Monthly Archives: November 2012

I read a really cool article in Stanford Magazine… Lewis Terman’s study gets talked about a lot but I really enjoyed the way this article looked at his research. Here is the link for the article:

http://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/magazine/article/?article_id=40678

I discuss the topic below:

I have heard and read a lot about the famous Lewis Terman. Lewis Terman made a stamp on the field of education forever with his adapted version of a test created by a French psychologist. Psychologist Alfred Binet was commissioned by the French government to create a way to find ‘intellectually deficient’ children in order to place them in special education. Although Binet was looking to identify ‘intellectually deficient’ students, Lewis Terman was far more interested in the other end of intelligence. Terman altered this test to create the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales and IQ suddenly was (and still is) a topic of great interest to psychologists and educators everywhere. In addition to this Lewis Terman began an investigation of students he believed to be what he called ‘gifted’ in what is arguably the most prolific longitudinal study of all time.

“Terman was obsessed with intelligence. He had deep sympathy for the gifted, identifying with their yearnings and frustrations”

More than 1000 ‘extraordinary’ children were tracked for more than 80 years. These students were selected based on having a very high IQ (135+) and teacher or principal nomination. Terman wanted to create a record of all the details of these children’s lives. He recorded information about their health, their interests, how many books they had at home and how much money their parents made.

There has always been controversy around labelling students with learning disabilities, or students with ADHD. The fear is that students with those labels will be treated differently by others and will think differently of themselves.

I think the same consequences apply when we opt to call a child gifted. This label will invariably change the way others see and treat the child, and the way the child feels about themselves.

Take this interesting example:

Russell Robinson (former director of aeronautical research at NASA)

“Sometimes, the problems got so complex I would ask myself, Am I up to this? Then I would think, Dr. Terman thought I was.” 

Being chosen as a ‘termite’ obviously had incredible impact on his self esteem and his beliefs of self-efficacy. Although gifted students are objectively (as measured by their IQ) ‘smart’ as aspiring educators we should not make the mistake of thinking that this means they do not need the same amount of support as other students. Although the ‘Termites’ were undeniably succesful for the most part (Termites earned bachelor’s degrees at 10X the national rate), being gifted did not necessarily give them an easy ticket through life.

Take a look at this interesting excerpt from the article:

“Some died young from accidents, diseases or suicide. A few were arrested; one went to prison for forgery. About 40 percent of the men served in World War II. Five men died in combat, while two were killed in war-industry accidents. As a group, Terman’s kids got divorced, committed suicide and became alcoholics at about the national rate. They were no more — and no less — stable than the general population.”

In fact according to Special Education in Ontario Schools (Bennet et al) “While some fare well at school, other students who are gifted may underachieve”.

This statement makes it clear to me- Just because a student is gifted, this doesn’t mean they don’t need or deserve your support.

When I was in high school I completed a work experience placement in my school’s resource room. Resource room was a classroom for students throughout our school district who had high needs and spent most (or all) of their school day outside of mainstream classes. In this classroom there was a wide range of students. Some students were on the autism spectrum,  there were students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, a blind student and many students who also in addition had chronic health needs or mobility impairments.

The classroom had one teacher and several EA’s. One really neat process I got to observe and participate in was the use of picture exchange communication with one of the students. This method worked really well for him. His binder had lots of pretty standard pictures, but the coolest ones, and the ones he used most often wee the  specialized pictures for his school community. There was a picture to represent every student, the teacher and every EA in the class. An interesting thing I noticed right away is even though he was the only student who used this system, many of the other students had learned how to use the picture exchange method with him as well (or at least had some idea of how it worked). This was always one of my favourite things about the resource room, all the students there really had a great sense of community. Even though every student had high needs of their own, each student had learned to be conscious of others and their needs. For example one student really didn’t like loud noises when they were feeling agitated or anxious, the other students were conscientious, some without any prompting, to keep their voices down around her. One student used a motorized wheel chair and another student in the class was utterly committed to always making sure he had enough room to maneuver. Many of the students took care of each other. This classroom was truly a community for it’s members. Each member, however different they were really belonged.

I saw that many students had learned how to use this system to communicate with their classmate and friend.

Another place that many students from that classroom found a sense of community was our school theatre. In my last two years of high school I was given the responsibility of being the manager at my school theatre. A few students from the resource room were able to get really involved with our school productions. One student in particular was able to learn a lot of carpentry from one of the community members who would build our sets. Another student played guitar in the orchestra pit as part of the band. My favourite part was incorporating a few students as part of my Front of House crew and having them be ushers for the shows. This was a great way for them to practice some social skills, especially in a ‘work experience’ and ‘customer service’ setting. Beyond that, getting to be a part of a huge school production is an amazing sense of community for any student, and special students need community too.

Prescriptions for ADHD triple in B.C. – An interesting article from The Vancouver Sun

What an interesting article in the news today. Reading this article brings up many questions and topics of discussion that educators and the public need to address. Firstly there is no doubting that the diagnosis of ADHD is on the rise. This brings up the first important question: Is the prevalence of ADHD increasing? Are there really more individuals in the population with ADHD than before? Or are we simply better at recognizing it? One theory is that there is that although it still exists, perhaps there is less stigma today surrounding this kind of diagnosis than before. This theory holds some weight when we consider that recently the diagnosis has not just been for children, but we see adolescents and adults as well diagnosed with ADHD. Perhaps a combination of awareness of treatment options and relatively less stigma has resulted in more adolescents coming forward and reaching out for help.

