by Robyn R. Jackson
Effort-based ability is the belief that all students can do rigorous academic work at high standards, even if they are far behind academically and need a significant amount of time to catch up. Educators who carry this belief into their practice are not unrealistic about the obstacles they and their students face. They simply have not given up.
Jonathan Saphier
A few years ago, I was leading a workshop on rigor. My audience was a group of high school teachers in a large school district and I was helping them to differentiate their instructional practices so that they could help all of their students access more rigorous content. Early into my presentation, I could tell that the teachers were merely counting the minutes until the break. Many of them sat scowling with their arms crossed, others doodled on the workshop materials, surreptitiously completed crossword puzzles, or read the newspaper. A few even muttered under their breath to each other. Things were not going well.
Copyright © 2009 by Robyn R. Jackson. All rights reserved.
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