Uphill Both Ways

No matter what the educational approach, struggling students find learning an uphill climb. What's worse, they're stuck with labels―deficit, disability, at-risk―that are more often offensive than accurate. Crystal England addresses the serious issue of labeling and reminds us that there is a whole child behind each struggling learner.

England takes a close-up look at struggling students and what we can do to ensure that their educational needs are understood and met. She presents a wealth of information in an easy-to-read format, seasoned with case histories and insight. Beyond a sensitive portrait of struggling learners, England provides a helpful handbook replete with strategies for teaching them. Her topics include:

• common characteristics of students who struggle in school
• dealing with Attention Deficit Disorder, special education, and gifted students
• practices that focus on multiple intelligences
• infusing character education into the classroom
• validating home-school connections
• understanding the language development of hard-to-reach learners
• modeling a celebration of diversity within the classroom.

Starting with recognizing and removing harmful practices, she shows how to develop the all-important three Rs: "Relationship, Relationship, and Relationship"―i.e., student-focused, teacher-focused, and academics-focused relationships. At the end she considers the multisystemic reforms that are needed if we are truly to leave no child behind.