Chapter 8: Teaching Teenagers Who Are Still Learning English

I learned quite a bit from the list of questions students wish teachers would ask them. It is interesting to see how perceptive these students are of their own learning and methods of achieving this learning. Also, it is completely necessary that teachers look past language barriers and focus primarily on the concepts students are working to get across.
The thing that struck me about this chapter was the absolute willingness to learn and grow. These students have already been through the school system, yet they are working to build back to the level at which they were once proficient. The students stumble over their words as they work to tell the teacher what they want and need. They all rely upon one another for assistance through and words lost in translation. This makes me question how best to reach these students if I myself am only capable of speaking English. However, I believe their desire to learn and my desire to teach will eventually bridge the gap if we continuously work toward this goal.

Chapter 7: Teaching Difficult Academic Material

The first paragraph of this chapter made a great deal of sense to me. Although this is rather basic information, it is true that the teacher and student need to create a mutual trust in order to gain success from the classroom. If a student trusts that the teachers cares about students and wants them to learn and grow, the student will recognize that the material being taught is useful and will be more likely to be engaged. Likewise, the teacher will understand and anticipate student needs, therefore adapting lessons in a way that fosters student success. I agree with the steps leading to fostering student growth, beginning with understanding what students already know, while at the same time building upon concepts students already understand to challenge them with harder work. Complicated work should be broken down, with various methods of approaching the target growth. Finally, real life connections should be made to engage students in their learning.


A great portion of this chapter was the portion based on pushing students to think. Rather than providing answers or accepting unformulated answers, students should be pushed to challenge their own thinking and assumptions. In addition, allowing time to think and draft allows for further student understanding. If we simply ask a question and expect a response, students will not have the time it takes to think deeply about a subject and will instead shut down. Instead, giving time to consider and discuss a topic allows for further growth.

Chapter 6: Motivation and Boredom

"The mark of... something about it" (103-104). Although this quote is exaggerated, at the same time it is very true. If a teacher is passionate about the subject they teach, they can teach the students anything as it is clear that it holds significance. Another important idea is breaking away from the book and using multiple resources which will engage students. Many of the most important learning occurs through real life experiences, thus the teacher should work to get away from traditional methods and work with students' intelligences.

Another important aspect is in making sure that students understand. One student's quote states that he has informed teachers before that he does not understand, yet he has simply been urged to complete the work anyway. Teachers can not expect students to care about mastering material if they themselves are not interested in student mastery.

Chapter 5: Teaching to the Individual, Working with the Group

"When I don't... out the answer" (87). This feels extremely familiar, and I strongly long to break away from this within my own classroom. There are always students who are willing to raise their hands within the classroom and if teachers tend to favor these students, others will not work to answer questions. Students who know the answer are unwillingly to step forward and raise their hands over the others. Therefore, I want to ensure that I always wait for a few hands to raise before I call on anyone. The next thing I found significant was the method of making group work meaningful. If a teacher is well aware of the learners within the classroom she can create groups that foster learning for all students.

A significant aspect that I focused upon was progress rather than product. As students each reach learning levels at different times, the student should maintain a respect for this and work to encourage them as they build upon each level. Each product will be different, and the student must be well aware of this.

Chatper 4: Creating a Culture of Success

A very interesting aspect of this chapter was Veronica's first quote. She speaks of the challenges that students face outside the classroom and the reality that sometimes assignments will seem like a waste of time. Regardless, it is the teacher's responsibility to continue pushing the student to do better on the next assignment.

In the feedback section, I recognized the quote as I have experienced this from both a student's perspective and a teacher's perspective. Simply giving a student a negative grade without feedback will not help them to improve, but instead will discourage them from further progression. As teachers, we must always explain to students both what they have done successfully as well as where we have identified problems.

Chatper 3: Classroom Behavior

"But if teachers signal unwillingness to keep up their part, kids will immediately act to right the balance of power that makes the deal fair." (37) I fully agree with this quote. We must not work to make students trust us if we do not intend to hold up agreements we have made with them. Respect must be equal in either direction. I also really agree with the idea of putting an agenda on the board, regardless of how detailed the agenda may be. I highly depend on a syllabus when in a class, thus students should also be well aware of what they may expect within the classroom and for future homework.

A significant portion of this chapter was about interpreting student actions. Although we may believe that we understand why students act in a certain way, this chapter provides multiple possibilities. For example, if a student puts his or her head on the desk, that student may be tired, frustrated, confused, or even bored, thus moving beyond this issue may be challenging as we as educators do not know the solution. It is interesting to gain student perspectives and understand their reasoning for why they may act in a future way, as this helps me in working toward a solution.