EL Conference and Strategies

I recently attended a workshop through my district for EL education which was called, Six Practices for Strengthening SEI Lessons in Content Classrooms. This workshop was designed to provide teachers with a deeper understanding of how to identify, analyze, and develop Els academic language alongside content-area knowledge and skills using WIDA English Language Development Standards and other tools. The main concepts that were covered in the workshop were strategies to help incorporate speaking and listening standards within reading and writing projects, unpacking the WIDA Standards, Performance Definitions, and discussing strategies that can be used for reading, writing, listening, and speaking in the classroom.

To my surprise, the presenter talked more of an independent model where the ELL teacher was not present in the classroom but was used only as an advisor.  We are a district that strives on Professional Learning Communities, and the importance of collaboration.  It made me wonder if we were coming of an age where “the ELL teacher is not going to have time to create lesson plans with you” (actual quote from the presenter) or if the presenter was actually not aware of our district’s philosophy or professional learning community practices.

Although this presenter was presenting in Rhode Island, she was providing us with methods that was practiced in Massachusetts. In Massachusetts, we learned that ELL teachers do not get Professional Development within their field.  Instead it is geared for content areas for classroom teachers. Their model consists of a pull out services rather than team teaching. In my district, we have moved beyond the pull out model and the ELL teacher and content teacher collaborate together to create various methods suitable for their students through content.

Applying EL knowledge and standards to the regular classroom work did not seem to be the case for this workshop. Being certified in EL Education, this was a disappointment and what seemed to be a waste of my time in trying to enhance my skills. Ugh! 😡 Other teachers in the district agreed so a survey/reflection was communicated to the instructor for day 2.  The ELL Coordinators and presenters got together to revisit the needs of the teachers in the district and changes were made.  I thought this was an excellent way to communicate and collaborate.👏

The second day, the teachers were put in groups by grade level and an ELL teacher was present at each group.  Groups were split up according to grade levels and content.  The WIDA Standards were reviewed and more strategies were brought in to share with teachers.  Examples given were general strategies for differentiated instruction as well as eight other specific strategies that were good not only for EL learners but for all students.

We discussed how the present Common Core Curriculum has challenges in differentiating instruction but with EL Learners it is ESSENTIAL for those accommodations and differentiation to take place.  Connecting the CCSS with learning targets need to be used and reflected daily with students to be able to meet their needs.  It was reminded that the WIDA CAN DO INDICATORS are a vital role that can help create accommodations at different levels to support EL students in your class.  

Although I was disappointed with the first day of the workshop, I thought the second day was more helpful and informative.  I like to be inspired and get new ideas to bring back to my classroom.  It helps me stay refreshed and excited about what I am teaching.  I feel it is so important for a presenter to research their audience.  Just as writers, we need to think about author’s purpose and audience.  

WIDA Performance Definitions

CAN DO INDICATORS

EL Strategies for Instruction

Six Traits Writing 3/28

Six Traits Writing can be beneficial in regards to teaching students how to write.  There are six traits that when combined can help students become successful in writing. The traits consist of Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency and Conventions. (The Components of Writing) When teaching about the Six Traits of writing, you can focus on one trait at a time and increase a student’s confidence.  It is kid-friendly and easily understood at a young age.  

The benefits of using Six Traits Writing is that it gives teachers and students a common language to use when conferencing about pieces.  Districts that adopt the program can form consistency between teacher to teacher or grade levels. It chunks up the writing process so that it become manageable.  Having a rubric that is scored by each trait helps students to know what is expected, or what is considered “quality” writing.  This also helps with building a solid foundation for revision and editing.  

I personally like the Six Traits Model because I find it encourages writers when they see they are evaluated by a trait rather than a holistic score.  Students can reflect on what part of their writing has strengths and what other pieces need improvement. As a teacher, I like to reflect on ideas, organization, and voice first.  It makes a great connection to main ideas, supporting details, and author’s purpose.

