Book Study: Whatever it Takes - Chapter 3

[Chandler Smith]

Chapter 3: Respond to the initiatives implemented at Adlai Stevenson discussing whether or not a similar strategy would be effective at your school. Discuss potential barriers and possible solutions.

[cbreaux]

Many of the initiatives implemented at Stevenson would be very beneficial and effective at our school. The many of the pre-enrollment initiatives would significantly help our students achieve to their potential. The summer study skills course and good friend program could be implemented at our school fairly easily. I do not know if parents would encourage students to take these study skill courses, however. The good friend program would be very beneficial to students who transfer into our school when they are already in 7th grade or above. Allowing the students to buddy with someone who already knows procedures and expectations would help the new student to adjust to the different learning environment.

Some of the high school transitioning initiatives could also be beneficial. I like the idea of a true advisory time, but with the many interruptions that take place at our school, I think protecting that time could be difficult. A big thing that would have helped this year was a handbook of co-curricular activities. Students would have been much more aware of opportunities available to them if they had a reference that they could look at on their own time.

I also like the idea of different tutoring levels. We had something similar to this during the current school year. My question is "When did this mandatory tutoring take place?" Also, do students who raise their grades to C or better immediately get out of tutoring or must they stay the whole semester or a predetermined amount of time?

The potential for failure at our school would focus on the parental support for the initiatives. While many parents want their students to work hard and succeed, some parents seem to think everything should be easy and require very little effort. How do we get parents to value student achievement as much as we do?

[ccope]

This chapter made me think of something I should do, however I may end up treading on some toes in the process, but for myself to have most of my students come into the painting section not even knowing the basic colors or how to make grey it is a bit alarming and worrying. Knowing which students have had art in the past and pairing them with students who do not would have helped tremendously.

While our school lacks the wo/man power to do so, having the counselor watch program would be quite beneficiary to many of our low students who do not seem to know about how to raise their grades until it is to late. I have been trying to contemplate ideas of how to remedy this with students who have not purchased or who have lost their powerschool passwords. (like having access to students e-mails so we can actually contact them~ or ichat accounts since we all know they get on that anyways)

I felt the summer study skills course was a breath of fresh air. when the book mentions that "North American students have been conditioned to regard summer school as punitive" I had to think about when I learned of Japanese students who go to cram schools and pay for personal tutors. That barrier is alive and well due to the idea that students must just magically get the information and they should suck it all up like the sponges they are.

Assisting with grade level transitions might not be needed now that we will be k-12 soon and all at one facility. However if the buildings become separate a transition program where students gain buddies/mentors would assist in the fear that is prevalent in 6th-7th and 9th graders.

Many of the programs mentioned by this school weigh heavily on parent and counselor involvement. Much of these would have to be greatly modified in order to even be implemented due to wo/man power however maybe awarding a select group of students with those important jobs in each classroom (would have to be done consistently through all rooms in order to gain permanent value)

[eweathers]

Chapter 3: Respond to the initiatives implemented at Adlai Stevenson discussing whether or not a similar strategy would be effective at your school. Discuss potential barriers and possible solutions.
« Last Edit: May 5, 2010, 9:30am by Chandler Smith » Link to Post - Back to Top Logged
cbreaux
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I have talked with students who are new to college this year, and I have gone to some PD with college instructors/profs ... they all agree that kids get to college without the first idea of HOW TO STUDY ... study skills would be an excellent idea ... yet another need for advisory
Advisory that is true advisory -- true dedicated time --
If there is not going to be a block, why can't the students have only six classes and one advisory/study hall?
It would require EVERY TEACHER not to allow it to be a blow off/free time ... honestly, that is probably the biggest obstacle.
That would be club time, study skills, tutoring, money collection, finish achievement series, assembly time ... it would/could be for an elective grade
As far as tutoring or clubs, that will require coordination, special passes, etc for us to get around the class cutting/hanging out in the halls environment
Around play time, that could be the time when they make up work or rehearse -- rehearse for other programs as well ...
Can we fight for this?


« Reply #1 on May 14, 2010, 1:33pm »
Many of the initiatives implemented at Stevenson would be very beneficial and effective at our school. The many of the pre-enrollment initiatives would significantly help our students achieve to their potential. The summer study skills course and good friend program could be implemented at our school fairly easily. I do not know if parents would encourage students to take these study skill courses, however. The good friend program would be very beneficial to students who transfer into our school when they are already in 7th grade or above. Allowing the students to buddy with someone who already knows procedures and expectations would help the new student to adjust to the different learning environment.

Some of the high school transitioning initiatives could also be beneficial. I like the idea of a true advisory time, but with the many interruptions that take place at our school, I think protecting that time could be difficult. A big thing that would have helped this year was a handbook of co-curricular activities. Students would have been much more aware of opportunities available to them if they had a reference that they could look at on their own time.

I also like the idea of different tutoring levels. We had something similar to this during the current school year. My question is "When did this mandatory tutoring take place?" Also, do students who raise their grades to C or better immediately get out of tutoring or must they stay the whole semester or a predetermined amount of time?

The potential for failure at our school would focus on the parental support for the initiatives. While many parents want their students to work hard and succeed, some parents seem to think everything should be easy and require very little effort. How do we get parents to value student achievement as much as we do?
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ccope
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Re: Book Study: Whatever it Takes - Chapter 3
« Reply #2 on May 17, 2010, 6:19pm »
This chapter made me think of something I should do, however I may end up treading on some toes in the process, but for myself to have most of my students come into the painting section not even knowing the basic colors or how to make grey it is a bit alarming and worrying. Knowing which students have had art in the past and pairing them with students who do not would have helped tremendously.

While our school lacks the wo/man power to do so, having the counselor watch program would be quite beneficiary to many of our low students who do not seem to know about how to raise their grades until it is to late. I have been trying to contemplate ideas of how to remedy this with students who have not purchased or who have lost their powerschool passwords. (like having access to students e-mails so we can actually contact them~ or ichat accounts since we all know they get on that anyways)

I felt the summer study skills course was a breath of fresh air. when the book mentions that "North American students have been conditioned to regard summer school as punitive" I had to think about when I learned of Japanese students who go to cram schools and pay for personal tutors. That barrier is alive and well due to the idea that students must just magically get the information and they should suck it all up like the sponges they are.

Assisting with grade level transitions might not be needed now that we will be k-12 soon and all at one facility. However if the buildings become separate a transition program where students gain buddies/mentors would assist in the fear that is prevalent in 6th-7th and 9th graders.

Many of the programs mentioned by this school weigh heavily on parent and counselor involvement. Much of these would have to be greatly modified in order to even be implemented due to wo/man power however maybe awarding a select group of students with those important jobs in each classroom (would have to be done consistently through all rooms in order to gain permanent value)

[kryush]

I agree that the advisory time that we have scheduled into our day could be much more beneficial to the students if study skills were implimented during this time. However, we have SO many different schedules, and "crazy" days that often it is difficult to for teachers to maintain routine. We have so many "free dress days" or other money collection days that it is often difficult just to get that done in the short amout of advisory time.
I think that as our school gets bigger and we expand grades that an advisory/tuotor time would be beneficial to establish a sense of community amoung the stuents as well as help those students who have been identified by teachers as struggling. The transistion from jr. high level courses to high school level work would be eased if those upper classemen were able and willing to mentor freshmen or jr. high students during the advisory time. Realistically though, all students have so many individual interestes that it is often difficut to find those upper classemen who are capable of being a good mentor and who are willing to take their advisory time to work with younger "uncool" students.