Ch. 6: Accountability for High Standards

This chapter brought me back to that scene in the movie Freedom Writers where I believe his name was Jamal gave himself an F in the class. The work was his accountability, but how he learned it came from Mrs. Gruwell. So, in giving himself an F it was in terms giving her a big “F-you” as the teacher meaning he didn’t care and he didn’t learn anything. Wormeli turned this point back to a kid in his class, Jared, who stumbled on an oral presentation. He was uncomfortable speaking in front of the class, but Wormeli pushed him until all of his words fell into place. The student should and has the ability to lead their own destination, but the teacher is accountable when the material is not understood. We have to come to terms with this concept and manipulate our teaching to better fit our student’s needs. While holding our students accountable, we should step back and let them be their own guide and come to us only with questions that they or their peers cannot assess on their own. Although, we want to hold students accountable for their actions, we are important people in this journey of discovery as well, just like Mrs. Gruwell pointed out to Jamal. When students struggle, we struggle as well because we are weary as to if they grasped the material or just sit there nodding their heads pretending to listen. Wormeli suggested that if we respond to the standards at the same time the students are accountable for their work and efforts then academic excellence will be met. On pages 65-67, Wormeli left a bulleted list that I am sure I will reference back on when the sharing of accountability gets lost in the shuffle of life. These are just some tips such as standards are not limits, they are minimums and think unconventionally, always putting the student first, so that we now where we stand and where we should go with our lessons so that students will contribute a fair amount.