MG 21 R
HW assignment: Students were given a line with points labeled A through G. They were asked to find points on the same side of C, on opposite sides of C, points that were collinear, to name rays beginning with C, etc, nothing extremely difficult or challenging.
The homework assignment was handed it. For the most part, they could not do it.
One girl told me she needs someone to read it to her (she does have a resource room but she is one of 34 in my class).
How are these kids supposed to learn to do geometric proofs? Going slow [If you are teaching ME41, ME43 and MG21D/R/J, it is our mission to slow down enough so that the majority of the students can master enough materials to get at least a grade of 65.] is not the answer. I hope someone out there knows how to help these kids. I see their frustration growing every day and I don't know how to help them.
3 comments:
I really feel for you...and for me. However, nothing will change until Kleinberg is gone...Class sizes need to be vastly reduced and quality teachers need to be put back in the classroom if we are to help the struggling student.
This will not be done under Kleinberg's "children last" program.
I'm a college teacher, so I can do this sort of stuff with impunity--I don't know if you can. What I suspect will be most effective (though far from happy and ideal) is:
throw away the book (possibly you already did)
from what you know of this class, and what you know of the next class they will have to take (or the next test or whatever), come up with your own top 5 list of things they should know from this class to succeed in the next one.
Teach those. Teach them slow. Give mastery quizzes: you will retake different versions of this quiz as many times as it takes to get it.
Now--is the amount of progress you will make worth the work? I'm not sure. I only do mastery quizzes on topics that I am really really frustrated if the students can't do it. It is, however, the only thing I know to do that has the slightest hope of working.
This is in no way guaranteed to work. If there's anything I've learned, it's that students/kids are all so different there's hardly ever anything that works all the time. Good luck.
I do what you suggest in my college class. Regents classes have a certain amount of work that must be covered.
It is hard to go slow when enough when kids can't read.
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