Read the following post. What do you think? I think that we do baby our 9-12th grade students too much.
Do we baby our students?
My district has a PreK-6 building and a 7-12
building. The two principals are at odds: The junior high/high school
principal wonders why the seventh graders are not coming in with more
independence, while the elementary principal wonders why the junior high
is not a more nurturing environment.
Obviously there is a middle ground here. But then, I had a visit from the college instructor (called my "collaborator") of the dual-enrollment college course I teach (freshman comp.), and he says that he is amazed at the "codependent relationship" between high school teachers and their students. He says we constantly remind them of due dates, ask them to complete missing work, etc. The come to college unprepared for the independence that college demands; they flounder, and some flunk out.
As much as I harp on my sophomores to take care of themselves, to replace junior high thinking (Yes! I'm gonna miss that class! I don't have to do anything!) with senior high thinking (No! I'm gonna miss that class! I better do something!), and to take action on their own behalf, some students (certainly not all) still need hand-holding just to complete their work and earn that diploma. After all, we don't want to see any Fs . . . or do we? In our efforts to prevent failure, are we doing too much hand-holding? Are we babying kids to the point that when they leave high school they are not ready for the challenges of independence?
How much hand-holding is too much? What are your thoughts?
Obviously there is a middle ground here. But then, I had a visit from the college instructor (called my "collaborator") of the dual-enrollment college course I teach (freshman comp.), and he says that he is amazed at the "codependent relationship" between high school teachers and their students. He says we constantly remind them of due dates, ask them to complete missing work, etc. The come to college unprepared for the independence that college demands; they flounder, and some flunk out.
As much as I harp on my sophomores to take care of themselves, to replace junior high thinking (Yes! I'm gonna miss that class! I don't have to do anything!) with senior high thinking (No! I'm gonna miss that class! I better do something!), and to take action on their own behalf, some students (certainly not all) still need hand-holding just to complete their work and earn that diploma. After all, we don't want to see any Fs . . . or do we? In our efforts to prevent failure, are we doing too much hand-holding? Are we babying kids to the point that when they leave high school they are not ready for the challenges of independence?
How much hand-holding is too much? What are your thoughts?
