This article gives a glimpse into an 8th and 9th grade classroom
at an alternative public school in Lakeville, Minnesota. Use these questions
to help you reflect on the article and consider whether or not some of
these strategies are realistic in a public school setting.
What additional information might you want to know about the Compass
Program, and the students it serves?
Give examples of commonalities that you see between this program's approach
and your own dealings with "fragile students."
Prompted by Erin and Summer
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4 comments:
Reaching the Fragile Student could be Reaching All Students. At one time or another, all students are fragile. People must have their basic needs of food, rest, health, and emotional well-being attended to before they can learn. Sometimes the school must be a "home away from home," much as the Compass Program in this article has had to do. The meeting time shows caring and gives students the attention they need and deserve. One way a classroom teacher can accommodate this situation is by setting aside a special lunch time with two or three students at a time. In a quiet setting, a teacher can build a rapport with students. I also like the idea of trouble shooting issues that arise by meeting with students rather than just giving out a punishment. Communicating is a much more positive route to solving a problem. Included in this communication there needs to be modeling appropriate behavior. Solving a problem then becomes a learning situation.
Since I work with many children who come to school with lots of "baggage", I can easily see how student’s life experiences affect their ability to learn in school. I worry about how some of these children will manage their “baggage” as they get older. Will they be similar to the ones in the article? Our school district has two alternative programs, the SUCCESS program and the Alternative Ed program and I believe (because I haven’t heard anything to make me believe otherwise) that these programs are successful. They are probably successful because they address other needs of the students besides the academic just as the Compass School does. So I do think these strategies can be successful in a public school setting. The school system must be committed to making it work and be ready to fund this type of program. They must believe that every student is worth the effort. Within our own school, I see many fragile students receive the emotional support they need within the classroom and from other services within the school. Unfortunately the numbers of fragile children are increasing and this is making it harder to meet all their needs.
As a special educator, many of the students that I work with come to school with a lot on their plate. There are many "needs" that are not being met in the home. To some, school is their "safe haven". I think that every student has the potential of being a "fragile" stdent at some point and time. Their dilemmas are huge at some point and time. I think that we, as teachers need to reach students at an emotional level. We need to get to know each student as an individual. I do think that we are doing this without even trying. I think that it is in us as an individual.
When I was student teaching at Manchester Elementary and Middle School they also had a SUCCESS program. The program was run similar to the Compass Program. The students involved seemed to enjoy it and it was successful. In my response to “Warm Defender”, I mentioned I can not image dealing with the issues that students are forced to deal with. Students need 3 meals a day, a good night sleep, to be cared for and loved. I know that I sometimes forget that some students do not receive as Linda said “the basic needs”. Some thing as small as getting a good night sleep is important for me to function the next day. I can only image how miserable I would be with out my basic needs. Some of the issues that my students are forced to deal with are parents involved with alcohol, drugs, affording to live and teen pregnancy. One strategy that I use with my behavioral difficulties is communicating with them. I have found that it is a lot more beneficial and it saves me a lot of paper work.
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