Once I had a meeting with the mother of a weak student and she said "You are always prizing the good students. The best speaker goes to the tea party, the good reader goes to the library, the best student goes to the flag. I know that my son is never going to be the best speaker nor the best student, so how do you motivate my child? In which kind of special activity do you include him?" I do not remember exactly my words, but I do remember my thoughts at that moment. I was thinking ...You are right...
How do we help those concerning cases in their learning process?
We give them some extra patience, 5 minutes of exclusive time in the classroom, some special activities to do at home, a "come on, you can do it!" encouraging words, and many times we suggest parents to look for extra help somewhere else. Are we only pushing foward the good-and-well-behaved students? What about the weak-and-naughty ones?
I now that we do a lot for those kids, but I wonder if we do what they need.
There are things that cannot be solved at school, but does it mean that we cannot teach those kids?
Could we create a motivating enviroment at school for those kids? A place and time to give them the strategies they need to solve their difficuties? We made some promises... I offered my help...
I would like to start working with these children and base my reflections on that experience.
