All Students Meme

Recently I took part in a survey where I, and many other educators were asked this question.

" Do you believe that all students can meet standard?"

Hmm... this is a tricky question. Of course, as teachers, we feel like we should be able to answer yes. We believe in all of our students and have high expectations for them. But do we really believe that they all can meet standard? And what standard are we talking about? Perhaps I am naive, but I was shocked to find that a large percentage of educators answered this question no. They do not believe that all of their students can meet standards. In my naivete, I tend to believe that this is a lack of belief in how we measure students success and not a lack of belief in the students themselves. I want to believe that all teachers have high expectations for their students and hold them accountable for their progress.

This survey did not give educators and opportunity to share what they do believe about their students. This got me to thinking about that question. What do I believe about my students? Not just some students, or most students, but all students. I have decided to pose that question in the form of a meme. I am doing this for several reasons. One, because I feel like this is really an important question to ask of ourselves. It molds who we are as an educator. Also, I think that I need a little reassurance that this survey actually was measuring a lack of belief in how we measure students, not in the students themselves. And lastly, this seemed like a good way to meet the challenge posed to us by Steve Dembo in his 30 Days to Becoming a Better Blogger. This is a great way to invite conversation on something that I have great interest in knowing more about.


So here is my Meme:

1. Share three things that you believe about all students.
2. Reflect on your thoughts in your blog. (If you do not have a blog, you can share your ideas in a comment from this post.)
3. Be sure to link to this post and to where you were first tagged.
4. Tag your response with AllStudentsMeme
4. Invite others to join the conversation by tagging them to be a part of the meme.

I tag:

Teryl Magee
Christine Southard
Robin Martin
Silvia Tolisano
Carol Daunt Skyring
Ken Shelton

(I tried to tag some people I have not tagged before. All are welcome to join in the conversation.)



3 Things I Believe About All Students:
1. All students come to us with experiences and knowledge.

No child comes to us as a blank slate. As a teacher, it is up to me to make connections, even if I am not familiar with the knowlege or experiences of a particular child. I need to learn and then connect.
2. All students learn best when the learning is made relevant to them.

It is important that students know why they are learning what they are learning and that they can connect their learning to a real need in their life. (Why do I need to know this?)

3. All students learn best when their basic needs are met.

Students who know someone cares, who feel safe and well fed are able to focus on learning.


Note: The survey mentioned in this post has not been published at this posting, so I only shared it in generalizations.

Responses to this Meme:

Nicole Cox
Vicki Davis
Colette Cassinelli
Christine Archer
Elaine Plybon
Elaine Roberts
Andrea Hernandez
Rhondda Lynn Tristania
Carol Daunt Skyring
Jan North
Roxanne Glaser
Robin Martin
Rebecca Morrison
Janine Lim
Lori Colwill Pin It Now!