The intellectual well being of a child is also the primary focus of most teachers. There is very little attention given to the emotional and physical well being of children. This is a sad fact when you consider that humans in general find it difficult to retain information when we are physically unhealthy or emotionally unstable. One interesting thing to note is that humans remember those things that impact them emotionally, be it good or bad. When teachers prepare their lessons to have some emotional value to them, the students learn and retain more.
Emotion drives attention, which drives learning, which drives memory.
It is probably easier to remember where you were when the space shuttle Challenger exploded as opposed to what you had for dinner eight days ago. There was an emotional tie-in to the traumatic event. To find out how to involve students more emotionally, allow them to be involved when preparing your next unit. Title One programs for three or more years are permanently hurt in their ability to learn. These are the students who should be receiving the same instruction as the so-called AG students.