Lost at School: Chapter 9

I agree with Liliana referring to  "What it looks like in each school is determined by that schools administrators, teachers, students, and parents working together towards common goals". This is so important because this is what makes the school feel like a united community. When staff in a school are not all on the same page in regards to their goals, students success, and achievement, things are dysfunctional.
If the staff are not on the same page then they will not be able to support their students success, or build trustworthy relationships with the students parents. If everyone is not aware what is going on with students like Joey then the cycle of suspension, and detention slips will always be the end result. Having procedures, and a plan that everyone is following will help improve the situation.


Chapter 9: Lives in the Balance


What stood out to me in this chapter-


"Helping challenging kids has to become a priority in each classroom, each school, each system." (282)
- I agree, it is important to have functioning school systems that follow a similar plan and procedures for challenging students. I also agree that we should not waste the potential of these students. They deserve the right to have a chance. They are just waiting on the guidance from their teachers, parents, and supportive educational faculty and staff.


- I loved how Mrs. Woods told Joey she is going to miss meeting with him, and she would like for him to come visit every once in a while. (284)


- Glad that Mr. Armstrong has come to his senses regarding Crystal. He spent so much time trying to determine her future, and seemed like he already given up on her. Now at the close of the story I am glad he is noticing the reinforcement that the discipline group is doing for Crystal. Yes, she may have some ways to go- but there is potential there. The summer program seems like a great start. Since Crystal deals with issues of abandonment she seems to follow to the wrong crowd. I am glad that Mr. Middleton, Mr. Armstrong and the other faculty have began to find the source of the problem; they now can strategies around it.


Final Thoughts:
I thought this was a great book, however some of the content seemed repetitive. I wish we started off reading Lost and then maybe read Wonder. It was so much detail to digest, that I had to really set time aside- so I wouldn't just read it to get it done. I wanted to actually take my time, so that I could incorporate some of the author's advice and philosophy into my own.

Lost at School: Chapter 8

Chapter 8: School of Thought

• Some key components that cut across all schools. 
- Leadership
-Individuals
-Structures

Things that stood out to me from this chapter: 

"Kids who exhibit challenges at school typically evidence challenges at home too." (242-243)
- I thought this was pretty interesting. 

"Not coincidentally teachers often feel most uncertain,  exposed, and defensive in interactions with parents,  feeling that their competence and professionalism are challenged. " (244)
-I think this would be good to know as a parent and as a future teacher. 

Question: how do property in culture impact the effectiveness of the CPS model? 

Answer: "At the risk of seeming insensitive I think property is overrated as an explanation for challenging behavior in kids.. . There are kids from in impoverished circumstances who succeed. There are kids from wealthy backgrounds who don't those who come from wealth often have parents who will stop at nothing to access good care they have the resources and wherewithal to find and pay for it. Some receive every poor kid anyway... People from similar backgrounds sometimes have an easier time connecting and communicating with each other but I've yet to run into an ethnic group whose members do not value having their concerns heard and address… "
- I would have never even made that connection. I totally agree with this perspective as well. 

Questions: 
1.) How do you feel about Mr. Armstrong's views on Crystal? 
2.) Do you think he has somewhat of a point for feeling the way he does regarding Crystal?  Do you think he has completely just given up on her future, and is being negative about the disclipne program? 

4&5

  

People always jump to conclusion about kids behavior issues. rather that had some empathy to understand why he or she does that. Dr. Bridgman first convinced Joey, Joey’s mother, and Mrs. Woods to sit down and try to develop a “Plan B” for Joey. They all three struggled, but little by little they identified Joey’s lagging skills and came up with a plan to help Joey overcome the problem. Once Joey started to benefit from his plan, Mrs. Wood worked with her colleague, Ms. Franco on how to use the formula for Plan : Empathy , defining the problem, and invitation to the student to help in their own plan. I think is a great idea involve students in their plan to improve. As teacher work in community is essential because students need to feel the support from others around them.  When Ms. Franco used the Plan B, she has some difficulty, but she continued  working with her student until she had a breakthrough.Chapter 6 talk about Mrs. Wood is using a effective strategies to manage Joey behaviour in classroom.

If you were to ask the same open-ended question as Mrs. Woods does about the kids in her class not getting along, what types of issues do you imagine would surface in your class?