Welcome to a New Year!
The new St. Vincent web site is not yet up and running so we will use this site until the change takes place.
What is Fair?
Have you heard a child whine out the statement, "That's not fair!"? As a parent, I remember this statement from my own two children. Some children and adults define fair as meaning everyone gets the same thing. Yet if one takes a moment, is that really fair? For example, if I take my two children to the eye doctor and one of them fails the eye exam, does this mean I should buy them both a pair of glasses? No, that would be silly. In this Messenger, I would like to offer a different meaning for fair.
The definition for fair that I would like to propose is that fair means everyone gets what they need. This means that the child that fails the eye exam should get glasses.
This definition of fair is an important concept of Differentiated Instruction. Fair means each child is taught in a way that appeals to his/her interests and readiness level in order to find the maximum academic success.
The faculty at SVES have been working hard to learn this method of teaching. The first step is to help the children understand that we are all different and that is a great gift from God. We have different interests. We have different strengths and weaknesses. Then based on this understanding, teachers will begin to slowly vary lessons by changing the content, process or product to best fit the needs of the children.
For example, a lesson on the rain forest might give the students a choice in the product they create to demonstrate their knowledge of rainforests. Some students might write a song about the rainforests. A few children might work together to build a replica of the rainforest. A student might want to create a mobile showing the benefits of the rainforest. A few other students could write a script and perform a puppet show about life in the rainforest from the viewpoint of a snake named SSSSam.
The teacher serves as a facilitator rather than the "font of information". Children do activities tailored for them and get excited about learning. Teachers guide and challenge students by meeting with small groups or individuals to meet their needs or teach new skills.
I could go on and on because I am very excited aobut our faculty trying Differentiated Instruction with our children this year. I want the teachers to take "baby steps" so that they find success in this method. At our PTO meeting on August 26, the program will be about Differentiated Instruction. Please make plans to attend this meeting at 7 p.m. and learn more about this technique. We want to include our parents in this ongoing process so join us Aug. 26 in the SVES cafeteria!