I chose to read this chapter because I often struggle to 'find the time' for IR in a way that is productive and has an instructional focus. Miller hits the nail on the head when she gives the "Bureaucracy 3 " short story example. That's exactly how I feel about most decisions that we have made for us in the classroom. We are asked to do more and more things to fill up our time, without ever taking anything off of the agenda. We just put our heads down and give in to the grind, without analyzing the importance (or lack there of) of what we are implementing. The question is, how do we disagree with a decision that has been made for us? What are the ramifications of 'bucking' the system? How do we not come across as negative, or not on board? Is it just our opinion?
Miller and Moss give examples of small pockets of time that teachers can cut into for independent reading. Some of these 'pockets' are; calendar activities, school wide morning announcements, transitions, lining up, and time in the reading block. While I agree with their main point of really analyzing time efficiently and having more of a streamline day, I'm just not sure that many of their suggestions are completely logical. How do we refute morning announcements? How do we opt out of calendar math if that's what our math curriculum coaches have told us to do? (we don't do it anymore- but we did for a lot of years!) I agree with some of her suggestions to cut into within the reading block; cutting test-prep materials all year long, busy work like dictionary look up words, and word searches and jumbles can all be minimized or eliminated. But there are a few suggestions that we would have a hard time cutting out. (ie. we have to teach handwriting)
They summarize their point of view with the following quote,
"...children should have a number of opportunities to read throughout the day;
some will be more structured than others. But when non structured scenarios
are the only opportunities for children to read-when independent reading
stands alone.....it's simply not enough" (pg. 8)
I think that is the basis for good teaching. I also believe that can be connected to any subject area. I would hope that there is a framework in place for all teachers to be able to have varied reading in their classroom.
You are right--I think too often, we are told we have to do things, and we do them without critically analyzing the impact we will have on our students. Do we sometimes have to do things to play this game of public education? Yes. But do we have to do them blindly, or are we allowed to educate ourselves and become advocates for our students? I have been surprised in the past few years when I did choose that path of learning more about a program/requirement, asking questions, and advocating for students--the outcome sometimes was quite unexpectedly in my students' favor! As for how to maximize time, you're right--there are some things we still have to do. I think what Miller and Moss are encouraging us to do is to think critically about what we are doing--instead of doing it because it's always been done, we can stop and think about what students are really getting out of it.
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