School Zone
FASA Communicator, Winter 2006 Article
Never Say That There Are
Some Children Who Cannot Learn
—By Mike Tremor, Ph.D., Associate Director, Florida
Association of School Administrators
The job of the teacher
nowadays is to find ways for all students to learn and
that of the school and district is to do whatever it
takes to ensure that the student is learning at expected
levels.
We, as educators, cannot,
should not, must not believe or say, ever, that there
are some children who cannot learn. No one will believe
us; there will think we are just whiners. What we can
believe and say is that there are some children who
cannot learn through the ways we traditionally teach in
schools. The job of educators today is to find those
ways for each student to learn.
If you don’t have teachers
knowledgeable of content and pedagogy, who are organized
to keep students on task and engaged every minute of
instructional time and who set out and enforce rules
uniformly and universally, you cannot say that there are
some students who cannot learn.
If you do not have an early
and continuing intervention system for struggling
students that provides for identification of the
students who are struggling, detailed diagnosis of the
students’ problems and prescriptions for intensive
remedial instruction through one-on-one or small-group
teacher/student interaction, allowing for additional
engaged academic instruction, you cannot say that there
are some students who cannot learn.
If you do not focus on
ensuring that all students can practice the basic skills
with automaticity, so they have the cognitive resources
available for comprehension and critical thinking, you
cannot say that there are some students who cannot
learn.
If you are not providing all
students with broad general knowledge and specific and
appropriate vocabulary development needed for academic
comprehension in all subjects, you cannot say that there
are some students who cannot learn.
If you are not engaging
students in dialogues to ensure that they listen to,
speak, decode and comprehend academic and adult language
and ideas, you cannot say that there are some students
who cannot learn.
If you are not continuously
monitoring the progress of students and redesigning
instruction as a result, you cannot say that there are
some students who cannot learn.
If you have all these things, but have not
evaluated the still struggling students for disabilities
and have not provided appropriate and effective special
education services, you cannot say that there are some
students who cannot learn.
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