Tiffany
Author: Paul Allison
Tiffany is a tall African-American girl in seventh grade. She will be 16 by the end of the school year. Tiffany was left back three times in elementary school: once between kindergarten and first grade--for reasons she can’t bear to retell--and twice more in third grade because she scored low on state math exams.
Tiffany is three years behind her peers, and she thinks she is unable to understand mathematics, but she loves to read young adult novels about teen issues. When asked what she is really good at, Tiffany says that she makes collages on her computer. She seems obsessed with editing images and memes with music into short videos on different topics.
Tiffany doesn't like her school because many of the other students play too much. Except for math, Tiffany finds most of her schoolwork easy to complete, and she has learned how to do just enough to not appear on any teacher’s radar. She is rarely on disciplinary lists and has better skills than most other students, so teachers tend to not notice her. Tiffany hates revising her writing, but she does pay attention to craft and details when a teacher asks her to.
The principal and counselors have put Tiffany on a list of students for accelerated promotion. Working with a special program in the Department of Education, the principal is trying to get youth who have been involved with the criminal justice system and who are two years or more behind into high school. Even though Tiffany doesn't have a criminal record, the principal would like to have her start high school classes as soon as possible.
The principal is under a lot of scrutiny because of how in the past, as part of this project to accelerate middle school graduation for some students, he has promoted over-aged, under-credited youth without transparent criteria.
He wants to know if there might be a way to have Tiffany show that she is ready for high school.
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I wish with all my heart that as teachers we knew more about our students’ personal background. This could be the social worker in me, but knowing what a student is dealing with outside of school helps the teacher and school staff better understand where the student is coming from- quite literally and figuratively.
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There are many reason why students may not do well on a test. For example, some students may feel anxious because the test. I believe these state exams affect students by tracking their learning performance in a negative way.
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I especially love, “..and she thinks she is unable to understand mathematics.” By saying that, “she thinks she is unable..,” clearly communicates that this teacher believes that if Tiffany applies herself, she could do math just as well as she would in classes that are her favorite subjects. It implies that the teacher believes in Tiffany’s abilities and CAN do it regardless of what she tells herself.
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I believe teachers should take advantage of the students’ interests to help them succeed with what they are struggling.
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Most of this paragraph is focused on what Tiffany can do, rather than what she can not. When describing areas in need of improvement, following up with a student’s strengths seems to create a more positive outlook on the students abilities rather than the incapabilities and hinderances.
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But this can be really challenging when the demands begin to exceed that ability to compensate because it’s even more damaging to the sense of self.
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Does this stigmatize Tiffany now? Is he caught up in the scrutiny of this program by no fault of her own?
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I would recommend connecting tiffany to a high school that will continue to offer the services needed to support academic and social growth. Schools that emphasize community action projects and portfolio-based assessments that allow for Tiffany to utilize her digital literacy skills, can be an option the principal can consider. Visual programming languages like Scratch allow students to create and share interactive media are effective tools to develop students’ digital literacy. Therefore, Tiffany’s readiness for High School can be determined by some sort of dual language classroom that builds upon her fluencies in both English and digital literacy.
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