Teaching VGs and AHs

These days, there are few who’d argue that schools don’t need to change - the disagreement involves what the changes should be. In our opinion, the first change that needs to be made is to properly compensate the people who teach our children and, in many cases, spend more time with them during the work week than the parents. It is disgraceful that the people to whom we entrust our most precious assets are paid so little! Add to that overcrowded classes and not enough resources in other areas (teachers having to pay out of their own pockets for the supplies they need, for instance), and it’s no wonder that there are teachers who have completely lost the spark for teaching, or who just don’t give a damn anymore!

We are lucky, as a society, that there are still some teachers who love their work and their charges. These are the few who are loved by all their students and who are remembered as the favorite teacher. It horrifies me that these teachers are paid at the same pitiful rate as the those in the next room who just can’t wait for Friday. Good teachers should be compensated for their hard work; poor teachers should not be compensated for not doing their jobs effectively.

I think that whomever came up with the expression, “Those who can’t do, teach”, merits a slap to the back of the head, in the very least! Those who can’t do should go do something else. I don’t want some dolt - who couldn’t make it in their field and is “settling” for being an underpaid educator - teaching my child, then claiming that there’s something wrong with her because she can’t sit still like the other children. If my child - or any other child, for that matter - is not learning, the onus must be placed on the teacher.

Yes, teachers should learn the basics of teaching. But, like doctors, their lessons should focus on the “problems” they will face in the classroom. They should be taught about the various ways in which the different types of children learn, and methods effective for making the educational process enjoyable for everyone involved. I know - as a parent who enjoys teaching her children different things - the joy of that moment when the child’s face lights up because they finally “get” a difficult concept. I imagine that it is much the same for teachers. If educators are taught how to get through to the children with difficulties, the experience will be much more satisfying for them as well.

I have read about the frustration the best teachers have felt when they encounter a student they can’t seem to reach. It is much to their credit that they realize the child is not defective, but rather, that they must find a method which will be effective with that particular child. It seems, however, that educators are taught methods for teaching “perfect” learners. Such children will learn just as effectively if taught using methods geared towards children with learning difficulties; the work shouldn’t be “dumbed down“, the presentation should be changed. Why does a subject have to be taught in one 50 minute period? I think that VG students would learn more effectively if, instead, they studied a topic for three 15 minute blocks of time.

Victoria (AH) is extremely lucky in that she has not been exposed to any material that has given her the slightest trouble to learn. However, she usually can’t eat an entire meal in one sitting, nor can she keep still. She needs to be allowed to move about when she needs to and keep food accessible to eat during class time. As long as she is not disruptive in her actions, or a slob in her eating habits (I’m thinking in terms of not attracting bugs to the classroom), she should be allowed to do so. I don’t want to hear that she has to adhere to the same rules as everyone else - she isn’t like the others!

Children should be tested when they first go to kindergarten to determine how they learn. They should then be segregated into two groups - the VGs and AHs. The majority of the learning should be done separately; other activities - such as music, art, recess/gym and lunch - should be fully integrated.

Since there are fewer AHs, their classes will be smaller, as they should be. Their classrooms should be run in the Montessori method, with the children learning the things that interest them WHEN they are interested in them, at a pace which they set for themselves, and at a scholastic level which they find both interesting and challenging. Their teachers should be there to supervise, keep the students advancing in their studies and offering assistance where needed.

VG classes, on the other hand, need to be more structured, but not oppressively so. Subjects should be taught in short bursts and kept moving to keep the VGs’ interest. Now, I don’t know about others, but I feel that windows should not be put at eye-level. I spent almost all of my time in school looking out the window - it’s VERY distracting. Also, I think that VG classrooms should be kept clutter-free and very organized. Activities should be kept out of sight until they are being done. And why should all of the children’s work hang all over the room at all times, as well as the alphabet along the top of the wall encircling the classroom, and mobiles and all other kinds of distractions?! The VG classroom should not be so “busy”!

When I have visited Victoria’s classrooms, the sheer volume of crap all over the place is completely overwhelming! I never would have been able to pay attention to the lesson with so much to distract me! A bulletin board where the work is changed on a weekly basis to display different projects, is all that’s necessary. Victoria’s current school has big bulletin boards and display cases in the hallway outside the classrooms in which to display the kids’ work. I think it’s great. Unfortunately, there is still too much “going on” in the classroom, in my opinion, to effectively teach the VGs. Again, Victoria is lucky that such things do not pose a problem for her, as she is an AH. But, I cringe to think of Vanessa (VG) in such an environment; her natural curiosity will keep her attention wandering unless something is done to address this situation.

In a nutshell, then, I think that teachers should be competing for positions which should be held in great esteem. I think that teachers should receive report cards from parents evaluating how effective they are in getting through to the children. The teachers’ report cards should not be a reflection of the children’s grades - they should reflect how much and how well the kids’ learned. We need to come to grips with the fact that there are some children who are “intellectually challenged”. Of course, we would never and should never refer to children that way, but the fact remains that not every child is intelligent. This should not be taken to mean that these children can’t be taught - simply that not everyone is capable of getting A’s and B’s - which is why the teachers’ report cards should reflect effectiveness, not the students’ grades. Poor grades for the teacher mean that the teacher needs to attend classes/workshops/whatever necessary to learn better teaching methods.