Lyons+Section+2

​ = Section two comments, questions and insights: =

Chapter 5 Josh VanHorn Learning and motivation go hand in hand. A student needs to be motivated to learn and enjoy learning to have growth. “Motivation is self-generated.” A child needs to want to learn and be self motivated in order to accomplish goals set by themselves or teachers. There are two types of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is the internal desire. A person with intrinsic motivation has a drive to participate in activities such as reading and writing lessons. An intrinsic motivated child will read a story because he/she wants to read the story, not because the teacher made a lesson for that particular book. Teachers and parents need to encourage the intrinsic motivation, because the child is completing the project on their own without any expectations from reading the story. They need to provide opportunities and experiences that allow the children to show their knowledge, skills, and desires. Extrinsic motivation is a reason to receive an incentive for completing an activity. An example is reading a story and receiving a prize such as stickers, food, or extra recess. Extrinsic motivated children also complete a task, because a teacher will threaten the child with a call home or to the principal. Motivation is not a thing that can be just said to “get motivated” and get things done. A child needs help to direct him/her to learn how to be motivated. You can create an environment that is supportive. Make the child feel that he/she needs your help on a task, just like the teacher did with Matthew. As a teacher or parent you will need to show personal interest in the child’s life. By taking a few extra minutes in the morning to see how the child is doing or asking about his/her family. You can also motivate the child by giving leveled activities that the child can succeed at first, before increasing the intensity of the level to challenge the child. You also need to allow the child to complete task individually so that he/she may experience failure at a task. Parents need to give the child space to identify a problem. When a parent is close by while he/she is doing homework, the parent can lend a hand right before it gets out of hand, just like the example in the book of the parent helping before the boy rips his paper and quits the assignment all together. As a teacher you can give children a challenge and allow the student to feel the accomplishment, such as the example of the thirteen boys walking down the hall. I really enjoyed reading the part about the “time out can achieve a short-term, immediate goal but have negative long-term impact.” This helped me feel confident in the non-time out issue. I feel that a time-out works for some situations, but not for everything, because it will leave a “negative long-term impact.” Parents who are motivated to work and accomplish a goal are setting a good example for children. This is the best way for children to learn how to accomplish goals in education and life. Now for those who need a little extra help, like Matthew, the Reading Recovery program helps. One-on-one time is great for any child; it is just hard to find the time. Programs like Reading Recovery help those struggling students become successful at reading, writing, and motivation. Understanding that he/she can accomplish a large goal like reading will allow the child to be motivated to work on the next goal.

Chapter 6

Josh VanHorn A teacher’s biggest challenge is teaching the hard-to-teach students. You can have all the latest tools, magazines, and supplies, but you are still not going to reach that particular student. Teachers with many years of experience still have a hard time reaching a small percentage of students. I enjoyed how the author discussed being in a college class and teachers with a stunned look on their face when asked how to reach those students. Teachers can identify the students, but most are lacking the ability to intervene with an intervention that will teach the children on their level. This causes frustration among the teachers and then the students can feel the unconfidence in themselves. A teacher needs experience and discussions with other teachers to find what works for some children so that they may try. Teachers need professional development in the area of teaching hard-to-teach children. Instead of spending time discussing issues of what spirit week could be, teachers need to take the time to learn how to work with children who are having difficulties in the classroom. A teacher needs to look at the communication, attitude, and teaching stance he/she has in the classroom. Your communication is vital to teaching those hard-to-teach students. Think of communication as more than just talking, but communicating through writing and body language. Children react to your every move and action. When you give a reaction that is negative it will mirror onto the children. When you are in your classroom show the positive side of your attitude. You need to exude confidence and pride in your students. Show them that what they are doing is great. Use praise whenever possible. You need to show excitement when introducing a new lesson. If you are excited it is easier for the students to be just as excited. Take on your students problems like a challenge that you want to accomplish. Look at all the puzzle pieces and put them together to help this student. When using a strategy to help your student document all of your progress or lack there of. Then discuss the issue with a fellow teacher. Bounce your ideas off of the teacher to change something and make it better to solve the problem of reaching this child. The most important thing when teaching a hard-to-teach child is praise. You need to praise when the child has completed something that is great for that child, even if all the other children can already accomplish this goal, such as sitting in their chair during the writing lesson. Take time to make a point of how well the child has done at the small tasks. Enjoy teaching and don’t give up.

Chapter 7 Josh VanHorn Children learn to read at an early age, for most of the children. Others get tested and need a reading recovery program or are labeled with a learning disability. Children with a learning disability are amongst a large umbrella. Children generally know how to read and write with little difficulties by the end of first grade. Children are able to be tested after a full year of instruction, so many children are tested when they enter first grade from the lack of good test results from kindergarten. Kindergarten is sometimes the first time children have even seen letters or a book. Some parents are not the first teacher of a child, but sometimes unable to read themselves and help their child. Children are then put through many tests that cause stress on the child. Tests are given one day and then by the next month the child has grown so much that the test results are inaccurate. Many teachers and students are now being stressed out just by having standardized tests given in the classrooms. Teachers are stressing to pass their students, to show how much they have taught the children, and the children are stressing out just to pass this test that they have never seen before that day. Since standardized tests have been introduced in Ohio in the middle school and elementary there has been a dramatic change in the teachers’ practice. The state tests make the teacher reevaluate her teaching and "teach to the test." Teachers will do this to help the students pass and show that their teaching skills are working. "The term learning disability defies definition." When a student is labeled with a learning disability there are many descriptions that may fit this child. Students who are unable to read may be labeled with a learning disability, reading disability, or dyslexia which is labeled for seriously disabled readers as a result of a neurological defect. When the data of test results are kept, students are able to receive services to help with their disability. Another disorder that affects children’s reading is Attention Deficit Disorder, with or without Hyperactivity. ADD is used to classify students with cognitive or emotional problems of distractibility and poor impulse control. This disorder is diagnosed by a physician, instead of just a teach of teachers and/or school psychologists. I really enjoyed reading about "Bobby’s Story." He is one of those challenges that will take awhile to solve, but worth the all the time, because of the great success. He was a student at the beginning of the year that every teacher dreads having, because of the reputation that came with him from kindergarten. If a kindergartner is that bad, he could only get worse, is what many teachers would think. The Reading Recovery teacher could have given up just as the previous year’s teacher may have done, but instead she saw through the attitude and found the problem that was causing his behavior. When he said "I would learn to read and write." I felt that this child does want to learn, but does not know how. That is a huge step in the right direction. When a child also states that he would like friends and feels like he does not belong, makes you see another side to him. That teacher made it a goal to help Bobby read and write, and also to help Bobby help himself, which is by far the best goal for a teacher to have for his/her student.