Purrr...reflecting on practice!

I have been working with our school's literacy coach this year, and she recently shared a great article ("Are You Scaffolding or Rescuing?") that truly made me think (purr). At first, I was sure that I was not a rescuer. I do not tend to be particularly easy and even pride myself in forcing kids to work, but the more I read, the more I questioned. I started to wonder about that idea that we as educators have that kids must find the right answer. When do we stop helping them to find their way and start creating ridiculous means of handing over the answers. The other day I was at a PET for a young man whose grade is actually pretty good (B range), yet struggles considerably. I told his parents that he is a very hard worker and that his grades were due to his considerable effort.  He redoes his work and stays in to get clarification. It was after that meeting that I started to question his grade. Was he really learning this material? Was he really working that hard or was I? Was I working with him until he finally guessed the right answers? I am hoping that I am not doing that. I don't think I have let it get to that point, but it is something for me to consider. It is okay for a kid to fail some things and then learn from that. I can't always be there to rephrase or give examples. I think I need to work harder at giving these kids strategies for survival than to work harder at making modifications. In doing the modifications I am not allowing them the chance to fail and subsequently learn. Scaffolding is about modeling and creating independent learners, not questioning and prompting until they get it right.