I finished Learning Denied this afternoon. In general, the book has inspired me to truly be reflective about each of the students in my classroom. This is an ongoing process, but as a teacher it is crucial that you have a working knowledge of how your students are functioning in the classroom. While it is probably very difficult to give enough individual attention to be able to solve every students issues completely, I should think that with a situation like Patrick was in where his parents were deeply involved in a school struggle, that the teacher would go a bit out of their way to investigate themself. It disturbed me the lack of consideration given to Patrick's well-being in the situation. The repeated testing and the constant stress put on his parents was not invisible to this very intelligent little boy.

One of the boys I babysit for very often at home is facing challenges in school. He went into kindergarten as a young five year old because his mother felt he was really ready. Since then he has done well with the academic concepts and has excelled in school, but his attention span, maturity levels, and completion rates are problematic. Recently his mother took him to the doctor after struggling for nearly a year with his teachers and school administrators, as well as the school social worker. All the meetings and evaluations seemed to lead nowhere, just as in Patrick's situation. This year, in third grade, he has been facing even more difficulty in the classroom and at home. He is not completing his work in class, and circulates between being overactive and sluggish. The doctor suggested a trial of ADD medication to see whether that would help him find focus in the classroom. This was never administered, however, because his father would not allow it.

Now I understand that the child feels that he is stupid. His mother receives bad reports home weekly, if not more, and she is becoming frustrated with his lack of motivation to do any of his work at home. I worry that he is falling into a cycle where he feels that he will never be able to do what everyone wants him to do, so he isn't even going to try. It pains me to think that this could be damaging him emotionally, because I know that his mother only wants him to be able to succeed.

I am learning as I get more experience in and out of the classroom that being a teacher is probably one of the hardest jobs out there. The responsibility is huge, and the power is scary. One bad year in school can change a child for life. I hope that when I get to the point of being responsible for a classroom full of young students that I will be prepared to be thorough and influential in a positive way.