It is only natural that parents play the comparison game. A mom of a tween might worry about her twelve-year-old student and whether or not she is “on track” compared to her peers. Meanwhile, another mother questions what reading and writing skills she should be emphasizing with her eight-year-old who isn’t picking up on those processes as quickly as other students her age. As students begin to approach adulthood, parents feel the pressure even more to have their children ready for the real world. These are understandable concerns, but ultimately they are not the right questions to ask.
In podcast Episode 272, Andrew and Julie discuss the various stages of child development and describe how to think about them in the context of teaching writing skills. How does the Structure and Style writing approach work for young children? How does it differ when teaching older students? And what can teachers and parents do to measure their students’ progress over the year in lieu of playing that stressful and nonproductive comparison game?
If you have ever worried about your student’s progress or lack of progress, this is a great episode to listen to. Andrew provides some common sense ideas to help you focus on the task of teaching your students to write.
