But Andrea, my point is that this attitude, and our educational system 
in general, puts curriculum completion ahead of student needs.   I 
started to give an illustration in a longer message of a school where I 
used to work where the system is reversed-- the student needs drive HOW 
the curriculum is shaped and delivered----the goal, for example, was to 
assure that all students learned to read--but how we did that varied 
hugely-- I taught reading throug raising guinea pigs and then through 
teaching about castles, crusades, gothic architecture and armor.   This 
was in a school populated entirely by students with significant 
learning disabilities.    The amount of content learning that happened 
( and still happens)  was/is astounding=but skills were the real focus 
of the teaching.   Where content was the sole purpose-- as in the 
social studies/history clubs--skills were not the defining factor-- 
students of all levels still learned the content at very high levels.   
   This school was designed so students learned, not so curriculum could 
be met.   Robin

-----Original Message-----
From: AWilder106 at aol.com
To: learningdisabilities at nifl.gov
Sent: Mon, 20 Feb 2006 09:10:04 EST
Subject: Re: [LearningDisabilities] accommodations, colleges, adult 
learning programs, etc...

Robin, all,

I  want to step in here.  The job of a teacher is to teach the 
curriculum so the students can succeed.

I will illustrate.

This year I have a Japanese teacher of Japanese at a local college 
living in my home.  Since October we have gone over all the students 
she  has worried about--those low performers.  She does not worry about 
students who have problems with language, any language, because they 
are diligent and will pass well.  She worries about the students whose 
attitude is hampering their learning.  It is her JOB to devise methods 
to reach all these students, so they will perform well. She cannot 
water down the curriculum.  In stead, she has to alter  her 
interactions with these students.  We have worked on this together.  
She has one student to go--and she is working out ways to teach him, to 
reach him, so he will succeed.  I haven't obsrved any of her classes, I 
don't need to.  Because I have been a teacher I can understand what she 
is saying. ( I have directed teachers before.)  Because by this time I 
know her fairly well, I can also understand her teaching style. 

Andrea ----------------------------------------------------
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