... job today, and one more tomorrow before the end of the semester. I am well past that goal of accumulating ten days before the holiday break. And actually, when I do it again on Tuesday, think I will be about halfway towards the other ten required to stay in the good graces of the sub. replacement program. In order to stay active, the fill-in people are required to have a total of 20 per year. If my figures are correct, I will have fifteen. Whew!
It has not been too rough. The kids I have encountered have been pretty agreeable and have not presented any problems. Just struggling to grasp some of the concepts that are appropriate to their age level, and needing some extra help to master some of the things their peers more easily understand. I have seen some who are having a hard time understanding the assigned work because they have a problem with reading, and basic vocabulary. If you can't read the material, you certainly don't have the comprehension to answer questions or respond when tested. There are probably as many reasons for the struggles as there are kids who are floundering.
They will get behinder and behinder, and are the ones who begin to feel so badly about themselves at grading time, they want to give up. I cannot even begin to guess at what the solution might be. I do know that literacy is so very important. A variety of theories on the best way to teach reading are out there - I am not qualified to have an opinion on what works. I do know that being a person who reads and demonstrates a love of reading, modeling the habit of literacy is one way,but likely not particularly helpful by the time students are ten or twelve years old. Reading to little people before they can even hold the book, and talking about the illustrations is a great way to start.
It is distressing to see young people struggling with trying to read the material their classmates are absorbing. To know they have such a hard time getting through the words, trying to decipher basic vocabulary in a paragraph they won't likely fully grasp content they need to ingest. If they cannot manage the basics, they will struggle as their assignments become more and more complex, not understanding what they need to know as more complicated skills are required. So sad....
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