One morning, the students were preparing for a math test and working through a series of review problems. For many of them, the biggest challenge was not the questions written on the paper in front of them, but the ability to pay attention to them. I checked on a student who seemed to be studying quietly, and found that he had solved the first problem carefully and was only guessing about the remaining problems. Now he was rewarding himself by carefully drawing cartoons of cityscapes all over paper.
I asked him why he didn't try to solve other problems, and he quickly said he didn't know how. When I pointed out that he just needed to get the first problem right and follow the same process for the rest, he confessed that he didn't want to do it because it would take too long. I tried to convince him to go back and try again, but there were only a few minutes left in class and barely enough time to get started. Trapped between the day's schedule and his own brain, he was going to fail. I know he can learn and do math, but his difficulty maintaining interest and focus along with the structure of school makes it really difficult for him and others who share his challenges to find the success they deserve.
This year in particular, we had more students with ADHD than I remember, and it feels like that number has been increasing for some time. This may simply be due to an improved ability to diagnose students and understand their difficulties, but awareness of students' needs cannot be ignored. The students I work with present the full spectrum of attention problems, from hyperactive and impulsive to inattentive and absorbed in their own thoughts. Many people have a formal diagnosis of ADHD, while others develop attention deficit disorder that can be caused by anxiety, trauma, or even racism. All of this affects their ability to reach their full potential and achieve the same level as their peers without ADHD. The same goes for school settings.
Although there is increasing awareness of students' SEL and cognitive needs, schools are still based on some kind of cognitive “normal” that they expect all students to achieve. Addressing these needs or expecting children to adapt is not something we can continue to do if we truly want all students to thrive. With such widespread diversity of brains, why do we continue to structure our classrooms and schools in ways that make things difficult for these children?
What doesn't work
A typical school day requires students to sit still for long periods of time, listen in large groups, and follow a strict schedule that dictates when and for how long they should learn certain subjects. There are many reasons why this does not work for many students. However, our system requires us to choose efficiency and convenience over what is effective for cognitively diverse student learners.
Large classes create more distractions for students who struggle to focus, and because teachers have more students to work with, they inevitably receive less attention and support. Large student numbers make it more difficult to plan for individual needs and force teachers to teach at a virtual, intermediate level. A strict schedule makes it easy to schedule adults and services, but it can be difficult for children who need time to engage and prefer to stay challenged once they're locked in.
We've also doubled down on disconnected foundational skills instead of creating opportunities to see learning as connected and real. Single subjects and simple assignments are easy to plan and evaluate, but they quickly lose their appeal if they are not connected to narrow content or do not consider success in school as the main reason for learning. Grades and classes change each year, which presents challenges for students who have trouble adjusting to routines or who need their own systems to succeed. Keeping teachers in a single grade level and sending out a new batch of students each year reduces teachers' expertise in content and routines at the expense of individual student relationships and knowledge that can help cognitively diverse students find greater success. Prioritize. Grade levels and age-based grouping allow for standardized testing and standardized curriculum despite the fact that we know our children are not meeting the standards.
Until recently, I spent most of my career teaching students in a variety of age classes for two years. The opportunity to build knowledge and relationships with each student in my second year allowed for tremendous growth and success. And yet, as our region strives for consistent curriculum and common experiences for all students, we have seen multi-age and multi-year educational opportunities disappear. Unfortunately, what is consistent is that certain students will always struggle in this model.
real learning real
A recent field trip to an urban nature center provided an opportunity for several students who typically struggle with attention and the urge to engage in learning and show off their skills. Smelling the dried buds of various wildflowers, looking for something with a citrusy scent, one of the most careless students exclaimed that he could use it in the soap he was making. Finding out that he made soap at home was surprising enough, but he asked me the name of the flower and despite my efforts to get him to take notes and keep track of where things were, he pulled out a small notebook, took a pencil out of his pocket, and was careful. I wrote it down neatly.
Another student, who regularly asked what the point of the lesson we were doing and was generally satisfied that all the activities provided in the classroom were “enough”, became the leader, map in hand, guiding the group. Scavenger hunt in the woods. He loved pausing to check his bearings, getting feedback on where to go, and taking time to read and re-read the maps and clues he had gathered, none of which he could have been asked to do on his own at school.
Moments like these demonstrate the power of what is possible when learning becomes real and students move beyond the confines of standardized systems. Other real-world experiences in the arts and sciences can also provide experiences that engage and challenge students in real-world learning.
Find time
Now that I know what can engage and motivate my students, I can imagine creating more opportunities for them to utilize their talents and grow their skills and knowledge. But we are already a third of the way through the school year, and my curriculum requires that certain topics be taught over a certain period of time, leaving no room for many of the experiences these children need. Soon June will come and I will be handing it over to the next teacher. That teacher doesn't know what I know and will need another 4 months to learn it, wasting valuable time in the education of these students.
Simply working one-on-one with a student for 15 minutes can provide more moments of learning and connection than they experience in a typical week. Reading a book with someone and doing impromptu word studies or decoding lessons creates the opportunity to learn where they are active and present in a way that is much more difficult when information is presented to the whole group.
However, these opportunities are the exception and not the rule. We rarely have time to spend more than a few minutes one-on-one with a student, let alone adjusting our schedules to keep kids engaged in their learning. There is no time to individually tailor lessons or plan units to engage students who need more than a predetermined lesson to get their attention.
Why can’t these types of experiences be more common in schools? This will require significant resources in terms of staff and time, but it can make a meaningful difference to what our education system can offer to students who are currently struggling. Building a model around time and relationships allows students to stay with their teachers for a year or more, creating a small class model that creates more time for open learning and basic planning time for teachers to design experiences that fit their needs. What if we encouraged it? What do the students in your care need? It is clear that our current model does not meet the needs of many students, and the number of students who are struggling appears to be increasing.
Given all we know, it is time to move away from the uniform factory model and reimagine schools in ways that recognize children's individuality and unique ways of learning. Instead of expecting children to change and adapt to cognitive norms, we need to change our models to fit current circumstances to ensure that all children can thrive.