Culture Clash

After reading Chapter 16, "Building Academic Success with Underachieving Students", written by Yvette Jackson and Eric J. Cooper, from the book, Adolescent Literacy Turning Promise into Practice, edited by Kylene Beers, Robert E. Probst and Linda Rief; I was struck by how simple the premise of the chapter is. The authors are driven to help all students know success in school and do not let stereotypes or a student's past academic career determine what a student can do. The goal of a teacher should be to get students to care about a subject by seeing how it fits into their lives. How can a teacher do this without getting to know her or her students?
Students who have teachers who care about students and have high expectations for them, are more likely to do well in class. If a teacher does not take the time to find what interests students or teach in a way that draws students in, how can the student find motivation to study the material? It is important that teachers learn what their students are motivated by and find ways to integrate their interests into the classroom. When students find that they share a link with the material, the classroom is more exciting and students experience success.