Early
Intervention can start at anytime for a child and includes a wide range of
services. From the more common services
such as RTI and Title I to the lesser known School Health & Nutrition Programs and Sexual
health and STD prevention, these wide range of services are necessary to
develop a child into a healthy, functioning member of society.
The
RTI Model (Response to Intervention) works by intervening early on so that there
are less or no academic issues further down the road for students. In Education for All, the authors
write, "using an RTI model, teachers can identify students showing early
signs of academic difficulty and then make instructional decisions based on
students' responses to supplemental intervention." This is such an effective tool for educators
because it puts a plan in place that is universal. Another important factor about this model is
that all students are screened so that the teacher can determine who may need
more intervention. Every student
qualifies for screening; there won't be anyone slipping through the
cracks. Dr. Ed Shapiro of Lehigh
University promotes this model by saying it is a "school-wide change...for
all kids." This model also works well
because it can be used in a very diverse population-which is common in most
schools nationwide today.
The
lesser known early intervention services that I feel are vital to areas of
poverty are those that deal with health issues such as nutrition and sexual
well being. Poverty stricken areas have
higher rates of pregnancy among teens, obesity, and other health issues. When schools can tackle these issues in an
educational, caring, and supportive way, it does help to lessen these
problems. I do think it is a school's
responsibility to incorporate a "whole child" approach because we
have the tools to do it and can surely find the funds to support it.
Danielle,
ReplyDeleteI agree entirely. It really is all about where we focus our attention. If we keep our focus on the students and make sure that a student has support if they seem to be falling behind, we will experience fewer issues down the road - and that, as you mention, applies to all of our students, not just the most vulnerable.
I appreciate that you included poverty as an issue as well. Too many times, it seems that the effects of poverty on a students ability to perform are given short-shrift or otherwise dismissed. It also seems, to me, that society is continuing to move in the direction of the "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" mentality. I even see this in our schools, which disappoints me greatly. We expect that people will find it within themselves to rise up out of whatever hole they find themselves in, without help. I think this is a selfish and ultimately destructive mentality that needs to change.
The best way to change this paradigm, in my opinion, would be to adopt, wholesale, the 'whole child' approach you mention above. If we can make this change successfully in the classroom, those lessons, perhaps even more than the subjects we teach, will change how we treat each other, perhaps even inspiring the changes we want to see in the field...
Ray
I am a huge advocate of the "whole child" approach. That being said, the most effective approach would be a combination of in- school early intervention and home/community support. I remember one conversation I overheard several years ago regarding a field trip. The teachers didn't want to take a particular child on the field trip because he didn't know how to behave out in public. The result was, the child was left behind at the school for the day. It was really upsetting to me that none of the teachers involved took the time to discuss that this little boy had not been taken into the community and taught how to behave. Teaching opportunity lost. In today's day and age, we as educators can't assume anything. We cannot assume that parents take advantage of teaching moments when in this little boys case, no one ever bothered to define expectations and provide community training to him. So what happens when issues like this have not been dealt with at home? What happened in this particular case was the child was left at school and had to sit with an aide for the day because nobody wanted to deal with it. What should have happened was to send the boy on the field trip with the aide assigned to him to gain the necessary community/travel training that he so desperately needed. I've also worked with families that I've had to assist with paperwork because neither mom or dad could read and in a few cases write. In situations like this, the probability of anyone reading to the child or being able to help with school work is very slim. Reasons like these are why it is so crucial that schools take the "whole-child" approach to early intervention. In order for our school based efforts to be most effective, schools must take an active role in the lives of our students.
ReplyDeleteDanielle,
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of early intervention in the area of nutrition for our students. I know there is an excellent program in some of the Youngstown City elementary and middle schools that provides meals to the students to eat on the weekends. We often see that our students are not properly fed at home because of a lack of income, and the students suffer greatly inside the classroom. A student that is hungry, will lose focus, and over time a continuation of hunger can increase the chances of the student not developing properly. Excellent Blog!