Focusing On the Strengths

      When teaching reading or any subject, it is important for the teacher to focus on the strengths of a child rather than his or her weaknesses. All children develop skills at a different pace. When teachers focus on weaknesses, they are comparing the child to his or her peers in a negative way.
      Teachers need to assess the skills the child does possess and then decide how lessons can be structured to help the student progress in their education. In the text, the authors assert that "teaching is most effective (and learning is most likely to happen) when it takes place within the child's zone of proximal development" (Keier & Johnson, 2010, p. 31). Every child's zone will be unique to  their individual needs. To determine a child's zone of proximal development, the teacher must look at what the child can do and what they are ready for. The skills they cannot do are irrelevant and not as significant.
        It is especially important that teachers make an effort to make note of a child's strengths and document their skills Cusumano notes in her article that "most family and community members will notice the apparent mistakes before noticing the strengths of the piece" (2008, p. 11). Teachers are responsible for educating the families and the community about how to look at a child's work. Focusing on mistakes can damage a child's confidence and lead parents to believe that highly structured drill instruction is best.
       A child's strengths and skills informs instruction better than looking at weaknesses. By looking at what they can do, teachers can prepare appropriate lessons that readies them for the next step.

References:
Johnson, P. & Keier, K. (2010). Catching readers before they fall: Supporting students who struggle, K-4. Portland, MN: Stenhouse Publishers. 

Cusumano, K.F. (2008). Every mark on the page: educating family and community members about young children's writing. Language Arts. 86 (1).