stop labeling: how labels hurt students

we started losing them and hurting them as soon as we started labeling them.

my classes are rather loose. students working, walking around, talking, music playing. this type of environment works well for developing ideas, a side effect, is that i hear and am included in a lot of conversations.

perhaps i’m more sensitive to it this year, or maybe it’s happening more because of the focus and pressure of standardized tests. students repeatedly say that they aren’t smart. i gently step into the conversation, sharing that perhaps they just aren’t “school smart.”

at the beginning of each semester teachers are given a packet of students in their classes that have an iep ( individual learning plan) these students have either been identified as having a learning disability or being gifted.

in art class , it’s rare that much written on the pages applies. students labeled as gifted often struggle as much as the other students, and there are many times where the student with ” a learning disability” sours to the top.

these labels aren’t helping our students for many reasons. while the label provides them with extra help and services within the school building, outside of the school, the label disappears .

the truth is, most of the students with “learning disabilities” simply aren’t meant for traditional schooling, and we need to stop making them think they are less in some way, and instead work to help them discover what they are “gifted” at.

the gifted students, well, all we really know is that they are gifted at taking tests, and from what i’ve seen that skill doesn’t take you far in life. i’ve yet to see a job where the employer was asking for a gifted test taker.

every student should have an individual education plan, because that’s what they are, individuals, with special gifts, talents, and learning styles.