Ok, I'll be honest. I forgot about this blog. I have now woken up and realized that I am a dork. That being said, Chapter 5 was scary to read. I know this entire book has been about the "killing of reading". However, I had hoped that by the end, we would have some concrete answers concerning what to do. Didn't quite get there.
We know that schools are lowering standards. We know this lowers the students' education. I got into a discussion with my TWS supervisor about "teaching to the test". I think this is a horrible way to encourage free thinkers and learners. She disagreed. But Chapter 5 basically says the same thing...."what long term price are we paying for this teaching to the test appraoch (112)?" If the United States' edge in the word was our creativity, then why are we putting so much emphasis on a test? Creativity cannot be demonstrated on a scantron. Nor can we expect teachers to work like in a "car factory". If we allow teachers to jump outside the box and really TEACH and demonstrate creativity, test scores that are so valued might actually rise. If you as a teacher cannot creatively think, you might need to change jobs. Readicide didn't give me enough answers, but it sure as heck gave me alot of questions.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Chapter 4: readicide
Ok, I just want to pont out a few things I highlighted in this chapter that I pose questions to:
1. "Having a good teacher versus having a poor teacher, particulary in the early years, can determine whether a young student is put in an honors track or a remedial track." I teach 7th, 9th, and 11th grade English this year (again, private school is different). This is my first year at this school, and I notice in all grades that they do not have a solid base in English. So my question is, How can we build on a foundation that is shaky at best? If a student has the 'poor' teacher basically all the way through elementary and middle grades, how can we expect them to come into 9th grade ready for Shakespeare? How do we keep our kids out of the "burger joint"?
2. "Lousy classic"....hmmmm, I don't know if this truly IS an oxymoron. I can appreciate the value in classics....but I don't spend my time reading them often. I know they wouldn't become a classic without significant value, but really? If I don't want to spend my time wresting with an archaic book, why would my students? Shouldn't we as teacher be looking for the NEW classics? Surely a book written in modern times contains value.
3. This chapter gives us what not to do----don't underteach and don't overteach.....find this elusive "sweet spot". Well, how about some ways to actually impliment this? Before doing the large chunk/small chunk thing, we have to get them excited about reading. Most of my kids would rather have a tooth pulled. And what if you are dealing with the 'lowest' kids in the grade? They feel stupid when confronted with text they don't get....I guess our job is make sure they get it:)
1. "Having a good teacher versus having a poor teacher, particulary in the early years, can determine whether a young student is put in an honors track or a remedial track." I teach 7th, 9th, and 11th grade English this year (again, private school is different). This is my first year at this school, and I notice in all grades that they do not have a solid base in English. So my question is, How can we build on a foundation that is shaky at best? If a student has the 'poor' teacher basically all the way through elementary and middle grades, how can we expect them to come into 9th grade ready for Shakespeare? How do we keep our kids out of the "burger joint"?
2. "Lousy classic"....hmmmm, I don't know if this truly IS an oxymoron. I can appreciate the value in classics....but I don't spend my time reading them often. I know they wouldn't become a classic without significant value, but really? If I don't want to spend my time wresting with an archaic book, why would my students? Shouldn't we as teacher be looking for the NEW classics? Surely a book written in modern times contains value.
3. This chapter gives us what not to do----don't underteach and don't overteach.....find this elusive "sweet spot". Well, how about some ways to actually impliment this? Before doing the large chunk/small chunk thing, we have to get them excited about reading. Most of my kids would rather have a tooth pulled. And what if you are dealing with the 'lowest' kids in the grade? They feel stupid when confronted with text they don't get....I guess our job is make sure they get it:)
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