Teaching with Poverty
in Mind; Chapter 5
In chapter 5
my focus, as I was reading the success factors of a classroom, was the COACH
program. Since I am a coach at RHS I
frequently use the strategies of coaching skills to my players to my students
in the classroom. Jensen states that
successful schools use an intervention plan to attack the issue of low-SES kids
called COACH: Choosing Outcomes and
Accommodations for Children.
Through my
years of teaching I have heard this philosophy of Coaching your students in the
classroom as if you coach them through the skills and game preparation as your
players. I think this philosophy of
COACHING works mostly because you build a relationship with your players and
connect with them in a different way than a teacher’s classroom students. Coaches have an outcome to compete and win
and if not back to the drawing board and see what needs to be worked on. I think it makes sense to approach your
classroom the same way. Assess your
students and see what skills that are mastered and what needs to be worked on
to perform at the next level. Jensen
Calls this step-Identifies family-centered priorities & Describes
additional learning outcomes. As a coach
I would then use my supports to help the athlete set his goals and
objectives. In the classroom Jensen uses
the steps of: Outlines general supports
to be provided for the student, translates priorities into the IEP goals and
objectives, Summarize the educational program.
The final outcome of the game philosophy as a coach would be compared to
Jensen’s steps of: Planning team for
implementation, Coordinate participation classes, evaluate.
My biggest
reflection would be to attack my classroom as a Coach: Plan for each student, Action steps for
implementation, Assess or outcomes, Retool or advance to next step. Key role as a teacher would be to make that
connection to your students and develop a relationship as a team effort.
