Day 41

So today was a shortened day at school, and we didn't have math thanks to a bullying presentation. I wasn't able to work with Zack on any math skills or to try out my theory on his ability to count out a quantity using a bowl or other shallow container to help him understand conservation of number and the idea of a number representing a particular quantity. I DID get to have him in my class for all of literacy, though, and apparently it happens every Monday. I missed the pattern in the midst of the daily chaos, I guess! Anyway, I am making a conscious effort to make sure I call on Zack as often as the other kids, but I know I occasionally don't call on him when we are doing our high frequency words because I know he isn't doing these with us regularly and isn't expected to know them. Should I call on him during this time, too? I call on him enough that it isn't obvious, but I know he is learning his braille letters and not focusing on "sight" words during his time (Tuesday-Friday) with the vision teacher. I'll ask the team about it. . .I don't want to treat him differently!
There is a short article in the textbook I've been referring to about a blind adult who recalls learning that he didn't ever have to do his best on assignments in school. His first grade teacher asked the class to help him be safe at recess, so he had extra playmates. His middle school teachers assigned him half of the homework as other kids, and his high school teachers gave him half the reading and often gave him ful credit for partially completed work. The author of the article says it gave him a sense of entitlement that he didn't have to perform at the level of his peers. This entitlement came back to teach him a lesson when he got his first job and tried to do less than what was expected. He said it felt good to finally earn his full paycheck (after not getting a full check due to not completing his work) when he knew he had met the expectations. This made me think about Zack, of course. Am I unknowingly lowering my expectations of his production abilities? I can't think of a particular time this has come up, but he is unable to type in braille at this point so he has different expectations during writing time. Hmm. . .I think this may be another point to ponder and to watch for over the rest of the semester. . .