Learners and Apple Pie
 By Priscilla Vail Most students enter school eager to learn and to succeed. Unfortunately,
some intelligent students have difficulties in reading, writing, spelling,
and pencil-and-paper arithmetic. Students who struggle in school often
experience self-esteem and motivation problems.
How can we help kids who struggle in school?
Students need to have their thoughts and feelings in apple pie order,
and they need a complete pie in order to do their work. Every time a kid
takes a slice out of the pie, that much less remains.
What are the main ingredients of the apple pie that students must
possess to be successful?
- Attention. In order to absorb new information or concepts, kids
need to channel and focus their attention. Many kids who try hard
are distractible. Noises, other people’s conversation, or even a
stimulating bulletin board can jiggle or break concentration.
Distractions from inside, such as worry or sadness, are even more
troublesome. Each time attention wanders, a slice come out of the pie.
- Organization. Everyone knows that organization is a vital part of
written work, but many don’t realize that it is equally important for
reading, listening, and thinking. Students who build a mental
framework have hooks on which to hang incoming information and
ideas. Students who store concepts by category can retrieve them
later and use them handily for further thought. Without
organization, this wedge of the pie is liquid instead of solid.
- Language. People use language to understand what they hear and read and to
express themselves. When language functions well, human beings can receive
and give out ideas, information, and emotions. In reading, they join single
words together in phrases, sentences, paragraphs, chapters, and books.
Without such knowledge, they can’t absorb and digest concepts delivered in
words. Nor can they share their thoughts, inspirations, and discoveries.
Strong language skills form a big section of the pie.
- General Information. In learning, people attach what is new to that which is
already familiar. Thus, a major part of catching on to a new idea is to
connect it to something already established in the
learner’s mind. For this reason, the larger the learner’s supply of
general information, the more new information they will be able to
take in, sort, file, and use. Without general information, the pie is
incomplete.
- Time. Students need enough time to read and study and to demonstrate mastery
through writing an exam, a paper, a book report, or by creating a project.
In addition, they need to understand the concept of time, knowing what the
passage of time feels like, such as to write for ten minutes or hand in a
paper due in three days. They need to understand the linear nature of time
which is the basis for planning their work or charting history. Without a
strongly developed sense of time, their pie lacks definition and thus is
hard to slice.
- Basic Skills. Students need automatic basic skills. Each time a
student stops to wonder how to form a letter, how to spell a word, or what 7
x 6 equals, a slice comes out of the pie.
- Emotion. Some people may ask why we need to think about emotion when we’re
talking about thinking and learning. Yet we know from our own experiences,
as well as from medical research and common sense, that emotion has the
power to open or to close pathways, windows, and doorways to learning. The
experience of humiliation, frustration, or frequent failure builds negative
emotional habits. Fear can make kids show off or play the class clown. Fear
can shut down minds, so they aren’t able to learn. Fear of embarrassment in
front of other kids is a powerful enough force to turn kids away from taking
a chance on trying to learn something new. Memories of shame or humiliation
are strong enough to keep kids from taking a chance on a new idea.Many kids
are scared of certain subjects, such as math, science, reading, or creative
writing. Such negative emotions cut off access to reason, certain kinds of
memory, and original thinking. Such negative feelings may grow out of bad
experiences with teachers, parents, or classmates or be a reaction to
academic expectations and requirements. Every time a kid turns away from
learning, an opportunity is lost. When the emotional piece of a learner’s
pie is crumbled, smashed, or missing, the student loses a vital segment.
What can parents and teachers do to ensure that kids have a complete
apple pie?
First and foremost, the adults in the student’s life need to provide a
positive, safe, and supportive environment. They need to understand the
nature of the student’s learning difficulties and which pieces of the pie
are missing or fragmented in order to provide appropriate instruction and
classroom accommodations. The goal is to have students' learning, our
teaching, and parents' contributions in apple pie order. It is the
responsibility of the adults in their world to ensure that students have the
necessary ingredients and then are shown how to put them together to produce
a complete pie to guarantee student success. Success enhances motivation to
continue to learn and leads to increased
competency and self-esteem.
Courtesy of the Schwab Foundation for Learning.
All contents ® and ™ 1997, 1998, 1999 Schwab Foundation for Learning
All Rights Reserved
Any interested person or organization may copy or reprint portions of this article provided such copy may not be sold or otherwise used for commercial purposes and any such copy must contain the above stated copyright notice. Back to Experts' Advice
Legal Stuff You Should Know
|
