A Voice For The Children In The Back Row: Children Who Become Invisible In The Classroom

By Kathleen Robinson

When a serious educator decides to deliberately improve his/her praxis, professional development may take many forms. Workshops, textbooks, residencies and internships all lend support and a well-defined, formal perspective on the nuance of a classroom. One seemingly seldom prescription or improvement is travel. Cultural immersion expands the mi

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rustik Haws LLC
• Release date: Jun 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9781649340825

Kathleen Robinson

Kathleen Robinson lives in Texas. Dominic is her first novel.

Book preview

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A VOICE FOR

THE CHILDREN

IN THE

BACK ROW

A VOICE FOR

THE CHILDREN

IN THE

BACK ROW

Kathleen Robinson

A Voice For The Children In The Back Row by Kathleen Robinson

This book is written to provide information and motivation to readers. Its purpose isn’t to render any type of psychological, legal, or professional advice of any kind. The content is the sole opinion and expression of the author, and not necessarily that of the publisher.

Copyright © 2020 by Kathleen Robinson

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or distributed in any form by any means, including, but not limited to, recording, photocopying, or taking screenshots of parts of the book, without prior written permission from the author or the publisher. Brief quotations for noncommercial purposes, such as book reviews, permitted by Fair Use of the U.S. Copyright Law, are allowed without written permissions, as long as such quotations do not cause damage to the book’s commercial value. For permissions, write to the publisher, whose address is stated below.

ISBN: 978-1-952617-21-8 (Paperback)

ISBN: 978-1-64934-082-5 (Ebook)

Printed in the United States of America.

Rustik Haws LLC

100 S. Ashley Drive, Suite 600

Tampa, FL 33602

https://www.rustikhaws.com/

Contents

A VOICE FOR …THE CHILDREN IN THE BACK ROW

CAPSULE 1

Episode 1 NEGOTIATING THE SECURITY FENCES

EPISODE 2 VENTURING DEEPER INTO THE PSYCHE

EPISODE 3 TAKING ROOT IN AN ECLECTIC GARDEN

CAPSULE ll

Episode 1 UPSIDE-DOWN EMBARRASSMENT

EPISODE 2 STUDENT REVOLUTIONARY

EPISODE lll A HISTORY LESSON

EPISODE IV NEUTRALIZING MY FEELINGS

EPISODE V VALEDICTORIAN

CAPSULE lll

EPISODE 1 Who?

EPISODE ll DRIVING TO INDEPENDENCE

EPISODE 3 A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS

CAPSULE lV

EPISODE 1 THE GAME

EPISODE 2 TRAINING FOR THE GAME

EPISODE 3 THE IMMINENT HARVEST

A VOICE FOR …

THE CHILDREN IN THE BACK ROW

The children who sit at the back of the class probably do so for any of three main reasons: (1) They are tall and for practical purposes go there voluntarily or are placed there by the teacher. (2) They are shy or lacking confidence and believe that they are less likely to have questions directed at them there. (3) They desire undisturbed freedom from the teacher – they form friendships where talking or surreptitious eating becomes a preferred activity or they are the class bullies.

Some teachers readily detect these escape mechanisms and make every effort to ensure that no child is deprived of the requisite attention, while others simply limit their focus to those children who demonstrate the greatest willingness to learn. The children at the back of the class are often the ones with psychological scars and, if left unattended further develop more scars of emotional neglect. In this narrative, the voice relates the story – in distinct episodes - of four different children – each within an almost ten year span encountered along the pathway of pedagogical development.

The intention is simply to reinforce a connectivity among practicing teachers who continue to reach out to students that may otherwise be inadvertently overlooked, despite the former’s training in pedagogy. After a few years even the most dedicated practitioners experience occasional burn out or washed out. The author hopes that the real-life episodes contained herein will touch the hearts of such practitioners by rekindling the sparks they felt when they first walked down the aisle in graduation regalia, vowing to others and to themselves to make a difference.

The voice speaks variously through: a graduate pupil-teacher during the period of the 1950s-1960s, an elementary teacher during the 1970s-1980s, and a secondary school teacher during the 1990s–2000s. Each episodic illumination juxtaposes the para-psychological situation of a particular child to a distinctive historical epoch anecdotally told of a fanciful, paradise known as Trinidad and Tobago. Teachers recall many stories, sometimes quite identical, therefore the writer/voice take no responsibility for any peculiar