Instructions:

Your group of teachers is responsible for an advice column in a journal for teaching practitioners. One day, you receive the following letter from a young teacher in Georgia.

Dear Teachers in My Corner,

I am a first year teacher in a _________________ (your group can name the school) in rural Georgia. This morning, I had a meeting with the school counselors and the principal, and they told me that many of my students will be “at risk” students, and I must do my best to help them graduate and not “fall through the cracks.”

Frankly, I am scared to death. I remember hearing about at risk students in my education courses, but I never really thought I would have to teach those types of students. How do I identify a student who is at risk? How should I plan for instructing students who are at risk? How are they different than students who are not considered to be at risk?

A great deal of my performance evaluation will come from how I reach these students. Any help that you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

On the Verge of Quitting

Your group should compose a reply to this teacher. You may use your notes, books, experiences to reply. The letters will then be discussed in class. You have 25-30 min to compose the response!