Getting Left Behind

This entire week is an in-service week for faculty and staff in preparation for the first day of school on Monday. Today, I sat through a day-long seminar on at-risk kids, what signs to look for, and how to intervene to make sure that those kids don't fall through the cracks. While some faculty were bored (probably from attending yet another year of this state-mandated seminar), I found it interesting. I learned much more than I thought I would learn. This seminar was not my first choice, as I was looking forward to a writing academy that my partner was assigned to do; however, she suggested that I attend this class to improve my understanding of the students that I would be working with, and I'm glad I took her suggestion.


Upon walking into the auditorium, we were handed a packet and a book entitled, "Under-Resourced Learners: 8 strategies to boost student achievement," by Ruby K. Payne, Ph. D. In this book, Payne identifies the various strategies that not only enhance a teacher's effectiveness when interacting with his students, but also help identify the warning signs that an at-risk student will project in school. Too many kids get left behind because we teachers either forget what it was really like as a kid, are in denial that anything horrific could be going on in a student's life, or we are too busy trying to teach and manage all of the other duties that go along with it to really pay attention to the more subtle signals a student may give us. The experiences a student has outside the classroom can have a direct impact on that student's academic performance. The usual teen angst is bad enough, but for those dealing with unidentified learning problems, abuse, or even socioeconomic hardships, the ability to learn becomes a greater struggle.

It amazed me that despite my short amount of experience in the classroom, I could relate to much of what was being discussed. I could also relate on a personal level, having had my own set of problems throughout my primary and secondary education. Thankfully, I had several teachers who truly cared about me, picked up on my signals, and intervened in one form or another. As I only received this book today, I haven't had a chance to really read through it, but I can tell that this book is a good one for teachers to have. I look forward to applying what I've learned when we begin working with our students, as all of the students whom I will be dealing with are already identified as at-risk kids.