My school, which for those of you that dont know, is a charter school. That basically means that we are a public school, funded by the state, under state regulations and following state standards, sponsored by the Clark County School District (the 5th biggest in the U.S. ugh) so we follow their basic rules, but, and there is a big but, we have some freedoms. We can do things that a regular public school cant do. For one, we dont have a lot of overhead costs so the school can buy new programs, invest in teacher training, supply computers to all the teachers and some of the students, and other things. But like a public school, we are struggling. There is close to a 40% dropout rate across the U.S. (this fact has been argued, but there is no denying it is a big number). Most of the stuff kids are being taught aren't compatible with the way business is moving in this age. So, with that understanding, and our charter, we are always changing. Always looking for something to make it work better. For that I'm privileged to be at my school, but its still not working. So, I wanted to ask you guys.
What positive experiences do you remember from HS? Did something that a teacher did help you learn, or help you survive, stop you from dropping out? I'd like to hear some success stories to help me going into my 4th year of teaching. If you work in education, you can share those stories as well. You can either post your replies by clicking the 'comments' button at the bottom of this entry, or if you want to share a more private story, email me at cjplough75@gmail.com.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Success Stories
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2 comments:
Call out those who may be showing signs of apathy or who may potentially drop out. Spark and fire these kids in a special class.
Find out one on one what makes them tick, show them you care and then challange them with forward motion they can relate to. Let them tell you why they would rather not be there. I am not a trained educator so sorry if I sound redundant with this. I feel these kids who slip through the cracks need touch.
I think you are exactly right, the kids who are the high at risk kids have felt so out of touch from school for such a long time that they need special attention from all their teachers. Relationships are very important at the HS level, but most close relationships between teacher and student seems to happen at the elementary level.
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