" PROBLEM STUDENTS " THE ONES THAT CAN CHANGE THE WORLD
BY : SHADY ELKASSAS
Andre Gide once said : " The greatest intelligence is precisely the one that suffers most from its own limitations ."
My father ( who was a geologist ) once told me that the precious stones are not expensive because they are rare , but because they need effort and experience to dig and find them . I believe that the same concept applies to gifted and talented students .
In my early teaching years , I wanted to incorporate more STEAM learning into my school , but without having the option to schedule STEAM lab time . Instead , I decided to have students who were struggling both behaviourally and academically in class , to take on some simple physics and robotics work . At first , these students were just given simple tasks like sorting and classifying the robotics kits , pieces , and components .
However , these students quickly developed a love for robotics and learning . They started to learn to program , designing their own robotics structures and innovating . They loved the idea of controlling a robot with a joystick to perform some simple tasks . A few weeks later , they started to figure out the notion of autonomy which enables a robot to perform tasks by following a sequence of order created by programming . Working together during their free hours and breaks , encouraged them to form a robotics team , and soon they were telling all their friends about their exciting experiences working with robotics and programming . After a while , two students who had been classified as " underachievers " were suddenly " star physics students " whose behaviour and academic performance were improving . Not only that , but they were leading a major student club with dedication and passion .
Soon our tiny two-member robotics club swelled in membership as other students heard about the incredible experience these kids were having ,
28 Term 1 Sep - Dec 2021
Class Time