With what I have learned in my previous Foundations of Early
Childhood and in this class, I have formulated what I would do if I were to be
a classroom teacher.
The American goal of an assessment seems to ensure that
students are performing on par and on grade-level. And if a child is not
performing grade-level, then the goal would be to seek the cause of the poor
performance. This becomes the mindset of the teacher or the specialist doing
the assessments.
If I were a teacher, I would sit down with each child and
find out what makes the child tick. I would have a conversation with the child
where I would ask questions such as “what is your favorite activity in school?”
or “what do you like to do when you are home?” For some children, this could be
the only time anyone ever pays undivided attention to them.
I would help them achieve their wishes, dreams, or goals. If
a child expresses concern about an external issue, I would work with the school
social worker to see if we could help with the child’s
concern. I recall my son’s preschool teacher asking me if she could work with
my son’s speech skills one-to-one after school because she intuitively thought
his speech skills were causing him anxiety. She would discuss the class
schedule for the next day, so my son didn’t struggle to understand.
For other students who might be struggling or bored or not
performing, a teacher can find out what the student is passionate about and
find ways to utilize the student’s passion in the classroom. It is also
important that the teacher knows the child beyond the classroom. The teacher
would know who lives in the child’s home; that both parents work hard and that
the student is home alone a lot. Find out what the child is wanting to do and
assist the child in achieving what he/she wants. For example, if a child wants
to write a story but doesn’t know how, the teacher can help the child break
down writing tasks. Likewise, the teacher can ask the child how the child feels
about the subject that the child is not doing well. The answers they give can
be revealing.
This kind of involvement during an assessment is holistic in
that both the teacher and the child become aware of the child’s strengths and
weaknesses. The teacher can then design individual-directed instruction to
accommodate the child’s needs. The child learns to solve problems with guidance
of the teacher. To have a conversation with each child and discuss their
thoughts is one of the more holistic ways to assess them.
The Ministry of Education in Singapore has a website about
holistic assessment. Their key focus when their children are in Primary 1 and 2
is building the children’s confidence and desire to learn. The parents would
get assessments on the learning progress of the child and the strengths and
weaknesses. They would also get suggestions on how to improve their children’s
learning.
Googling for holistic assessment of children, I found
articles on holistic assessment for children in Pakistan, Australia, and for
DeafBlind children in London, but nothing for the United States. It is
interesting to see the goals in Singapore of Primary 1 and 2 are to build
children’s confidence and desire to learn. I remember my son’s Kindergarten
teacher telling me that her job is to get her Kindergarten children ready to
learn. Is that the same as having confidence and desire to learn? I have been
thinking a lot about this question and wondering if the United States can adopt
holistic approach to educating our children.
Our school district has a special K-6 program called Global
Education where they have multi-grade classrooms – K-1; 1-2; 3-4; 5-6 grades
and taught in English only and English & Spanish. It was set up as an
alternative school by the parents in the early 1970’s (I picture them as hippie
parents, but don’t know if that’s true!). The entire program is based on a
developmental approach in individualized education.
This is also the program that prompted my daughter to
proclaim her desire to become an Egyptologist during her 6th grade
graduation. In her college essay, she wrote how she had wanted to study
Archaeology ever since she as a third-grader participated in an archaeological
dig as a part of their study of ancient civilizations. Incidentally, my
daughter went on an archaeological dig in Israel last summer as part of her
college graduation requirement.
The Global Education is a program for only 200 students within
the traditional K-6 school district. Why did not the school district have
Global Education program for all students? Would it be because it is not
conventional or traditional American education?
References
Holistic assessment: More holistic assessment to support
learning. (2014, December) Parents in
Education. Retrieved from: http://parents-in-education.moe.gov.sg/primary-education/what-and-how-will-my-child-be-assessed/holistic-assessment