March 21

ELL’s Writing Development

In this week’s readings Fu teaches us how important it is to have our ELL students read and write in their first language while learning English.  Research has shown that “literacy transfers across languages” (Cummins 1979, 1981; Eelsky 1982; Morage e Silva 1988.) As with any student, teaching ELLs how to enjoy writing and making it meaningful for them, will help them transfer writing from their first language to English.  More importantly, Fu reminds us that time should be given or our ELL students to write in their first language to engage in meaningful writing. I have seen this become successful in my own classroom.  I also believe it shows my students that I believe their language and culture is important and respected.

When I first had ELL students integrated into my classroom, I too, was stuck on the idea that if they wrote in their first language, I wouldn’t be able to tell if their writing was correct. The amount of time it took for my Emergent ELLs to transfer information from their first language to English was daunting for them.  My heart would go out to them.  I knew from my previous training in ELL that teaching the content was important, and “dumbing down” the curriculum was not acceptable.  So, I continued to teach the content and translated it to their native language.  Due to time restraints, I decided to let them write in their first language and although I couldn’t read it myself, the time they took to write it decreased immensely. Eventually, I would rely on Google translate on I-Pads where students had the ability to change the keyboard into their first language and eventually copy and paste their work into google translate so I could understand what they were writing.  Google Translate is NOT the best for translation, but it gave me bits and pieces of ideas and content that I could define.  I knew if I could pull out those pieces, I could assess my student’s understanding of the material.  

The current ELL teacher in my building did not want the students relying too much on a translator, so I would try to balance the lessons as best as I could.  Now, after reading about ELL’s writing development, I see that it was acceptable to do.  “Letting them continue to write in their first language gives them the opportunity to further develop these skills.  If we make them wait to engage in meaningful writing until they develop their English proficiency, the lack of practice in writing (in thinking) would result in the loss or decline not only of their native language but also of their newly gained skills as writers.” (Fu, Chapter 3, Pg. 29) Personally, I knew if I didn’t let them write in their native language, they would become bored, possibly depressed, or extremely aggravated.  It was important to me that my students knew I wanted their academic growth to be like that of their English speaking classmates.  In order to do that, I had to learn to teach where my ELL’s were, and what they were able to do.  

Conceptualizing Artifactual Literacies:  A Framework

When I think of using artifacts from a student’s life and how it can motivate students to write as well as give us a window into a child’s history, or life or culture, it is pretty interesting.  The reading outlines that artifacts cannot only be physical, but can be created, found, carried, hidden, evoked in language or even worn.  Artifacts can involve people’s lives, stories, thoughts, communities, identities, and experiences.  These experiences can help us to connect to the part of our students we don’t always know.

Although the reading goes into detail about the different type of literacies, it states the importance of using literacy as power.  Using literacy as power, teachers can use their critical theory lens to connect to students lives and everyday experiences.  They can learn to write for justice.  “Students can bring their own ways of being, doing, and feeling-their acquired dispositions-into writing.” (Rowsell & Pahl, 2007)

Question #2 Quickwrite March 14, 2017

I greatly agree with Gallagher in making room in your curriculum to give many many opportunities for students to write.  I believe students should write EVERY day. Quick writes, annotated notes, responses to literature, different structures and genres, spelling sentences, daily prompts, etc. Writing also needs to be taught in other content areas like science, social studies, math, and health.  I also believe that it’s most effective when students’ writing is monitored and you have an opportunity to talk to them about the WHAT and WHY they are writing. (Author’ purpose and audience)

Modeling is a MUST.  We cannot expect our students to write if we do not model how it is to  be done.  Collaborating on it as a class, having students invest in their ideas is so important.  I like to use different color markers to revise and edit and encourage my students to do this as well.  There is no erasing allowed.  Only crossing out.  This way students see that writing takes time, and we are never done on the first draft.  My famous quote is “you’re not done, you’ve only just begun!”  (Can you see the eyes rolling now?)

I remember a time I modeled how to answer a comprehension question. Processes that were discussed and shared were things like, restating the question, answering the question with evidence to prove your answer, and adding elaboration to support it. (I still had students answering questions with a lowercase b and the word because….)  After working on it together, and seeing the things I changed and the different colors of revision, and modeling how to go back and reread questions to determine all parts, students referred to the process like answering a math word problem.  They were able to connect the process through another content area.

