Posts:

December 13, 2006 - Testing--Fortunately, Some Good Will Come of It
August 16,2006 - A Rose by Any Other Name
June 30, 2006 - A Natural Approach to Teaching Poetry
June 5, 2006 - Ten Truisms from a Middle School Library
May 1, 2006 - Enhancing Learning Throughout the Summer

December 13, 2006

Testing--Fortunately, Some Good Will Come of It

Although the consternation of teachers in trying to ensure that their students will do well on the many tests that are now inflicted on them is lamentable, there are undoubtedly some benefits for the students. One of the benefits is they are being drilled in writing logically and persuasively. Some people might question whether the ability to write an effective essay will affect students' behavior in other disciplines or in real-life situations, but if they learn to write effective essays they will have acquired a valuable and marketable skill.

There are no secrets or shortcuts to teaching students to write a persuasive essay. Most authorities, however, agree upon the advice that follows:

1. Limiting the subject is essential if you are to say anything that will really influence a reader's thinking.

2. The plan of the essay must not only be clear in your mind but must be clearly indicated in your essay by careful transitions.

3. The beginning of your essay should be strong. You must grab the reader's attention right from the start.

4. It is especially important to think of your readers as you write because you want them to at least see that it is reasonable to think as you do, and more likely you want them to agree with you. Avoid the temptation of repeating your opinion without advancing it in some way. Tie in statements to bits of new evidence so that the reader will feel the argument is advancing rather than going in a circle. Repetition of words and phrases can be an excellent means of emphasizing or relating facts. On the other hand, repetition that serves no function is unpleasant and should be avoided.

5. Revise your essay for the quality of individual statements, seeing that they are active and vigorous but not too dogmatic or emotional. If you find unfairly loaded words, or unanalyzed slogans, or glittering generalities, try to make them more reasonable, appealing to your reader's better judgment.

6. Perhaps the most important point to remember in giving multiple reasons for your argument is that since there is rarely only one reason for a viewpoint, giving several will not only be more accurate and convincing but will indicate that you have thought seriously about the subject.

-written by Bob Myers

I fell for it too...disguise the name of the class. We don't want to offend anyone, don't want the kids to stand out from the others. People thought it was invoking elitism to call students 'gifted'. The first district I worked in called the pull-out, "Challenge Class".

You know I still get a funny feeling inside when I meet someone and am asked what I do. New conversations always go to that, "So you're a teacher." Then predictably, "What do you teach?" Reluctantly I answer, "gifted." I've been teaching gifted for over twenty years. You'd think I'd get over it. I feel like I'm trying to show off or something, a false pride in working with smart kids. Do special ed teachers get the feeling that they're special? Coaches don't have any problem saying they coach. They're proud of it and expect applause. Some, not all.

A neighbor of mine once took umbrage when he overheard me tell a guest at a party that I "taught gifted." He puffed out his chest mockingly and told me that I sounded pompous. Did I really sound pompous or was that his projection? How do I know if it's in my mind or in his? Why do people feel that way? Is it intimidating for them? After all, I do point out that I teach gifted. I'm careful not to say I'm a gifted teacher. I don't know if they catch the distinction.

Some of the names given to cover up the identification of gifted classes include KARE (the acronym includes the name of the school district), EDGE, EL (Exceptional Learner), Endeavor, and many others. The cute names remind me how teachers used to call their reading groups:  blue birds, robins, and eagles. Everyone knew that the eagles were the smart kids. No one had to tell them.

I must say that within the last few years the state organization, in which I am a member, has been encouraging districts to call the gifted classes gifted classes. I don't think everyone does it yet. I know that because one question in the recent self-report each district must send to the state education department asks, "What is the local name your district uses for service, if any?" And, at a meeting of coordinators not long ago, a coordinator remarked that we need not use 'that' word. I sided with the coordinator who spoke up that if we called the class "Purple" everyone would know that the meaning of purple was 'gifted'.

It hit me October 3, 2004 and never again will I hesitate to call my students gifted or my classes the gifted classes. I was watching the TV program "Sunday Morning, CBS" and the commentator interviewed Ringo Starr. At one point Ringo said, and I quote, "I play the drums. That's what I do. It's God's gift to me, so I do it the best I can."

Now when my students and I talk about the class they are in I tell them like it is. High intelligence is a gift. You can't buy it. You can't earn it. You can't pick it out from a set of choices. It is given to you, that's why it's called a gift. So, do the best you can with it. You don't need to defend it. Don't hide it. When someone gives you a gift you wear it, show it off, play with it, use it. Tell it like it is!

The local name my district uses for the service goes by no other name - "Gifted Class."

Barbara Vandecreek is the author of the Math Rules! Series--a series of math books for elementary gifted students.

Poetry isn't everyone's favorite mode of expression, but it has many virtues (e.g., emotion, economy, imagery, and discipline) and it makes an excellent short- or medium-length assignment. The advice is often given that if a topic is assigned for a writing effort it should be one in which the student has a good deal of personal interest.  The type of assignment that involves students in experiences and then has them express their feelings shortly thereafter was given by an eighth-grade teacher in Oregon. Those of his students who wanted to gather ideas for writing poems were taken on a hike through the woods. Several of the students who went on the hike came down with cases of poison oak. One of them wrote this poem after the experience:

Poison Oak

A stark sentinel above the peaceful masses, One sole barbaric relic
Bare and bony,
Waiting, hoping, waiting.
In sharp and hateful malice
For an action done in error
By those unwary, not the guilty.
It exalts itself to the highest power
With a torture never forgotten,
A wound slow to heal.

After students have written a first draft of their poems, they should have an opportunity to proofread their pieces. It is at this time that they can learn to develop the necessary skills of determining whether they have said what they wanted to say and whether they have put it in a form that is intelligible to others. Although this part of the assignment isn't fun for many young people--or oldsters either--there is also the lovely feeling of joy when they know that the poem said what they wanted to say.

This message was written by R.E. Meyers.

He is the author of:
Now What?
Spurs to Creative Thinking
and Word Play