F.A.T. City

We watched The F.A.T. City Workshop in class last night. This wasn’t my first time viewing this film. I can’t even remember what course it was that I watched it in, maybe psychology or ethics, but what I do know is that it was back when I was a Business major and I remember finding it fascinating because of my interest in education (despite the awful '80's hair), but not taking it to heart the way I did last night.
Some of the key lessons from the film that I want to take away for the future, whether or not the child is LD, are:
1. If a child is having difficulty answering a question, don’t push or embarrass them. Take the pressure off and move on to another question and maybe come back to them after they have had a moment to think about their answer. I don’t think that everything comes down to quantity. Sometimes quality is most important and in education quality should be most important, so taking a little extra time to allow a student to digest a question and think about his/her answer should be done.
2. Children who are having difficulty with class material will not be motivated by a prize. If I notice that the child is having problems, I just make a mental note and not put them on the spot. I can discuss it with him/her in private and help. Trying to get them to answer using material gain isn't helping.
3. The true definition of fair is that “every one gets what they need.” That’s just a good piece of info for anyone.
4. Use positive reinforcement- make a big deal about a right answer or a strong attempt rather than making a point of letting everyone know the child was wrong, which leads to…
5. Don’t purposely embarrass kids in front of their peers. Especially if LD is involved, pointing out their weaknesses is only going to cause them to shut out more and try less. As adults, we don't appreciate public humiliation, why should we think a child is any different.

I think a lot of these points are already behaviors that teachers are taught to avoid, alot has changed in education since then. I think back when the film was made, this type of treatment was far more common than now, but considering that part of my education was recieved back then, its still a good idea for me to consciously make the attempt to not revert to these behaviors which may be part of my psychological conditioning from my own childhood.