Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • Free Essays • My Term Papers • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Miscellaneous Atrisk Atrisk At-risk students share the potential for failure to achieve their success in school due to factors with socioeconomic status, family variables, academic deficiencies, or physical/neurological impairment ( ). It is a common belief that the majority of at-risk students will not complete school through grade 12. It is estimated that 25% of students in this country will dropout before High School graduation ( ). Some 30% of urban school students will dropout by the time they enter the eighth grade ( ). These statistics are probably conservative because they do not reflect the number of students who have already encountered circumstances placing them at-risk and have not yet been identified. Rossi and Stringfield (1995) estimated that by the year 2020 the majority of students will be living in circumstances placing them at-risk. The characteristics of at-risk students will be identified along with the prevalence of at-risk children in our society. The educational role in working with at-risk children will be reviewed and specific educational techniques/programs will be discussed. A variety of conditions are used to identify at-risk students. Ethnicity, demographics, and socioeconomic status are all widely accepted factors in identifying these students. However, Baruth and Manning (1996) asserted that "at-risk cannot be stereotyped by color, age, economic level or family situation" (p. 240). There are a variety of other problems that can place a child at-risk. Tice (1995) has identified eleven other factors that can be associated with school failure. These factors include: "attempted suicide, substance abuse, low self-esteem, pregnancy, expulsion or suspension, poor attitude toward education by parents, retention, truancy, low grades, scoring below the 20th percentile on standardized tests, and having an IQ below 90" (Tice, 1995, p. 35). According to Hootstein (1996) at-risk students can be characterized by inattentiveness, boredom, and the inability to see much connection between school learning and their outside lives. Typically, at-risk students have low self-esteem. "At-risk students are those students that tend to have low self-esteem, insecurity about their abilities, and negative attitudes toward school" (Hootstein, 1999, p. 100). Their lack of self-esteem usually leads to acting out in school. "The most powerful determinants of dropping out are low expectations and low grades combined with disciplinary problems, truancy being the most common offense" ( SIRS). All learners are at-risk at various times of their lives (Baruth and Manning, 1996). "Learners, as they pass through the various developmental stages face a number of tasks and challenges that can result in at-risk conditions: forming new friendships, developing unfamiliar physical skills, growing toward independence, and developing appropriate sex roles" (Baruth & Manning, 1996, p. 240). It is important that educators are aware of these transitions and the implications they have on children. The child who has low self-esteem because they do not make friends easily may exhibit at-risk behaviors in order to compensate for their feelings of inadequacy. Identifying factors that place children at-risk are important for educators to know and understand so a child is not always deemed as "bad". Educators should not blame the child for their immediate actions. Baruth and Manning (1996) asserted that blaming the student rather than pinpointing the cause of their actions can result in more acute at-risk consequences. For example, asking a child "Why don't your parents work to provide a decent standard of living? is the type of action that blames the child for something they cannot control. This type of perspective does not convey the feelings of empathy and caring that all students need in order to achieve (Baruth & Manning, 1996). Hootstein (1996) reported that teachers should offer genuine caring, respect, and encouragement as preconditions for stimulating the motivation to learn (p. 100). However, this type of attitude can only lower the at-risk students' self-esteem. This is an example of schools passively allowing students to dropout by withholding any effort to retain them or even finding the problem (SIRS). In this sense, schools are failing students. While schools cannot do much about demographic or socioeconomic factors that place students at-risk, they do have control over factors that may help keep them (students) in school. Haertel, Walberg, and Wang (1998) asserted that "maintaining high expectations for students, offering high-quality academic interactions among teachers and students; and peer tutoring," are all features that schools effectively utilize to help keep students in school (p. 70). However, schools that foster low expectations, have little or no curriculum focus, and offer little support are sited among schools offering little or no school success (SIRS). There are many ways schools and educators can meet the needs of at-risk students "including small group work, tutoring, and alternative schools, as well as attention especially to one or more contributive factors" (Tice, 1995, p. ). However, Hootstein (1996) maintained that regardless of the model adopted by the school, motivation and frequent opportunities for success must be involved in order for the program to be appealing and rewarding. This may include leaving comfortable teaching practices behind and looking for ways to actively engage students in their learning. A tremendous amount of research has been documented on the positive correlation between active engagement in a task and student achievement. The classroom structure for at-risk students should be no different. "Traditionally, schools have had lower expectations for students identified as at-risk" ( technology). "Recent findings indicate that by not challenging at-risk students or encouraging them to use complex thinking skills, schools underestimate students' capabilities, postpone interesting and meaningful work they could be doing, and deprive them of a meaningful context for learning and using the skills they are taught" (Knapp & Means, 1991). Engelmann (1999) maintained that "school failure for at-risk students results largely from the fact that all children are expected to learn a specified battery of skills in so many years" (p. 77). At-risk students often enter school academically behind and are always struggling to catch up with their peers. Therefore, the early identification of an at-risk student is imperative in order for the child to attain success. Englemann (1999) suggested that identifying at-risk students no later than 1st grade is the only way to achieve success in developing a firm basis in basic skill knowledge. Since it is impossible to take a child back to age 2 and develop the skills pertinent to school success, educators must find a way to bring them up to par in the shortest amount of time possible. Englemann (1999) asserted that designing a highly structured format that allows teachers to cover vast amounts of practice in a short time is ideal in effectively teaching at-risk students. "For this type of skills instruction to be effective, all skills should be presented in a way that is highly oral so that children become facile in following oral directions; answering questions; issuing directions; playing verbal games; and using language to think and reason" (Englemann, 1999, p. 78). However, it is not enough to simply accelerate learning. While skills are an important attribute to solving problems, knowing how to solve the problem is important as well. Hootstein stated the following concerning teaching students how to think: Teachers should encourage students to use self-talk and affirmations. Motivation can help students with the "will" to learn, but they will also need the "way to learn. Therefore, teachers must provide a variety of learning strategies from which students may choose. (p. 100) There are a number of programs that can be adopted by a school to enhance the learning of at-risk students. According to Butler and Durian (1987) these programs can be categorized in the following manner: federally funded programs, pullout programs, and classroom based studies. The differences sited among these programs lies with pedagogical practices. "Differences between techniques used to serve at-risk youth and techniques in effective schools have to do with the types of goals which are pursued and not the manner in which they are pursued" (Butler & Durian, 1987, p. 9). However, all successful programs for at-risk students are characterized by: separating at-risk students from others, having strong hands-on components, utilizing out-of-classroom experiences, and being intensive with low student-teacher ratios, and individualized instruction. Bibliography: Word Count: 1412
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