“The Prospect Center processes are also useful and are more widely associated with the powerful and respectful way the allow teachers to assess children, not as students with deficits of understanding but as full human beings making sense of the world (Knoester 149)”

This passage reminded me of a discussion that took place in my Fieldwork seminar this past Friday. My teacher was explaining that sometimes parents can be shocked or surprised when they are told their child is misbehaving in school because they are such a good kid at home. In this idea alone, the importance of environment is highlighted. My teacher raised an interesting point and explained that majority of parents do not know what their children are like in a confined setting such as a classroom. Parents do not see their children in this type of environment but rather, in a casual in-formal setting or simply in the comfort of their own home.

In certain way, I believe this concept can work in reverse as well. In a classroom setting, one of the main ways a teacher assess a child is through their performance in the classroom. If a child is not performing well in a class, they should not be defined by this or be viewed as a child with “deficits of understanding”. Although, I do believe this can sometimes happen if the classroom setting is the only context in which a teacher knows a child. The classroom setting is simply one small aspect of the child’s life and in no way defines them as a person. I so much appreciate The Prospect Center processes in which there is emphasis to assess children as “full human beings” and believe it should be implemented by all teachers.