No matter what the educational approach, struggling students find learning an uphill climb. What's worse, they're stuck with labels—deficit, disability, at-risk—that are more often offensive than accurate. Crystal England addresses the serious issue of labeling and reminds us that there is a whole child behind each struggling learner.
England takes a close-up look at struggling students and what we can do to ensure that their educational needs are understood and met. She presents a wealth of information in an easy-to-read format, seasoned with case histories and insight. Beyond a sensitive portrait of struggling learners, England provides a helpful handbook replete with strategies for teaching them. Her topics include:
- common characteristics of students who struggle in school
- dealing with Attention Deficit Disorder, special education, and gifted students
- practices that focus on multiple intelligences
- infusing character education into the classroom
- validating home-school connections
- understanding the language development of hard-to-reach learners
- modeling a celebration of diversity within the classroom.
Starting with recognizing and removing harmful practices, she shows how to develop the all-important three Rs: "Relationship, Relationship, and Relationship"—i.e., student-focused, teacher-focused, and academics-focused relationships. At the end she considers the multisystemic reforms that are needed if we are truly to leave no child behind.
