Chapter 13 - When Kids Can't Read

"Ask your students who struggle, really struggle, with reading what they think the problem is. Some will quickly dismiss the question, but others might say, "The book is too hard"; others will respond, "I'm too dumb"; a rare few will just explain, "I just need to try harder." Guess which ones will be easiest to reconnected to reading? ... The ones that think the problem can be overcome if they just try harder." Page 261

I think this has become a big problem in schools today. Teachers set their expectations low for struggling students and dumb down the curriculum so that they are able to pass it. Teachers are not pushing their students to succeed. I know that some of the best teachers I have had in my life have always pushed me to do better or pushed me to do things that I didn't think I could do. They had high expectations for me. They didn't dumb down the curriculum for me. They helped me work through it and gave me the support I needed.