Do you support grade/discipline based segregation in schools ?

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Odin
Make the experiment more interactive. Not just for her, but for the whole class, but it will especially help her. When I was in HS the labs were a pre-set experiemt and you knew what was going to happen because you had just heard about it in class. People with ADHD hate monotony and tedium. Let not just her, but every student or lab group design there own experiment about the topic you are covering (within the time, material, and saftey constraints of the class, of course; no making a nuclear reactor in Physics lab. ).

The thing is not all material can be taught hands on like in science lab.

I did a lot of hands on stuff when I taught history, but untimately traditional instruction had to be used.

[Barinthus]

Yes, that's what I figured - making it more interactive would be helpful and I know other students will enjoy it also.

The thing is that it's a writing course so it cannot be completely interactive all the time. Eventually they have to sit down and write something.

I'm not giving up yet and I recently had a good talk with her. I always tell my students do not hestiate to tell me what they want out of their classes. So I stressed this to her and she already is starting to suggest ideas.

I just want to understand better how a person with ADHD truly function, how he or she think and so on. This way I'd be better prepared for the next student who has it who happens to walk into my classroom.

[Sava]

Originally posted by Kidicious
I am a student. I've been one most of my life. Sometimes the subject matter is hard and sometimes my teacher sucks, but I still learn it unless it's just too hard for me. That's what successfull students do. No teacher does it for me. I do myself.

yeah and teachers ought to be using different methods for those who aren't blessed like you to work through that with self-motivation.

[Ramo]

No one is saying that kids shouldn't learn calculus. For the kids who are capable of it the ones who don't learn it choose not to for themselves. All we can do is force them into the classroom, and that doesn't do any good.

I think that most people are capable of learning calculus. The essential problem is expectation. We dismiss students as being too dumb, so we don't teach reasonably challenging topics. We give them busywork instead. So students consider school boring, and themselves incapable of learning, so they end up not trying. And this process cointinues throughout their education.

I'll give you an example. There were two (single-variable) calculus classes in my high school, represented by two AP tests (the easier "AB" and the more difficult "BC"). The AB class was taught by a relatively inexperienced teacher who graded very generously, paced the class slowly, etc. The BC class was taught by a good teacher who graded harshly, paced the class quickly, etc. Nearly everyone in the AB class bombed their relatively easy AP test, while nearly everyone in the BC class got a 4 or 5 (the two highest grades) on their relatively difficult AP test. While the BC class was smarter than the AB class, they were not that much smarter (generally coming from the same previous classes).

My point is that kids need to be forced sometimes. That's why they're kids and not adults. They're naturally lazy and unmotivated. They need encouragement and challenge from their teachers. They need to be kicked in the ass and driven.

[Kidlicious]

Barinthus,

I take it you are a first year teacher. Are you in a mentoring program? You really need help from other teachers. Don't be shy. Ask for help.

[Tuberski]

Originally posted by Kidicious
I did a lot of hands on stuff when I taught history, but untimately traditional instruction had to be used.

Just curious, but did you have a Way-Back machine?



In other words, how did you do that exactly?

ACK!

[Mrs. Tuberski]

Kid you are an adult. the subject matter being disussed here was children from grade k thru 12 How can they do what an adult can do? No kid really wants to study and for some it really is hard. Why seperate the kids. If the smart kids wanna do honors class then so be it, if some smart kids wanna be side by side with ordinary kids why change that?

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Ramo

No one is saying that kids shouldn't learn calculus. For the kids who are capable of it the ones who don't learn it choose not to for themselves. All we can do is force them into the classroom, and that doesn't do any good.

I think that most people are capable of learning calculus.

No. Most people are not capable of learning calculus.

The essential problem is expectation. We dismiss students as being too dumb, so we don't teach reasonably challenging topics.

If you expect them to learn more than they are capable of you will kill their motivation, not just for that class but for education in general. Students need to be challenged, but they also need to succeed.

I'll give you an example. There were two (single-variable) calculus classes in my high school, represented by two AP tests (the easier "AB" and the more difficult "BC"). The AB class was taught by a relatively inexperienced teacher who graded very generously, paced the class slowly, etc. The BC class was taught by a good teacher who graded harshly, paced the class quickly, etc. Nearly everyone in the AB class bombed their relatively easy AP test, while nearly everyone in the BC class got a 4 or 5 (the two highest grades) on their relatively difficult AP test. While the BC class was smarter than the AB class, they were not that much smarter (generally coming from the same previous classes).

Sure good experienced teachers make a difference, but ultimately it has to be the students who do the work. I would be willing to bet that the experienced teacher would not have the same success with the less capable students.

My point is that kids need to be forced sometimes. That's why they're kids and not adults. They're naturally lazy and unmotivated. They need encouragement and challenge from their teachers. They need to be kicked in the ass and driven.

But you can't kick them in the ass. That's against the law.

[Barinthus]

Originally posted by Kidicious
Barinthus,

I take it you are a first year teacher. Are you in a mentoring program? You really need help from other teachers. Don't be shy. Ask for help.

Already am

[Japher]

I love you KID, I ain't readin' what you are sayin' right now, but I love ya still

though I am sure it is wrong.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Tuberski


Just curious, but did you have a Way-Back machine?



In other words, how did you do that exactly?

ACK!

You assign roles and you have them play out historical events, not exactly how they were played out in history but simulations. Then you compare the way the simulation was played out to the actual historical event. It can be a lot of fun and teach well if the students get into it and prepare.

[Odin]

Busywork:

Education should not be about repeating an endless supply of facts, but about discovery. Nothing kills a kid's enthusiasm for learning than tedium, especially for ones with ADHD.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Mrs. Tuberski
Kid you are an adult. the subject matter being disussed here was children from grade k thru 12 How can they do what an adult can do? No kid really wants to study and for some it really is hard. Why seperate the kids. If the smart kids wanna do honors class then so be it, if some smart kids wanna be side by side with ordinary kids why change that?

The point is that my professor can't make me learn Intermediate Accounting any more than a high school teacher can make a kid learn Algebra. The teacher needs to motivate the students, but that's not always possible. The solution isn't better teachers or better methods. That's just not going to cut it. The solution is students putting in more effort.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Odin
Busywork:

Education should not be about repeating an endless supply of facts, but about discovery. Nothing kills a kid's enthusiasm for learning than tedium, especially for ones with ADHD.

That's true, but some facts are important. You don't want your high school graduates thinking that the civilians or the French won the American Civil War.

[Odin]

Originally posted by Kidicious


That's true, but some facts are important. You don't want your high school graduates thinking that the civilians or the French won the American Civil War.

I am not saying facts are not important, but "what" and "when" needs to be mixed in with "why" and "how" for kids to get a good understanding.