F.A.T. City: Could I Be A Fathead?

Glenn Marsala SOE-501 Instructor: Minarcin 091108
F.A.T. City Video (youtube clip)

F.A.T. City: Could I Be A Fathead?

The potential benefits of providing students with time surprised me. I know people freeze up when under pressure sometimes, & other times may come up with great ideas, but I was not aware of the reasons learning disabled students have difficulty with this. The concept of "processing demands" makes sense to me, especially since I am familiar with computers. I did not know that when students hear a question, they begin formulating a response, but LD students have begun to understand the question. The hearing and understanding come simultaneously for me, I guess, though perhaps this, too, depends on my level of familiarity and comfort with the topic.

My need to learn more about LD kids and strategies for teaching to these various skill sets comes from a great many sources of late. My work at MSC brings me to classrooms with an extremely diverse student population, when considered from aptitude, proficiency, and age, while remaining extremely homogeneous with regard to race, class and culture. Most are white and come from modest means. I also have encountered, as a sub, many kids with a whole spectrum of special needs. This video has shone a light, for me, on some possible explanations for these kids' issues. I would never have guessed why certain kids shut down, or act out, get violent, or submerge their true concerns and personalities around others. I vividly recall many occasions where I helped out kids one-on-one at BOCES and the kid I was talking to went from sullenly restrained and what I felt was unstable, as far I could determine what the child might do at any moment, to very engaged in the activity, explaining things to me, asking questions, and even inviting me to collaborate. The clearest times this happened was on computers, when kids were somewhat free to read things in their line of interest--some of these were farming, racing, designing video games, playing video games, and looking at more or less artistic pictures related to a project in class. Well, not all these things related quite so seamlessly with their teachers' expectations! But for me, this opening into genuine engagement with a field of interest seemed to enable a connection to emerge, which could then be nurtured in other classroom activities. When it seemed difficult to bring students around to me as a classroom authority, to do work the school system demanded, student responses just looked chaotic, unpredictable, offensive sometimes, or even scary. However, when I moved forward and expressed an interest in learning from them, I just felt that this opening up of a dialogue was invaluable in serving them as a teacher. Plus, I learned that these kids are extremely bright and interesting people.

When I look at the average kid fooling around in class, do I jump to a conclusion? I definitely do. I see them as "lazy," or disrespectful, or something equally bad. I see them, in fact, as "bad." The film exposed these prejudices in such an easily visible way, that I instantly began to challenge these expectations. I am not happy to say, I have seen some of those kneejerk reactions in my own behavior. These are the very things I hope to learn taking this and other courses here at the SOE. I just hope I can effectively integrate this new knowledge into my practice.