Musings: Regents exams give impetus to teach things better
Thinking out of the box can help students pass Regents exams. Credit: Howard Schnapp
This is a success story. I spent more than 37 years teaching social studies in a Suffolk County high school before retiring. I had extremely good results teaching a particular class of students who were not expected to pass the Regents exams.
They were in the same English and social studies classes, with another class scheduled between the two. The students alternated every day, with social studies the third class. I decided to change my teaching methods.
I sent home a letter to parents asking to please send a check to purchase a different textbook than the one we had, one that worked better: Prentice Hall’s “United States History and Government.” This book hit upon all categories of the syllabus, focusing on the important information. It had short comments on the right side of pages noting important facts or questioning the reader.
The questions at the end of each chapter were taken from old Regents exams. Political cartoons, maps and other items in this book were a great prep for the exam. It was easier for students to become familiar with the terminology.
I purchased a computer program that focused on 11th grade Regents questions and returned tests graded with a highlighter. Students were required to keep these tests in their notebook.
I would allow about five minutes for them to read a question and answer while I took attendance. I never told them that they were actually “studying.” I sent monthly updates to parents and made them personal.
After the February break, I found a VHS tape from the History Channel. The English teacher agreed to allow me to have the entire class for two periods twice a month. I invited her to join us. I had bags of popcorn and water bottles for the class while watching the video for the two periods.
I had few students who failed. Grades were sprinkled from the 70s to the 90s. Passing Regents exams is not impossible. My students learned that they can be successful.
Without these exams, I believe some teachers might not focus on the full syllabus.
— Linda Wangner, Garden City
WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO JOIN OUR DAILY CONVERSATION. Just go to newsday.com/submitaletter and follow the prompts. Or email your opinion to letters@newsday.com. Submissions should be no more than 200 words. Please provide your full name, hometown, phone number and any relevant expertise or affiliation. Include the headline and date of the article you are responding to. Letters become the property of Newsday and are edited for all media. Due to volume, readers are limited to one letter in print every 45 days. Published letters reflect the ratio received on each topic.
