Fifth in a series
Re “More Specifically, How Do You Interest Girls in Science?”
[img]2049|right|Suzanne Robins||no_popup[/img]After declaring that girls in grammar school – and older – are as eminently capable as boys of gaining and maintaining a life interest in science, School Board candidate Sue Robins pondered a followup question.
By the sixth grade, which she formerly taught at the Middle School, can a science teacher use the same approach method with girls and boys?
“I can’t say yes or no,” Ms. Robins answered, and then provided the logic to her reply. “When you are in a classroom that requires differentiation for any number of reasons, whether that be a learning disability or a language skill they come into the classroom with, you have to differentiate on so many levels.
“I suppose,” she said, “there is some of that boy-girl thing in there. When you teach in public school, you have to meet each child where he or she is. That is the challenge.
“Then you try to find activity that will meet the needs of multiple groups at once. When you have 35 or 40 kids in a room, you can’t do 35 or 40 different things every day.”
Is differentiation overemphasized?
“Not at all,” Ms. Robins said. “Differentiation is important. There are different ways of approaching different kids, depending upon how they learn. Understanding differentiation is a huge piece of getting a teaching credential because of the different learning needs that will appear in your classroom.
“The challenge is…yes, I know how to help a kid whose first language is not English. I know what to do for a kid with a certain learning disability. Or with visual problems.
“But with 35 people in my room,” Ms. Robins said, “I only have so many minutes.
“To implement those concepts becomes an incredible burden on the teacher.”
(To be continued)
