A long time ago I remember saying that I didn't have enough time to do something and the person I was talking to looked at me and said that we all have the same 24 hours in a day and we have to decide the things that are worthy of that time. I have often thought of that conversation (even though I can't even remember who I was talking with!) in life situations but also in my classroom. I make time for the things that I value-like reading Outlander or watching NCIS: LA. :) However, time is still elusive and slips away from me! I loved the excerpt from Better Than Life from this chapter: "Time spent reading is always time stolen"..."From life's obligations" (p. 217). That is such a cool and different way to think about reading-stealing time. I love it!! It is important that I remember that I have to take the time to read as well as show my students that reading is an action worthy of our time. As I was reading the chapter I found myself thinking of our schedule and how we are trying to tweak it to allow us more time for independent reading. This is something we are working on for next year and I am excited. I also miss my daily read-aloud time, but it was something I just didn't have time for! That's so not true! I just need to "steal the time" to do it every day! It would be worth every second.
I also like the idea of presenting mystery words every day or so for the kids to solve. I think it would be so much fun to give them a clue and some of the word's letters and have them investigate the possibilities until they found the correct word! I think this would help them to get excited about new words and make them more aware of new words they may encounter when reading independently.
I appreciated the way Routman ended the text with a discussion about "ensuring that our students love learning" (p.218). This has always been my number one goal as a teacher and I have often told those around me that test scores do not matter that much to me. What matters is that I helped to spark a fire: a love of knowledge and learning that will last forever. If someone learns to love learning they will never stop learning and that is what I hope for all of my students.
This year has been especially tough for many of us and I think a lot of that is because it seems like many people continuously try to suck the joy out of teaching. We can't let this happen-as I constantly have to remind myself. As Routman says, "If we are to create a thirst for knowledge and learning in our students and ourselves, we must put the joy back into our lives, savor the small victories, cheer our students on, and be unwavering advocates for them. Do whatever [we] need to do to guarantee that each and every student not only can learn but also savors learning" (p.221).
Amen. I agree with every word of the above quote and I hope I will always remember the truth and importance of her words.
Haha, I stole some time from life's obligations over spring break--I read the newest book by the author of "Life of Pi" called "The High Mountains of Portugal." It was very different, but I liked it because it kept me guessing as a reader, and the author beautifully wove themes throughout the book over expanses of time. (That's my newest "reading as a writer" obsession: how writers pass through time in their books.) But I majorly digress. :-) I like your idea about inquiring into new words instead of assigning them! I was just thinking earlier today--I wonder if anyone has ever compared vocabulary outcomes for a class that assigns vocabulary (like I experienced in school) with a class that encounters new vocabulary through books alone--no pre-determined list needed. And yes, you are right--though others can try to suck joy out of us, in the end it is we ourselves who choose joy. And no one can take that away from us once we've made that choice!! :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Keri,
ReplyDeleteI loved how Routman called us out too and asked us to stop complaining about not having enough time and to start doing better with the time we do have. This means we have to do more than change our schedules, we have to take a good hard look at the practices we are implementing and ask ourselves what's working, what's not, and what are we going to do about it.