Blog #5

One of the first quotations that stood out to me can be found on page 17. It states, "Not only do people TELL me I am worthwhile, I can actually SEE that I am." All people like to receive recognition for a job well done, this praise is often a good thing but it should not be the only motivating factor. My hope is to foster independence in my students so that they can see the intrinsic rewards from working hard. Through differentiation my class will be a place where my students can build on their successes. I want my students to think to themselves that they have done difficult tasks in the past and succeeded so they can continue to take risks and try other challenging activities.

Later in the book if gave another great quote, "We're all on a journey" "none of us is ever through striving." this was found on page 33 of the text. I think that those quotes encompass much of what it means to differentiate. Often in class we talk about differentiation in terms of being fair to the students. As teachers when we consider the journey our students are on we will know that it is important to give the students what they need and not just think in terms of equal shares for the entire class. We must be guides and caretakers of these developing minds because the paths we lead our students down will effect their future travels.