Page 11 - Priorities #22 2003-April

S—I think each student really connects with at least one adult here. That’s an important goal, and we work on it.
Is competition a factor when most of the students come to class highly motivated and expecting to succeed?
S—Students definitely encourage and chase one another in their learning. I
think that for our students it’s usually a positive thing. It’s negative when students won’t allow themselves to do anything less than perfect work— and that happens. That need to be perfect actually interferes with their learning.
We think it’s important for all Middle School students to learn by making small mistakes. All of their teachers are really ready for that. We’re working on encouraging parents and students to understand that it’s okay. Middle school is the time for them to stumble. They pick themselves up, they dust themselves off, and they figure out how to do it next time. This builds resilience into them when the stakes aren’t so high.
Let’s take an example of an English assignment that was completed but forgotten. Isn’t it okay for a parent to drop the assignment off at school?
S—I’d rather the parent let the student deliver it the nextday. Whenthestudentknowsit’shisorher responsibility, it won’t take these students too many times before they figure out a way to get here with it. Then they have the benefit of thinking through what went wrong, asking for help if they need it, but getting a process that works for them. And nobody, nobody is going to fail our Middle School because of a forgotten assignment!
Does "mistake aversion" impact the way students learn the academic subject matter of Middle School?
M—Many of our students are used to absorbing and succeeding on their natural talent. "Learning how to learn" is new to them. But it is a skill they need to develop before high school and definitely before college.
S—Children start out learning by spoon-feeding. They would be happy to continue being spoon-fed. But that isn’t how Middle School is supposed to look if they are to get anything of lasting value from it. There’s a quote in (Dean of the Faculty) Nancy Newman's classroom: "Perfection is the enemy of excellence." If you must be perfect, you can’t be, you won’t be excellent.
What works in creating a positive attitude among the students?
S—Differentiated learning is a teaching style that takes a lot of the heat out of the end product, one final test at the end of the unit. Instead, differentiated learning is about the process and making progress. Assessment occurs more frequently during the process. Things students try won’t work out all of the time, and they will learn from that and make adjustments.
Can you describe differentiated learning? What are students doing?
S—It’s a less traditional, project-based way of teaching that lets us start where the kids are. At this school, all of our students are outstanding or they wouldn’t be here. But they have different individual strengths and their rates of personal development are very different, which is normal at this age.
Differentiated learning speaks to each and every child. Theymakechoicesandmakemistakes.Inthe process, they develop individual problem-solving strategies they can use in the next class and for the rest of their lives.
Their projects highlight their individual growth. Gifted students can really fly with this, and when it is used appropriately all of the students can.
"Learning how to learn" is a skill that students need to develop before high school.
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Faculty member and counselor Dora Marròn has expertise with academic skill-building techniques that are especially suited to middle school students.