My
first impression when I read this chapter 1 from No More Independent Reading Without Support was that it was going to make a lot
of Kindergarten teachers really mad! I agree that we have many time-wasters in
a typical school day. Many homeschooling moms I have talked with say one
of the benefits of homeschooling is that you have more time for actual
teaching and still finish in the morning. But I really think that
calendar time is good, and it is OK to appropriately dress the bear as
well. That routine, especially for children who have not been in
pre-school is good.
The
key sentence for me was in speaking about students, “they need a teacher to show
them what behaviors they need to practice as they read, and the teacher needs
opportunities to monitor and give feedback on how students are using those
behaviors.” The problem as I see it is there is no agreement on
what behaviors to teach. It seems every couple of years a new “box”
program is introduced that claims to be the method that will teach reading
successfully. The new wave of thinking we are being introduced to this
year is “choice”. Students should have choice in what they read, and that
one change…might be what is needed to get reluctant readers to come back to
reading. Maybe.
I
heard recently that on average, a student spends 6 weeks preparing and taking
State mandated tests. Imagine what 6 weeks with enough appropriate books,
engaged students and inspired teachers could do. There would be no limit.
I believe reading is the most essential skill we teach in elementary
school. Reading is the foundation for a successful school career. So we need to get it right.
Streamlining the day and eliminating unnecessary transitions might be one way
to start finding the time we need.
Thanks for your honesty, Norma--it gave me a laugh. :-) Yes, there are parts of that first chapter that some teachers (not here) have openly admitted upset them. I think part of that is because we see ourselves in those anecdotes, and we have to be willing to see that even the most awesome teachers have room to grow! Also, your weariness of boxed programs and short-lived fads is justified. The pendulum seems to swing back and forth in education. Why? Who is making these decisions? And you ask about testing--I wonder how much of our educational policy is rooted in artificial testing? I heard a really interesting report on NPR today about how high-stakes testing is akin to "public shaming" (http://www.marketplace.org/topics/education/putting-kids-test-little-less). How can we re-claim assessments and use them to inform our instruction instead of holding us hostage?
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