."
Patty
Posted as a reply to:
"wrung out" by Dorothy Wood
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