Last Thursday Paul and I had our first parent/teacher conference. To our delight we got fantastic reports back on Sha, especially in the math department. Both Ms. S and Ms. W (her ESL teacher) were there and they both emphasized how amazed they were by Sha's determination to want to learn. Ms. Schofield told us how Sha is constantly raising her hands now in class and asking lots of questions. She has grown very close with Ella, her new bff who is truly a sweet girl. During our conference the principal, Merry came in to tell us how amazed she was with Sha's problem solving skills. So much so that she did a write up in "The Pipeline", that is on the school's website. Paul and I left that meeting overjoyed and partially in tears (good tears). We decided to pick up Chinese take out to celebrate her successes so far. Below is the write up of our little sunshine that we are very proud of.
Rigor at it’s Best
One of the most important principles of learning is effort and rigor. We have studied
the meaning and expectations connected with this short snappy phrase, but what does
it really look like?
Last week I had the good fortune to observe “effort and rigor” at its best. I was
facilitating the Math I portion of the Mastery Test for one of our third grade
students. This particular child has only been in our school since January and the only English
she speaks is what she has acquired since coming to the United States in December. One
would be surprised at how much she has learned in such a short time.
The State mandates that students identified as ELL (non-English
speaking children) enrolled for the first time in a U.S. school after March 2, 2010 may be exempt
from the reading and writing portions of the test. However, they must take the Math
portions of the CMT. They are permitted a reading accommodation so I was reading her
the passages on the test. When the questions required she give a written explanation for
her answer, she was initially stymied. She looked to me for help and when I shared I could
not provide any additional assistance, she continued to think. After a few minutes she started
writing the words she did know and drew pictures for the others. She used names of her
peers she had come to know as the characters in her sentences. Furthermore, she flipped
back in the test for words she remembered and wanted to use that I had read to her in the
prior pages. Her comprehension was amazing. What I am describing is true “effort and
rigor”. She was determined to find a way to express her level of understanding and she did.
Whether or not she receives credit is secondary. Her determination makes her a success.
Every day, the teaching professionals at ** School try to instill the concept of
“effort and rigor” onto their students. We see more and more of our children delving deeper
in the hopes of increasing their level of understanding. I encourage you, the parents, to
support your children in going the extra mile. We are not truly supporting our children as
learners if we make the process too easy or allow them to make excuses. Future outcomes
depend on us supporting our learners to think outside of the box and dig deeper for information.
They need to be thoughtful about their own thinking.
If we empower our children to do this, they will be better not only in the classroom,
but in all aspects of their lives.
~ Merry , Principal