One of my Tier III students who sees the reading specialist for ELA, came back one day after this lesson and told me the reading specialist asked him to read me his answer to the question he had that day. Long story short, he had answered the question by restating it, answering it, used evidence from the text, and elaborated on his answer.  The reading specialist was so impressed with his response, she pulled me aside to share her enthusiasm.  What was more important though, is that we both made a big deal about how well he wrote ,which made an impression on the student and his perception of how he was as a writer.  

In conclusion, even if it’s only 10 minutes, I try to get my students to write every day.  Modeling and creating anchor charts of models is key.  As Gallagher says, we can’t expect students to play in a basketball game, if they have never been taught to understand the game.

March 14

THE POLITICS OF THE PARAGRAPH

Paragraph essay formulas are often used to teach students structures of how an essay is to be written.  It is made with good intentions to help a student learn how to organize their paper.  I am guilty of this as my acronym for writing an essay is ANSWER.  A = Analyze the question, N = Make a Note Plan, S = Skim, read and select, W = Write the response, and finally, ER = End by revising.(www.keystoliteracy.com) What is really more important than students trying to memorize this acronym is what each of these letters actually means.  Modeling and teaching what each letter truly represents is key.  For example:  Analyzing a question means that the student has to determine the essential question and task of which is being asked.  As readers, they need to determine what kind of evidence is required. I believe with the time constraints of the fast paced world of education we live in, many teachers are not modeling or writing with their students as much as they need.  After reading this article by Kenney, I too, realize I am guilty of this as well.

 I agree with Kenney when she writes how “systems like these encourage students to produce shallow, fast-food versions of paragraphs that don’t allow much elbow room for creativity or critical thinking, yet lend themselves to speed grading by a standardized test scorer or an overworked instructor only 50 essays into a stack of 160 on a Sunday night.”  I find this true.  For example, when my students fill out their answer template and move on to their writing, many of them put their notes together and piece them to make sentences. They sound listy, rushed, and are missing the concept of a structured paragraph with a main idea and supporting details. They still ask me, “Is this enough?”  They still turn their font to 24 to make a sentence or two appear to look like a paragraph. Our students are being asked to create essays with multiple paragraphs when they still truly don’t understand what components make up a paragraph.

I also agree with the author when she states that “Formulaic Writing is NOT Engaged Writing.” I can tell you every time I tell my students we will be working on an opinion piece or some type of essay writing, I ALWAYS get moans and groans.  After reading Kenney’s article, I am hoping I can change that by modeling more and finding ways to pull out their creativity.  I might even take the ANSWER template away and ask them to write on their own without worrying so much about having a certain structure and see what happens!

GALLAGHER CHAPTERS 2-4

In Gallagher’s three readings this week, he mainly talks about “The Neglected R” not having enough time to write, Teachers as a Writing Model, and Using Real-World Models to elevate student writing.  

In Chapter 2, Gallagher expresses the need for writing to be taught and evaluated in all content areas. This is something my district has always made important.  We write in ELA, Writing, Social Studies, Health, and Science.  We try our best to incorporate research skills into other content areas as well.  I was shocked to see that Langer and Applebee revealed that 97 percent of elementary school students write less than three hours a week and that 75 percent of high school seniors are never given writing assignments in social studies.(Gallagher, Ch 2, pg. 8) Am I to think that other content teachers are assuming that it is the English teacher’s job? Wow!  

Overall the chapter helped me realize how much our students need to practice their writing.  Gallagher relates this to not sending a student to play basketball if he/she has never been trained in it.  It’s a logical thought to believe the same of writing skills. When people are going out to college and the work force not being able to write, we are doing a disservice to our youth.  When companies are paying money to send their employees for writing instruction, a Writing Revolution is definitely in order!

What I took most from Chapter 3 was that when I model writing, my students need to see my struggles.  Often times, I produce an example or model for them to refer to when they haven’t seen the process beforehand. If students see how I think out loud, change a phrase, revise a sentence, add details, etc, they will see how much work it actually is.  This makes total sense!  No wonder some of my students don’t think they are good writers.  From their viewpoint, they are probably wondering why the process takes them so long and want to be able to get it right away. I feel I want to try this to see if my student’s anxiety in writing will decrease.

