Journal Number Two

“Failure is NOT an Option”
Dave L. Edyburn

It is a well known fact that the achievement gap is continually widening in today’s society; this is a reason why the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has been implemented in our schools today. According to Edyburn, when students have difficulty learning a specific subject “students learn that they don’t like the subject matter and internalize the failure . . .” this sense of failure may even be passed on to their future children. The fact that their own parent doesn’t, or didn’t, like or do well in a specific subject in school can have a detrimental effect on the child’s own learning because there is a negative mentality there. However, there are technological resources available that can narrow this achievement gap for some students. For example, if a student has problems with math, the student can go to http://www.webmath.com/ and receive the additional help he or she needs in math. It has been shown that such programs such as this can help a student gain understanding and success in their area of difficulty. Although this success has been shown there are many who are skeptical of using these types of programs for their struggling students because they don’t feel its “fair” to students who are able to understand and do the work on their own. This being said, it is important for educators to look at the technological tools and resources that are available to them and their students in order to help their students achieve higher goals and narrow the widening achievement gap.

1. How do I feel about using these types of technological resources in my own classroom?
I feel that a student learning and understanding a subject of concept is much more important than how the student finally grasps the concept. If a student has a learning difficulty that can be improved by using an online source, that learning resource should be available to them. I don’t see why a student should be forced to fail when there are learning resources available that may benefit them and increase their success in school.

2. How can I make these programs more readily available to my students who may be struggling?
For some students this will be an easy task. Students who have the internet at home can be given the web address so that they may access it at home; those students who don’t have the internet at home may access these educational sites at the public library where the internet is available to the public free of charge. I understand that there are some students who may find it difficult, for whatever the reason may be, to gain access to the library and that other ways of accessing the material may me necessary. To combat this, as a teacher I would offer the option of staying one or two days after school so that they may access the internet in the classroom; everyone attends the school and because the students are already there this would allow for equal access to the internet and the supports it can provide.