Chapter 7

This chapter was amazing, I think that it is an incredibly important chapter, because it teaches us how important it is to connect with all of our students, in some way. Then to learn to teach each one differently, because we’re all different and we all learn differently right? I will quote the text, “If we allow ourselves to fall in love with what we do, we will be reborn countless times....first we need to cultivate passion for what we do. Second, we need to remove our protective armor and allow our students to shape us, reflecting on and learning from what we see.” The story of the mother who made the amazing spaghetti sauce or “gravy” made me think of a quote I heard over and over growing up, “Where your treasure is there will your heart be also.” This mother, made this spaghetti all the time for her family. At first I’m sure it was a drudgery, but as time went on she gained a love for it, for her family. I thought it was interesting that as her son tried to make it, it still never tasted the same, what it was missing was “love.” This story says to me says that if we truly put ourselves into our teaching, really get to know each of our students, and give each one what they need to the best of our abilities, our classroom will be our treasure.

On the subject of tiering, my children except for my oldest, attend charter schools. We found as we were researching schools, that Charter schools “leveled” or tiered their students. For example: everyday math is held at the same time. They call it the “fruit bowl” because for a little while everything gets mixed up. During this time, no matter what level you’re at you are in math. We love this, they tier everything else as well, this was why we chose the Charter school route, tiering.

I’ve tried to teach similarly in my preschool. I only take 6 students per class. This allows me, after I’ve assessed each student, to tailor a learning plan to fit their needs. I also appreciate that our final project has aspects of differentiation in it as well, we’re not told “just do this” but we can choose.
I guess adults need tiering too.