The first blog post I read posted by Andy, was called, 'Maintaining Oral Standards.' This post was talking about oral testing and the challanges it brought along with it. I agree with what was said by Andy when he talked about different grading styles playing a role in testing. Students don't also know how the teacher will grade or even what the teacher is looking for. He stated that of the students he spoke with, 35% did not know what their father's occupation was. This is alarming to me. Communication between families, I believe, is the most important thing. Children need to have an open mind about communicating with their parents and the same goes for parents having an open mind about talking with their children. Communication is important to the success and well-being of a child's future.
The second post was entitled, 'Why Should Age Determine Ability.' This post explained the relationship between age and language learning. The author gave an example of a situation that may, for example, take place between an adult moving to China. The adult told the teacher that they were 42 years old and the teacher wanted to place them in a level 6 class because of his age. This just does not work. Just because he is an adult, does not mean that he knows the language at a level of 6. If age was an issue with that program, then they need to teach the adult privately and not in a class of adults. Administrators and school officials need to put in place programs for students of all ages.
This teacher seems impressive. I would like to check out his blog. Will you add a link to your post so I can get there easier?
ReplyDelete"If age was an issue with that program, then they need to teach the adult privately and not in a class of adults." How do you think your own expectations of students change as a result of their age? Will you compensate for students who are older because they were held back?