In a given class there are a variety of students with different levels of skills and abilities. Some are "smarter" than others. They don't all begin at the same starting line. So here is a question that I have often thought about in regards to teaching. How can you take every student in the class to the next level of their development? Will you not risk going to far ahead for those that are further behind, or vice versa, will you risk impeding the development of the "smarter" more "developed" students in order to focus on those that need more attention?

I have my own ideas but I wanted to hear what yall had to say. Thanks.

I think that the ability to help all students progress is a mark of a good teacher. However, I'm not exactly sure how one goes about doing that. I think a big part of it would be spending time with each individual student or at least in small groups to help specific students with specific needs.

I think that it is important to work well with all abilitites and skills. However, with this being said it is very hard as a single teacher with 20 or more students in a classsroom to realistically help each one individually. It's important to start when the children are young and let them know that they are capable of greatness. I want to teach Kor 1st and I will use all the resources possible especially my teacher's assitant to help be reach each students. Parents, tutors and volunteers in the school can also help the individual teacher reach these students and give them the one on one time.

I think this is all part of the balance that is constantly changing in a classroom. I agree with April that spending time with each student is an important part of it. If you don't even know that a student hates reading, you will never understand why they don't progress in this area. The trick is in knowing how to take one task that is set at a mid-level range for your students and make it both simple and challenging for the students that don't fall in this mid-level range all while teaching the entire class. I am not sure yet as to how I will implement this in my classroom but it is vital for the student's success that we reach them where they are and help them to become better from the time they walk in our room on the first day to the time they walk out on the last day of the year.

I think Katie touched on the idea of Student Knowledge - it is important for teachers to know their students on an individual level so they know where their students' interests lie, what they enjoy, what they are struggling with, etc. Once you know where they are, it is easier to identify what needs to be done to help them....do they need more motivation, more time, more freedom, more individualized help, etc? The students who are advanced can have independent work time in which they attempt to solve a higher level problem or work on a more involved project.
I also think it is important for teachers to make each student feel "smart" by drawing from each students' knowledge-base during appropriate times, so they all gain more confidence in their abilities. For example, my cousin is very interested in the military and guns and past wars, so the teacher could let him share his knowledge in this area when they are learning about WWII in history. Not only would he feel proud of his accomplishment, but the other students would benefit as well.

I agree with some of the previous posts. It is important to get to know all of your students on some level. By doing this, you can figure out how to reach specific students while still attending to the needs of your class as a whole.