When I Think of Child Development

Quote: “Don’t try to fix the students, fix ourselves first. The good teacher makes the poor student good and the good student superior. When our students fail, we, as teachers, too, have failed.” Marva Collins *I really enjoy this quote from Marva Collins because it reminds a teacher the realness of her career! It reminds her that she is here to teach ALL children and that ALL children can be GREAT! Knowing that student success equals teacher success!

Intelligence Testing

I don’t like the idea of “testing” children on their intelligence. I believe that if we want to truly understand children and their needs, there isn’t a “test” that we can give them to show us about them. I learn about my students by spending time with them and learning how they learn and what they need from me to make their learning more successful. If a particular student in the classroom is “academically gifted”, that teacher will know…if she takes the time and “see” what this child is capable of. When seeing her capabilities, the teacher can use that knowledge to guide her instruction for that student. I do understand that we have to measure students and their growth. I just feel like it puts so much more stress on students than necessary. In Canada, students who are entering in the 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 10th grades, must take the EQAO (Education Equality and Accountability Office assessment). This assessment measures reading, writing, and math skills of these students. The test results don’t affect students in 3rd or 6th grades. Students in 10th grade have to pass the literacy piece in order to continue. The teachers use the EQAO to guide the teacher’s instruction on how to further assist the student. If there was an area where large amounts of students scored poor, then the school will look at making instruction throughout the school more effective. References EQAO Testing (2009). People for Education. Retrieved from: http://www.settlement.org/sys/library_detail.asp?k=ELEMSEC_EVAL&doc_i d=1004054