Last Saturday I had conducted a test. It was a VERY simple test to see if my students know the English alphabet and also some basic vocabulary (through pictures). I had taken only 20 students out of the 40 so that it would be easy to manage. I picked a good distribution of students ranging from mediocre to very good. Here are the results of that test
0 to 25 % - 0
26 to 50 % - 2
51 to 75 % - 8
76 to 100 % - 10
Out of this 6 students scored 100%.
Varalakshmi is the smallest person in the class. She is so tiny it is amazing. She must be badly malnourished. She has difficulty with her sight too. One of these days I will take her to a paediatrician whom I know. She has this intense look in her face whenever I ask her a question or when she has to read out something. She has scored 100% and I am thrilled.
The 2 who have scored lower than 50% are Diksha and Manjunath S. I know about them already. After 3 years in school they still don't know the Kannada alphabet itself. I thought may be it was worth trying differently with them. Azim Premji Foundation (APF) has these nice CDs through which students can reinforce their vocabulary etc. So I took my laptop with me and asked Manjunath and Diksha to work with the laptop. I also had to be with them and prompt them at every stage. It did not make a big difference and in fact I found the computer a distraction for them. May be my experience is limited but I feel that computers have no role to play in elementary education. There is no replacement for a good teacher and that is all that is required especially from class I to IV. May be computers can be of use in middle and high school. There is definitely potential in explaining science experiments etc with computers. And also good material can be useful for the teachers. Most teachers themselves don't know the full details about science experiments etc.
How do I handle the bottom 10% of the class? They are way behind the rest. The naughty ones who talk a lot are actually better once I get their attention they are able to learn quickly. But the bottom few pretty much stay quiet but are not absorbing anything at all. My energy is limited and I also confused (philosophically) where I should spend the energy on the 90% of the class who would benefit or whether I should spend on this 10%.
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4 comments:
The obvious answer is to go for the 90% -- unless you are Meryl Streep, then ofcourse, the answer is 10% :-)
Understanding a bit about their background could help. Also, is it only English these kids are poor at or do they have a learning disability?
If you are really keen, you could arrange for an evaluation for them (I know the execution of this is far from simple).
-Gayathri
Rama,
Its a tough ask. Assuming your goal is improve the entire class, most of your energies should be spent on the 90%.
For the 10%, as mentioned by Gayathri - an evaluation of their current status will help you come up with individual plans for each of the kids.
Try the below mentioned links - the second one has some sample tests. That should get you started on the evaluation.
http://www.ldonline.org/article/6040
http://www.ldcoach.com/Dyslexia_Info.Assess_Your_Child.index
Also, you may be able to tap into somebody who works with such kids with learning disabilities. I can think of one person whom you may already know - Jillu's cousin Jayashree (periamma's daughter) used to conduct classes for dyslexic and LD kids. She may be able to help you. I do not have her contact information. Once I get it I will send it to you
A different take on this aspect -
"But the bottom few pretty much stay quiet but are not absorbing anything at all."
Herbert Kohl and several others who have talked about student resistance to learn actually propose that they are at the bottom and are not absorbing anything because they dont want to learn, they dont see what is being taught is being meaningful and useful. In his book, I wont learn from you, herbert Kohl talks about students who consciously refuse to learn - "willed non-learning".
If they dont see the usefulness of what they are doing, then they are going to resist and not learn.
That said, I am not saying that there are ready answers to work with these kids. It is definitely very challenging. What I am trying to point out is that staying quiet, not learning is all a form of resistance, to ensure that they (the students) feel in control of the situation, instead of feeling powerless.
Have you used any of the bilingual books? Have you put them in smaller groups to work with each other? Perhaps take them out on a trip where they HAVE to talk in English? I can send you some lesson plans that I have got from some teachers here teaching English as a Second Language to latino students. They also struggle with similar issues. Would that help?
[Anita]
At this point I am not really concerned about why 'they' are not learning! I have to first resolve whether I spend my (limited) energies on the 35 who are willing to learn or on the 5 who are not! If I decide the latter then I can start analyzing why they are not learning and try to address that.. I have not reached that stage yet.
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