Another important question to ponder is in which cases of ADHD is psychotropic medication necessary? Certainly in some cases prescription drugs are appropriate and necessary, however medication should not be the only course of action. Drugs such as Ritalin or Adderall can sometimes have negative side effects like changes in personality or excessive sleepiness. It’s not necessarily a teacher’s role to comment on the appropriateness of medications, this decision should ultimately be made by psychiatrists, ideally in consultation with the student, the student’s parent and notes or reports from the teacher. While pharmaceutical treatments are best left to the professionals, certain accommodations and adjustments can be made to benefit students with ADHD right in the classroom. Even small changes in classroom environment can have a really good impact on students who have difficulty concentrating. A host teacher once reluctantly let a student keep a small toy in his desk to fidget with. The results were amazing! No one would have ever have guessed that just a tiny bit of kinesthetic movement (and the gesture of a concession from the teacher) would change this student’s behaviour in class and attitude towards school. From this experience I have learned, anything is worth a try!  Here are some other methods that are commonly used and I saw my host teacher use: Moving the student away from distracting peers and next to a good role model (side note: role model seemed to understand her role and was honoured to help a classmate). While instructing the class he used the ‘proximity method’  to try to increase attentive behaviour and discourage inappropriate behaviour. We also made it a point to praise good work which created incentive for the student to try harder and to give him a chance to see the progress he was making.

The holiday season is upon us again…

It’s that time of year. Starbucks already has cheery red cups and the weather is getting colder! Maybe some people you know are starting to put up decorations or talking about Christmas. Christmas is fun. Who doesn’t like pretty lights, candy canes or giving and receiving presents with the ones that you love? However fun and cheerful Christmas may be, one thing is undeniable, Christmas is a Christian holiday. If you are teaching in Canada in a rural town in Southern Ontario chances are, a lot of the students in your classroom will probably celebrate Christmas at home with their families. If you teach in a large urban centre, for example, Surrey, BC  it may be that the majority of your students will not be celebrating Christmas with their families. Wherever you end up teaching I think it is realistic to acknowledge that not all your students will celebrate Christmas.

Christmas is a topic that gets people very emotional. Many people are concerned that phrases like “Seasons Greetings” or “Winter Break” are ruining the ‘True Meaning of Christmas” and that our society has become too ‘politically correct’.

Check out this article and the backlash against Tri-Board student transportation service for asking bus drivers to remove Christmas decorations from their school buses.

http://www.thewhig.com/2011/12/14/mpp-climbs-on-board-controversy

Conservative MPP (Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington) Randy Hiller had some interesting comments to make…

“We’re not going to allow some officious mid-level bureaucrat to be the grinch who steals away Christmas from our children.”

Hillier scoffed at Tri-Board’s explanation that the ban was for safety reasons.

“We all know that is BS,” he said.

Obviously this is a much more heated issue than one might expect…

The legal stance in Ontario about religion in schools is that it is okay provided that the context of religion is education not indoctrination.

The Ontario Ministry of Education Document “Education about religion in Ontario schools” (1994) lists describes the differences between indoctrination and education. I have copy and pasted a section below:

The court elaborated on the differences between indoctrination and education in the following manner:

1. The school may sponsor the study of religion, but may not sponsor the practice of religion.
2. The school may expose students to all religious views, but may not impose any particular view.
3. The school’s approach to religion is one of instruction, not one of indoctrination.
4. The function of the school is to educate about all religions, not to convert to any one religion.
5. The school’s approach is academic, not devotional.
6. The school should study what all people believe, but should not teach a student what to believe.
7. The school should strive for student awareness of all religions, but should not press for student acceptance of any one religion.
8. The school should seek to inform the student about various beliefs, but should not seek to conform him or her to any one belief

Looking over these points I don’t think this clearly translates to specifically what is okay in schools and what’s not. Thinking about these points from a primary-junior point of view also causes me some concern. Primary school students don’t always have the ability to look at an activity and decide whether they are being exposed to religious views, or if religious views are being imposed on them. Students in primary grades will simply become socialized to whatever is around them. Christmas decorations and activities in schools are treated so casually, as if they are completely normal and routine. I speak from experience when I say this, this attitude towards this holiday sends a clear message to any student who doesn’t celebrate Christmas at home with their family, and that message is “You and your family are not normal”. Even teachers who try to be inclusive and encourage discussion of other holidays inadvertently end up presenting Christmas as the norm, and any other observance as something ‘different’ or ‘exotic’. My mom used to send me to school with sweets every Diwali. Eventually I made her stop because I was so embarrassed because it made me seem different from my peers. I don’t think any student who ever brought candy canes felt ashamed.

I think because young students can’t think as critically about what they are exposed to (compared to for example, a student in grade 8 or 9) teachers in primary school need to be extra cautious about ‘holiday’ content. Unfortunately I don’t think this is always the case. More ‘holiday’ (let’s be serious Christmas) content makes its way in to elementary schools than high schools. Where is the line between academic and devotional? Is a Christmas play with baby Jesus in a manger academic? What about making angels out of paper plates? Or making Christmas tree ornaments? I’m not seeking to make judgements right now on any of these activities. I’m just saying that as aspiring educators we need to be reflective and critical about these issues and be responsible for making our classrooms inclusive places for students of all faiths and ethnicities.

Before anyone goes ahead and calls me a Grinch here are some alternative winter activities to do in November and December with your class. Many of these activities tie in great with curriculum across many subjects!

Snowflakes are great! These ones are made of pasta and decorated with glitter! Snowflakes can incorporate curriculum from many subjects (art, science-weather, and math- geometry)

This is a really fun activity I found on a first grade teacher’s blog that I’ve linked below. These hot chocolate poems are a great way to incorporate colourful adjectives in to creative writing!
http://k-1badgerteacher.blogspot.ca/2012/01/one-of- my-favorite-winter-writing.html

Penguins are loveable creatures who live in winter wonderlands! I like how this teacher has incorporated them in a unit on geometry and shape recognition!