Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education
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Jealousy Towards Ender....
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Author:  Steve [ Mon Oct 19, 2009 10:53 pm ]
Post subject:  Jealousy Towards Ender....

While reading Ender's Game I couldn't help to think about the jealousy that siblings can have for each other and how that is manifested in school. I have had the opportunity to teach many siblings and naturally you make comparisions in your mind, but I never make comparisons aloud to the children or parents. But I wonder what it must feel like to have an older sibling go through a school and just knock teacher's socks off with their abilities, then to have to follow them? Many people put these expectations on siblings and I don't think it is fair. I think this is how Peter must have felt towards Ender. What do you all think?

Author:  Tosha Morrison [ Tue Oct 20, 2009 6:26 pm ]
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I agree. Siblings are often compared. I try to keep an open mind about all children because all children are different, even those who come from the same family. Personally in my family I did not experience this because my older sister was not that good in school/ When I went through school I did have good grades and good attitudes so I am sure my little sister felt some of this but she has never told me that she did.

Author:  Erika Nelson [ Tue Oct 20, 2009 7:01 pm ]
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Being the only child, I never had to walk in an older siblings shadows. I saw many friends who had to though. Some for the good and others for the negative. In my high school we pretty much had the haves and the have nots; not many in betweens. For one of my classmates (definitely a "have") she never had to do anything in school. Everything was given to her. Her sister had laid down her pathway. It was as if she must be as smart as her sister so everything was just dandy for her. However, she was the first college dropout (how ironic). On the other hand, I had many classmates who weren't given the time of day and were even placed in tracks similar or the same as to that of an older sibling. This is so sad- how yes, it is very true, our schools set our kids up- for better or for worse!

Author:  samantha_harris [ Tue Oct 20, 2009 7:27 pm ]
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This book is making me think of my "gifted" students and the labels we put on them. Once Ender was labeled as the most intelligent... the others started to resent him. I have seen this happen at my school. My school has a large African American population and many of them do not want to be labled as "gifted" because culturally it isnt cool and they worry their peers will resent them. As educators, we are so quick to label our students.... gifted, EC, etc. I wonder what would happen if we didnt label students?

Author:  Jessica Denninger [ Wed Oct 21, 2009 1:52 pm ]
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I agree with what you said about the "labels" that are placed on children, Sam. I know that too often teachers will talk about children and their abilities and "limits." It makes me sad to hear other teachers say they know the limit of where a child's learning stops. The second a child is labeled good or bad, expectations, behavior, and effort change on behalf of the teacher. This is especially true for the child, if they too, are aware of their label. Every child needs the same fair opporunities, whether or not they may have had trouble with the teacher the previous year, or their sibiling was the most gifted.

Author:  weaverrl [ Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:20 pm ]
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I do believe it is hard for any younger sibling to live in their older siblings shoes. Many times we expect younger siblings to act like and be just as good at academics as their older siblings. Many times teachers will say, "You brother doesn't act that way," or "Your sister did so much better on this project." This isn't fair to the students, and we should never expect the same results from any two siblings.

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