Theodore Sizer states in Horace's Compromise: The Dilemma of the American High School, "That students differ may be inconvenient but it is inescapable. Adapting to that diversity is the inevitable price of productivity, high standards, and fairness to students"(2004). Today's instructional staff and administrators have become aware that "one size fits all" teaching and educational opportunities won't work. It is only just, therefore, that we "be sure there is a teacher in every classroom, every day, who makes every student feel like a human being" (Peters, p33).

Module Objective: In this module you will explore the case of Benjamin N. Cardozo High School in conjunction with Peters' work and the virtual library readings. Using these, you will explore learner and teacher differences and how to take these into account. In addition, you will learn how to create meaningful and effective programs for students at risk of academic and personal failure.

Case Study Log out when you are finished viewing the case to avoid conflicting browser sessions. If you have trouble viewing the case, please see the CaseNEX login instructions. Go to www.casenex.com Enter this login into the green circle: USERNAME: peters08 PASSWORD: demo To access the CaseNEX Case, scroll through the list of cases that appear once you login. To access the CaseNEX Virtual Library, click on class materials, The Virtual Library, Readings (search), and enter the title in the Search Title field. Benjamin Cardozo High School Some see large, urban high schools as impersonal. But Cardozo High in Queens is an exception. The principal, faculty, and even the students there are serious about the school mission: "A School of Excellence AND a School with a Heart." Even so, some students struggle to find their niche. View the full case...

Discussion: In the case, Sheila Clark explains that Cardozo students are often disenfranchised with high school, leading to the issues of absenteeism and lowered achievement. Using Peters' research on learning and teaching styles and the reading "Instruction Strategies: Differentiation," list factors in the educational backgrounds of students that might have led to this disenfranchisement and what actions teachers might have taken to better motivate students.

Journal: The Growth Program at Benjamin Cardozo provides over-age, under-credited students with a sense of community and success. Describe a student problem or issue you have at your school and a set of actions you might take, similar or different from the Growth Program, to help restore students' sense of hope and thereby raise achievement.

Workbook: Using the ideas you came up with from the journal prompt, create an action plan for your program. Consider the following questions to help guide your plan:

1. How will you fund your program?
2. How will you recruit staff, faculty, and/or community members to guide your program and how will they be compensated (either monetarily or otherwise)?
3. What principles of effective learning and teaching styles will you put into place to make your program inviting for all students?

• How Do Teachers Make It All Work
• Instruction Strategies: Differentiating Instruction
• Mapping a Route Toward Differentiated Instruction
• Multiple Intelligences: A Theory for Everyone
• The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners
• What Does it Mean to Be Smart?
• What We Know About Academically Talented Students: A Sample of Our Findings