ARTICLE: Steaming Ahead in Chattanooga: Closing achievement gaps, one student at a time.
From the Oct/Nov 2009 NeaToday Magazine:
Steaming Ahead in Chattanooga
Closing achievement gaps, one student at a time.
By Mae Pardlow
May I have your attention, please? These are my first words of the day. At that, each student is seated in his or her assigned seat, voices silent, eyes on me. I start each class by calling their brains to attention, a skill I learned at a “Capturing Kids’ Hearts” workshop.
Shalanda was a bright 14-year-old who was having a difficult time focusing. I saw her struggle, but when I used the listening skills I learned from Capturing Kids, I could see major changes in her attitude and behavior.
“Shalanda, can you hear me speaking?”
“Yes ma’am, I’m ready.”
It’s been a long time coming, but we finally have the skills for capturing the attention of students in my middle school. I have attended many workshops sponsored by The NEA Foundation, and I always come away with a shiny new educational jewel.
In 2004, the Foundation and other contributors funded Capturing Kids— one of the best. I thought I knew everything I needed about teaching English, but when I took a long look at my teaching styles versus the new, research-based strategies, I discovered otherwise.
First, I needed to differentiate instruction to allow all my students to become involved in learning.
Next, I had to attend to their social and emotional anxieties. This included allowing them to help make academic decisions, and to choose a classroom teamwork group to learn socializing skills and personal responsibility.
Finally, the program gave me strategies to teach communication and listening skills. The entire atmosphere has changed.
I would like to say I have been able to make a positive impression on all my students, but that would not be true.
I recall one young man who refused any help I tried to give him. It became a struggle to greet him at the door each morning, and whenever he entered my classroom, time stood still. I kept trying, but when the school year was over, things were no better than when we started. He received a failing grade from me and had to repeat the eighth grade.
Finally, he was placed in high school because of age rules.
I met him a few weeks ago working at a fast food restaurant. He told me he had dropped out of school but he was going back to get his GED.
“Okay,” I said, “keep going.” I think I'll try another way to educate him—from across the counter.
Since 2004, my personal data show that students in my language arts classes have been on an upward climb.
Shalanda is now a senior, and a shining example of what can be accomplished when educators are encouraged and supported.
I tell my students, “Don’t be afraid of hard work, because you’ll never know how strong you are until you’ve exhausted all your possibilities.”
Mae Pardlow teaches English at Dalewood Middle School in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Editor’s note:
Chattanooga is the first pilot of The NEA Foundation’s Closing the Achievement Gaps Initiative. Successful teaching strategies from this five-year, district-wide project will be released in mid-October. This work is also supported locally by the Public Education Foundation and the Lyndhurst Foundation.
From: http://www.nea.org/home/35907.htm
Steaming Ahead in Chattanooga
Closing achievement gaps, one student at a time.
By Mae Pardlow
May I have your attention, please? These are my first words of the day. At that, each student is seated in his or her assigned seat, voices silent, eyes on me. I start each class by calling their brains to attention, a skill I learned at a “Capturing Kids’ Hearts” workshop.
Shalanda was a bright 14-year-old who was having a difficult time focusing. I saw her struggle, but when I used the listening skills I learned from Capturing Kids, I could see major changes in her attitude and behavior.
“Shalanda, can you hear me speaking?”
“Yes ma’am, I’m ready.”
It’s been a long time coming, but we finally have the skills for capturing the attention of students in my middle school. I have attended many workshops sponsored by The NEA Foundation, and I always come away with a shiny new educational jewel.
In 2004, the Foundation and other contributors funded Capturing Kids— one of the best. I thought I knew everything I needed about teaching English, but when I took a long look at my teaching styles versus the new, research-based strategies, I discovered otherwise.
First, I needed to differentiate instruction to allow all my students to become involved in learning.
Next, I had to attend to their social and emotional anxieties. This included allowing them to help make academic decisions, and to choose a classroom teamwork group to learn socializing skills and personal responsibility.
Finally, the program gave me strategies to teach communication and listening skills. The entire atmosphere has changed.
I would like to say I have been able to make a positive impression on all my students, but that would not be true.
I recall one young man who refused any help I tried to give him. It became a struggle to greet him at the door each morning, and whenever he entered my classroom, time stood still. I kept trying, but when the school year was over, things were no better than when we started. He received a failing grade from me and had to repeat the eighth grade.
Finally, he was placed in high school because of age rules.
I met him a few weeks ago working at a fast food restaurant. He told me he had dropped out of school but he was going back to get his GED.
“Okay,” I said, “keep going.” I think I'll try another way to educate him—from across the counter.
Since 2004, my personal data show that students in my language arts classes have been on an upward climb.
Shalanda is now a senior, and a shining example of what can be accomplished when educators are encouraged and supported.
I tell my students, “Don’t be afraid of hard work, because you’ll never know how strong you are until you’ve exhausted all your possibilities.”
Mae Pardlow teaches English at Dalewood Middle School in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Editor’s note:
Chattanooga is the first pilot of The NEA Foundation’s Closing the Achievement Gaps Initiative. Successful teaching strategies from this five-year, district-wide project will be released in mid-October. This work is also supported locally by the Public Education Foundation and the Lyndhurst Foundation.
From: http://www.nea.org/home/35907.htm
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