Teaching to Learn, Learning to Teach

Mentoring is another way to foster relationships between teachers and students. A num-
ber of high schools are experimenting with student-created interdisciplinary portfolios or
projects that are periodically examined by teams of teachers. These reviews provide the
opportunity for teachers and students to get to know each other and for teachers to offer
academic support and guidance. Portfolio assessment is discussed in greater depth in
chapter 8.
In order to learn about her students, Susan Soitiriades, whom we met in chapter 2, has
them write personal essays about themselves and their backgrounds that are shared in
class. Another way to learn about students is to ask them to complete a voluntary “student
profile.” A sample follows in Fig. 4.1.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION—ONE SIZE FITS FEW

Susan Ohanian is a leading critic of national standards and standardized tests. In her

book,One Size Fits Few(1999), Ohanian argues in favor of personalizing instruction and

individualizing assessment as the best way to meet the needs of students and to really un-

derstand what they have learned.

Questions to Consider:

1. In your view, what are the advantages and disadvantages of careful observation of stu-
   dents and a “disciplined” review of the ideas and work of individual children?


2. Do you think asking students to complete a student profile like this sample would help
   you as a teacher? Explain.


3. If you used this sample profile, which questions would you eliminate? What questions
   would you add? Why?
   4.Where do you stand in the debate over national standards and testing versus personal-
   izing instruction and individualizing assessment? Explain your views.

SECTION D: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE “GIFTED”?

The next two essays examine the school experiences of different sets of students. The first
essay discusses “gifted” programs and their impact on students who are placed in these
classes. The second essay is about a special project involving students in a remedial reading
program. I suspect that most teachers, and most people who are reading this book, would
prefer to work with students labeled “gifted.” We see them as an easier and more interesting
group to relate with and teach. These are the students that most frequently have special re-
lationships with teachers. They assist in offices, are members of school clubs, and produce
the yearbook and the play. This group of students generally feels comfortable with teachers;
they probably had positive experiences earlier in their school careers and know teachers
from their families or communities. But being placed in the “gifted” class carries a burden,
which the essay explores.
The second group of students are the students that most teachers try to avoid because
they can be difficult to handle. They often have serious academic and social problems and
are resistant to the goals of school. I think this essay shows how important positive relation-
ships with teachers and other adults are for these students.
Most new students in teacher education programs (and unfortunately many teachers as
well) tend touniversalizefrom their own experience as secondary school students. They be-
lieve there is only one right way to learn, one right way to act, and that is the way that they

RELATIONSHIPS 109