concerned teacher on how to teach organization

concerned teacher left this comment re: teaching organization:

And while we are teaching students how to organize any kind of notebook, it is important to "check", often at first, to see that students are following the proper organizational procedures.

Don't expect a disorganized student to learn it quickly or to even know if he is not doing it properly.

It will come easier for some, who are just "natural organizers", but we must not fail to help those for whom it is not easy.

I read that it takes doing something 30-35 times for it to become a habit. And it must be done properly every time for that habit to be formed.

Teaching students how to organize is like laying down tracks to guide them through the year. But tracks are no good if the student doesn't stay on them. And for some students, if they get off, they won't know where or how they got off or how to get back on.

from The Learning Gap:

The Asian teacher faces a very different set of demands from those faced in the American classroom. Dealing with thirty-eight to fifty children, with no tracking or separation according to their level of ability, imposes a strong need on the teacher to create order and structure. This is accomplished in several ways.

First, teachers make an explicit effort during the early months of elementary school to teach children techniques and skills that will allow them to function effectively in a group. Children learn how to move from one activity to another, how to arrange the contents of their desks so that they can find things easily, how to pay attention, how to follow directions, and how to speak loudly and clearly so that they can be understood. By equipping children with these skills, Asian teachers are able to handle large classes in a smooth and unflustered manner. Children's easy transitions from one activity to another and their readiness to carry out classroom routines occur not because Asian children are docile or passive, but because they have been taught efficient and useful ways of handling themselves in the classroom. Asian teachers are willing to take the time to teach these skills because, among other reasons, they know they will reap the benefits for more than a single year. The same group of children will remain with the teacher for two year, or sometimes even three or more.
p. 62

C. has had a number of teachers throughout middle school who directly instructed the kids on how to organize and manage their materials. This year's Spanish teacher is so precise she will tell the, "Put this paper here; put that paper there; throw that paper out." He's doing fantastically well in Spanish for the first time in 3 years, and I don't think that's an accident.

Thinking about it now, I bet if I went back through C's middle school years I would find that he's tended to do best in classes in which teachers directly taught and monitored organization.

His social studies teacher this year, who is in charge of teaching and overseeing the research paper all the 8th graders write, has it down to a science. He gives the kids a daily assignment to complete for the paper, and he checks at close intervals to find out whether the assignments have been done.

C. has been coming home every night saying cheerfully, "I have to do my social studies research" and then hustling off to the basement to work.

I think this is an invaluable lesson in the critical skill of getting long projects done day by day instead of, for example, waiting until the deadline is 8 weeks away and then pulling 2 months of all nighters.

Not that I know anyone who would do such a thing.