Lesson #6:
Empowering students
by Wendy Crick
There is a part of remediation that has little to do with the distribution of knowledge. There is the part of building relationships, setting expectations, and believing in self. Students must be taught different strategies in order to reach their highest potential in reading, but they also must be given opportunities to engage in meaningful text, believe in themselves, and to know that they can read. This sometimes will take more time than teaching the strategies. Many of the students who end up in learning centers or remediation programs have had years of believing that they cannot read along with reinforcement from external forces, like peers, and even their teachers to support that belief. One way to increase the student’s confidence is for everyone to raise their expectations. Once a student has been taught the strategies immerse them in authentic text that is rich in vocabulary.
More Lessons -
Lesson #1: Turn your anger into a passion.
Lesson #2: The lack of reading skills is a symptom not a condition.
Lesson #3: Think big and look for answers in new places.
Lesson #4: The need for engagement versus compliance.
Lesson #5: The need for quality remediation rather than accommodation.
Lesson #6: Empowering students
Lesson #7: Shift from grade level expectations to reaching ones highest potential.
Lesson #8: Exchange excuses for answers.
Lesson #9: Separate self from the system.
Lesson #10: Change is the only constant in our universe.
