Grading in Special Education by Susan M. Brookhart looks at a different grading strategy. She thinks students in special education need to be graded based upon their goals in their Individual Education Plan's (IEP). Brookhart expresses that grading students in special education at a lower level then everyone else is unfair to both students in special education and to those not in special education. This is an interesting article/book for parents to read because it gives them some ideas of questions to bring up to their child's case mangers on different ways to grade their children in special
Payne stated that students should learn the “hidden rules” of the middle class from their educators so that they have another set of rules to use if they choose to do so. Impoverished students, compared to students of middle or upper class, often have a lack of proper funding, thus, a lack of appropriate resources to use in their education. Due to this, they are often unprepared for school, not having the money to purchase books and other educational tools. Both authors realize this, but argue that the responsibility lies on different shoulders. Payne states that impoverished students face inequality at school, insinuating that the school should be responsible for helping to provide for these students so that they can have a better education.
She challenged her students to show their intelligence. She believed that they were victims of circumstance. Mike Rose found this inspiring. He goes on to say, “ If you get closer to their failure, you'll find knowledge that the assignment didn't tap, ineffective rules and strategies that have a logic of their own; you'll find clues, as well, to the complex ties between literacy an culture, to the tremendous difficulties our children face as they attempt to find their places in the American educational system.” When reading over this, I find that it is true, that if teachers took the time to find out why a student is failing, instead of just deeming them hopeless or incoherent, that they may find out that these students have much more potential than they originally thought. Not all students learn the same way, therefore, teachers need to try different ways to to teach the material.
The janitor, who is the narrator of the story, observes all the obstacles that the school and students have faced over time. The school has many problems to deal with such as, holes in the wall, broken bathrooms and unreliable staff and students. Miss Sun comes to teach at this school in hopes to help these kids succeed and realize their full potential. The educational system that is put into play throughout the story is meant to highlight all the mistakes that stop children from advance learning in today’s educational system. The environment that Miss Sun and her students walk into everyday has turned into a prison instead of a learning place.
“I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read” Critic and editor, Francine Prose in her argumentative essay “I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read” strives to encourage high schools to give more difficult books to students so they can learn and grow. “Given the dreariness with which literature is taught in many American classrooms, it seems miraculous that any sentient teenager would view reading as a source of pleasure”(Prose 89). Prose embraces an abrasive attitude towards her topic in order to introduce her purpose, and she uses ethos and logos to convey her message. Prose's essay begins with her giving background knowledge about herself to her audience. By being a parent, as well as a teacher this develops a sense of credibility and allows her audience to believe what she has to say.
The technical convention of close-up shots is used to show the importance of education through the facial expressions which show desperation, anger and joy of the families of children applying for charter schools. During the final scenes of the documentary, we learn that some children were accepted and some were not. This makes the reader sympathize with the children who were not accepted. The symbolic convention of body language is used to show the importance of education through Ruby’s actions in the isolated classroom. On the seventh page of the book, Ruby is focused on doing her work in an isolated classroom; Ruby seemed to ignore the fact that she was isolated and fully immersed herself in her textbooks.
Manipulation Children today will manifest tomorrow’s world, and what they learn will determine what kind of world they will create. In the short story, “The Children’s Story” by James Clavell, young students are manipulated to abandoning their religion, faith in their parents and most adults, and lastly their symbol of nationality. The new teacher gains control of the classroom and over the students by manipulating them into disbarring their previous notions. Those, whom lack a sound base of knowledge to support their beliefs, will easily forsake them for new ideas. The usage of diction throughout the story changes as the new teacher gains control over the children.
The top three reasons I believe urban students do not perform as well as their peers in other communities are strained home life, cultural influences that do not support education and behavioral disturbances in the classroom. Family life in the urban environment is about survival. Many families are exhausted and see the school as a place where their children go during the day to get what they are not capable of giving them. They have very little interest in exerting any more energy. The cultural influences that inundate students at every turn, exacerbated by the media dwarfs most effort of other social influences.
Teachers have been getting replaced left and right because of their inability to control the students in the classroom. Many parents are removing their children out of Augusta Schools in order for them to have a better chance of being successful. Also because Augusta is a failing school, teachers fresh out of college come teach at the school for a minimum of two years. After their two years are up most teachers would leave to go teach at a school of their choosing. On the other hand, replacing these teachers maybe was a good move made by the State Department.
She struggled with school like I have sometimes. She refuses to speak most of the time and she misbehaves in ways to try to give meaning to her life or to avoid the pain she feels deeply. Her grades start dropping and she loses interest in almost everything. I had to keep a secret once. A secret I felt like I couldn’t tell anyone because of the fear that if I told my whole family would hate me.