Dr. Greene suggests a philosophy that "kids do well if they can" vs the common idea that "kids do well if they want to". Although these philosophies sound similar they are very different. If you buy into this philosophy that kids want to do well and you have a student that isn't succeeding, your effort goes into trying to inspire that kid to want to do well, you run the risk of making matters worse because chances are, that child DOES want to do well. In contrast, if you buy into the philosophy that kids do well if they can and you discover a student that is struggling, you ask yourself what is getting in the way of this student and how can I help them overcome this barrier. This causes you to figure out what is getting in the way of this child's learning.
