As our students begin the new school year, we focus on many things: fidelity to gospel teachings, building community and academic excellence, to name a few. August and September find us implementing academic strategies for student achievement. We may not have legal responsibilities at the top of our list as we prepare lesson plans, welcome students back and initiate a new learning year. Yet, the law requires that we meet our obligations to provide students with the academically excellent education they and their parents have a right to expect.
Catholic schoolteachers, like all teachers, have the responsibility of providing our students with the best education possible. To that end, we have received academic degrees, attended workshops, kept up with professional reading and kept ourselves as up to date as we can with new trends and tried and true teaching techniques. It is appropriate to ask, “What is academic excellence? Does it mean the same thing for every student?” Not every student is or can be an “A” student, but all students deserve the supports and challenges they need to achieve the best they can.
A Catholic school enters into a contract with parents to educate their children. When teachers enter into a teaching contract, they agree to put forth their best efforts to ensure that they teach students to the best of their abilities and that students can learn to the best of their abilities. This is a tall order, but is the calling of every Catholic school teacher.
As mentioned, not every student will be an “A” student, but every student can be supported in the effort to perform as well as he or she can. Some “C” and “D” students put forth more effort than the “A” and “B” students. It is important to recognize that reality and to celebrate the academic and other victories of all students. The “D” student who achieves a “C” is deserving of our praise, support and celebration. Not every student will or can excel in every subject, but every student deserves to be supported in the quest to learn and thrive in our Catholic schools.
The law requires that each student receive the education that his or her parents are seeking and that the school is agreeing to provide. While every student is not an “A” student, every student has the right to receive appropriate supports to be the best student he or she can be, while achieving to his or her highest abilities. This may mean extra attention for certain students or modified expectations and assignments. Perhaps the class is expected to solve twenty mathematic problems in twenty minutes; but some students need thirty minutes or can achieve best if they are allowed to solve ten problems in twenty minutes. Such flexibility calls for thinking out of the proverbial box. It does not mean that students are provided less of an education, but that they are given what they need to achieve the goals of education at their grade levels.
If students learn multiplication, does it really matter if a student needs twenty minutes to solve problems while her peers need only ten minutes? If the goal is to learn multiplication, then isn’t the outcome more important than the number of problems solved? If a student can write a two-paragraph essay while others write a four-paragraph one, does the length really matter? Is correct performance or numbers of items presented more important?
No law states that students must be able to solve a certain number of problems or write a paragraph with a certain number of sentences, but the law expects that teachers will teach so that students can perform the minimum of necessary skills. The effective teacher builds on the skills of each student. “Bobby, today you solved three multiplication problems. That’s great. Let’s try for four tomorrow.” While the student in the desk next to Bobby may have solved ten problems in the time it took Bobby to solve three, it is important to affirm and celebrate Bobby’s victories as well as those of the classmate who can perform more tasks in a lesser amount of time.
Such an approach does not mean that we are watering down the curriculum, but rather that we are meeting each student where he or she is. It may mean using a team approach with teams containing both students who perform quickly and correctly and those who need more time and attention to perform.
One can tend to view the education of students with learning differences as one of remediation and to view that of high achieving students as one of acceleration. Yet, all students may need remediation at a given time. The writer of this article remembers well agonizing over art class. No matter how hard I tried, my drawings were lucky to receive a “mercy” C. A special teacher recognized some latent ability in me and gave me different assignments than most of the rest of the class received. Perhaps I couldn’t draw people, but I could draw landscapes. None would receive a prize, but I felt validated and worthy.
We can provide the same service in all subject areas. Yes, there is a very important place for remediation, but there is also a place for acceleration, and we owe it to our students to identify their areas of strength and provide opportunities to excel in some aspect of a subject area. I am a person who was not blessed with a good singing voice, but the teacher found jobs for me that benefitted the choir and that salvaged my grade.
I believe that just as we provide more challenging assignments for gifted students and accelerate the curriculum for them, we can provide more challenging assignments for students who are not as gifted academically as some of their peers. Thus, we accelerate the curriculum for all students. Remediation has its place, but remediation can also involve acceleration. The effective teacher will ask, “How can I ‘bump up’ this assignment for this student so that she sees herself as achieving ‘more’ and as deserving of praise as her higher achieving classmates?”
We should use data and testing results to meet the needs of each student, both the “A” and the “C” student. If a student struggles to make Cs, how can we help him or her to succeed, one step at a time? Do we celebrate the victories, which are different for each student?
Do we challenge the gifted student whose A may be much more easily achieved than the C or D of another student? I credit my success as a writer to my seventh-grade teacher, Sister Grace Simpson, OSUMSJ, who challenged me to write, who insisted that I write stories and reports that other students didn’t have to write. She found something in each of us that we could do and do well. If a student hit the ball farther than most or simply hit the ball farther than ever before, she was full of praise. [By the way, I was one who couldn’t hit the ball very far, so praise for ball hitting was more highly valued by me than praise for my writing.] The point is Sister Grace Simpson made each of us feel special and important, and she found something at which each could excel. That, in this writer’s opinion, is the mark of a great teacher. And Sister Grace Simpson did this long before individualized learning was in vogue.
Remediation has its place, but it can be served by acceleration. I may be on page 10 today and my classmates on page 30, but if I progress to page 15, then my learning has been accelerated and there is cause for praise. That acceleration is part of remediation for me.
Good teachers have always known and practiced this, even if the vocabulary wasn’t in vogue at the time. Educators owe each student remediation and acceleration. Perhaps the real test is: how can we accomplish both at the same time? How can we remediate what needs remediation while providing acceleration in at least some subject(s) for our students?
Each student has a legal right to the best possible education and to acceleration when appropriate. Each teacher has the responsibility of identifying the strengths and limitations of students and designing lessons that can provide both remediation and acceleration. Some of the best remediation occurs during acceleration.
Jesus said, “Let all the little children come unto me.” He was speaking of all children, regardless of age or ability. He also said that unless we become like little children, we shall not see the kingdom of God. Regardless of the age of our students, we are called to see Christ in them and to provide educational experiences that both challenge and sustain. As the school year progresses, let’s commit to providing an education that challenges, celebrates and affirms. Then we will stay well within the requirements of both civil law and the Gospel of Jesus who called all the children—of whatever age and ability—to come unto Him.
Sister Mary Angela Shaughnessy, SCN, J.D., Ph.D.Angie.Shaughnessy@LMU.edu