COTG Consulting Agency

When I partner with schools, it’s often in three categories: strategic planning, leadership coaching and teacher coaching.
While I LOVE providing those services, I’m still a teacher at heart.

So when I walked into this 5th grade Math class today and saw this child struggling, I jumped at the opportunity to close my laptop, stop writing observation notes for my Coachee, and help this child (which entail helps her!)

Their time for Math was coming to an end and a student sitting at the table with me, had only completed the first 2 questions, incorrectly. I asked him if he needed help, and he politely said, yes mam.

To begin our work I asked him, what does the word difference mean when discussing two numbers. He said, I don’t know. I said, what is the root word of difference, he replied, “What is a root word?” I was floored.

A 5th grader, who doesn’t know root words? Who didn’t know how to find the difference? Who doesn’t know how to read well enough to read the terms at the top of his paper that provide him with definitions. Heartbreaking.

After about 5 minutes one-on-one, he got it. He just needed help.

We completed our work and I began my coaching session with his teacher. She told me that he has a paraprofessional who provides him support, however, she has been absent a lot, leaving the child to fend for himself and wait until she has time to give one-on-one attention to 1/30 students.

When I think of the current state of education and situations like this, it infuriates me. But when I think about what next year will look like for him with a full dismantle of the Department of Education, it hurts me to my core.

Like his peers, he will take his LEAP exams starting tomorrow, and he’s excited, but his results may not be as favorable as he hopes. Not because he isn’t capable, but because he needs resources and one-on-one support. And since he’s completed 3rd grade and can’t read, research tells us that his jail cell is already prepared for him.

So when you think of what this administration is doing to children, think of “Justin”. A kid who can learn, but is trapped because of the adults in his life.