Week+5+Readings

Wow, this week flew by. Amazing what shaving a few days off of a week does. And I think I really noticed it since the weekend is what was omitted and that is when I do a lot of the final editing of my assignments.
 * Here is where I will type my thoughts regarding this week's readings. **

"When a student makes a connection between academic successes with factors outside of his or her control - things like heredity, gender, or race - it's easy to develop a defeatist attitude. After all, why bother if you know you aren't capable because of your genes?" from //Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works//, p.156 This quote really stuck out to me mainly because of the example that was given with it, relating it to a math student. After teaching math for over 10 years I can not tell you how many times I had parents tell me that their child would never be good in math because they were not good in math themselves. I think this is the worst mistake a parent can make. Children each have their own unique abilities. Yes, some things are hereditary or genetically inherited but I don't think that children should feel discouraged because of their parents inabilities in a certain subject. As a parent, I want my child to succeed in the things that I do not. I can see how a parent might use that as a crutch since that might be a weakness of theirs and knowing that they might not be able to assist their child in that area. I really like the idea of using the spreadsheet to chart effort. If I was still in the classroom I would definitely use this idea.