Letter to Jaramy

Dear Jaramy,
As Jaime's blog was read to us last week, your story of Teach America was very heart wrenching. As a class we brainstormed and brainstormed of ways to help you out. But with every idea that we came up with, Jaime commented that you had tried that already. So after reading through my week's homework in my differentiation class, I have compiled a list of important ideas to always remember in your classroom:

• Build trust, help them to feel validated and believe that they themselves are important, unique, and that they have a place in the classroom and in the world.
• Make ties with the student. Come up with any way possible to make connections with the students.
• Model high investment in both the people and content of the classroom. Make it known that your students are always welcome in your classroom-whether it be before class, during lunch, or after school.
• Share your thoughts about the classroom with the students. Let them know that you're thinking about them on your own time, not just when you're at school.
• Be an advocate for the student. Do what it takes to make sure the individual is heard and represented fairly.
• There are no excuses here, but there is support.
• Let it be known that you don't question the educability of any student- race, class and prior experience not withstanding.

And of all my favorite quotes that were mentioned in my reading, I feel the most important thing to let them know is that DIFFERENT IS NOT A SYNONYM FOR DEFICIENT.