Please read the destructions

Although at this point in my teaching career I have only been exposed to less than 200 different students, I can say that for the most part, the kids that do really well in school are set apart by something other than pure intelligence. Instead, it is the students that are the most careful and can follow oral and written directions that seem to excel.

Last year, I had an extremely bright student whose grades were far inferior to what she was capable of. In addition, she was one of the sweetest girls imaginable. Her issue was that she is unable to process directions properly. In her case, I kept saying to my colleagues,

"Just wait. One day, it will all just come together for her, and then she'll be heading to Harvard or Stanford."

In part because of her, this year I have done by best to both write directions on the tests that I give as well as verbally discussing them. Unfortunately, for the math test I gave today, this didn't seem to help. I specifically told my students,

"There is a section on FACTORS and a section on MULTIPLES. Be sure you pay attention to WHICH term I am asking for."

You can guess which questions were the most missed questions on the test - until I reminded them AGAIN that there was a section for each. *Sigh*...

As a teacher, it is frustrating when a child you know has the ability to excel doesn't perform well on tests. In part it speaks to how testing of any kind - especially standardized tests - can be a poor measure of a child's ability to succeed. It is also frustrating because we WANT these kids to live up to their potential NOW, not later. However, at this age I need to remind myself that for many of them, their brains haven't hit that stage of development yet where processing information - especially directions - is something they do with ease.

This gets me thinking... should I be giving myself a pat on the back for the kids who excel while in my classroom? Or is their success more due to the fact that they have matured to the point where their brains can process information quickly, but also slow down enough to pay proper attention to detail? Conversely, should I be kicking myself if a student like the one I had last year isn't able to show on testing data that she is one of the brightest students that I have been around?

Only time - and the admissions departments at Harvard and Stanford - will tell. I doubt that teachers are the only reason a child learns - or doesn't learn - how to succeed. God help all the kids in my classes if we are!