The reading The Schools We Have. The Schools We Need. by Richard Allington was an eye opening call to action for current and future educators. So many notions that have been either overtly or more covertly implemented in classrooms are the sources of many flaws in literacy education. I liked reading all the 'versus' paragraphs in the article. For instance, experience versus ability. Associating reading experience with ability has caused students to be labeled unfairly at a young age and haunted by it throughout their school years and even beyond that. How has this contributed to an already hard to break cycle for children from backgrounds that are not conducive to literacy?
Every child a reader: What one teacher can do had some great tips on how to turn personal theories into effective practices. That being said, my personal favorite was 'Put your theory into action.' It is so important to know yourself as an educator and to persist with those attitudes despite facing setbacks. Putting the practices learned in college or picked up in field experience into action is the only way to ensure schools will continue to proactively evolve. Are there any practices you have seen in your practicum or learned in class you will strive to implement in your future classroom?
This has contributed to many cycles that we cannot break within the reading cycle. many students do not experience reading in their lives outside of school. As a result they fail within the school and on assessments that use words and readings they cannot relate to.
ReplyDelete