Chapter 4 reminded me of the importance of linking reading and writing together to make my students better writers.  I like how Gallagher refers to the lengths of writing having to be as long as a string.  Cutting it when the writer sees fit.  It never fails, no matter how many times I say it, “it will be as long as you need to prove to me your understanding, etc, they still ask. “How long does it have to be?”  I want to teach my students how to be creative and informative without thinking of a certain criteria is has to fit into.  Using models from the outside world and having students discover main ideas and supporting details can definitely help them create their paragraphs and opinions in a more complete manner. From restaurant menus, newspapers, magazines, and movie reviews, students can study and take notes on writings that connect to the real world.  Gallaher started the chapter by saying “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all else: read a lot and write a lot.”  I understand it is my job as an educator to make sure my students do just that.  Most importantly I need to show them the purpose behind what they are writing and how it will help them in and out of the classroom.  My take away from these three chapters is I need to MODEL more!

Personal Learning Technology

The Dreaded Inquiry Tool

While reading about the online inquiry tool, a slow anxious feeling continued to sit in my chest.  My first thought was, “Oh my God, Personalized Learning Technology will take over my job.” “I’m going to become unemployed.”  I saw visions of students with sound canceling headphones on their heads with their eyes glued to a computer monitor, sitting in rows and columns inside a room of white walls. I’m sorry, are we creating students to become lifelong learners or are we producing robots?

The Inquiry tool sounds just about perfect! (sarcasm) It’s formulated so precisely that this tool can differentiate instruction, provide endless streams of information for learning, and everything has an algorithm.  This is suppose to break down the “one size fits all” theory?  It will be cost efficient and a dynamic learning experience, all done with the right pace, difficulty, and tailored to the students’ specific needs. Adams claimed in the article that is was the “key to economic growth.” “The American Dream.”  American dream for whom?  It sounds like a factory producing EXACTLY what society wants them to become.

Products.  This is what comes to mind of what our children will become.  Products of the school society we will have created. Products produced and marked and tracked with the intention to make our economy grow.  Are we truly creating innovating learning environments this way? The objective behind the inquiry tool is to get our students ready for 21st Century Skills, developing curriculum in a way to get our students ready for college and careers, through the power of technology.  What about the power of human interaction?  What about the social and emotional needs of our students?

“Oh wait!”  The inquiry tool can also measure grit, tenacity, perseverance along with any other physiological process.  “Are you kidding me?!” Children are already showing a decrease in social skills, let's just hook them up to a computer that analyzes how they are feeling as well.  That way no one will know how to have authentic human relationships. I have to wonder as well, if a student’s learning is so precisely mapped out for them, how will the react when they find themselves in their first challenging college assignment or a daunting task which they need to be able to tackle on their first job? I predict they would crumble under the pressure, because there wasn’t a human teaching them for the last 5 years, it was a computer, who is always accurate but did not teach them how to persevere or problem solve. Yes, this inquiry tool scares me.  Just a little.

Balancing Talk with Technology to Truly Personalize Learning

I agree with Coiro when she speaks of a difference between personalized versus personal approaches.  She makes a good point in explaining how “students have the ability to move through sequenced activities at their own pace but, often they have little choice in selecting the activities they engage with and even less control over how they demonstrate understanding.” Yes, students do go through their personalized lists independently, but it also lacks collaboration of other students that enables engaging conversation that leads to other types of interests and learning opportunities.  It also lacks looking at problems students may be having at home or at school or within their community. The critical theorists must be having a fit!

She also mentions blended learning and when done the right way, there are teachers (Thank God) and students that use both digital sources and accountable conversations. Progressively, I still see a classroom with students engaged in conversations, moving around the room, and discussing issues and text with evidence and enthusiasm.  I just can’t imagine sitting in front of a computer dictating everything you do in your day and mapping out exactly what you need to learn.  Kids are already restless and tired from sitting all day.  What will happen if most of their time is on a computer?  I predict health issues, depression, and obesity will rise.   

Coiro does give suggestions on how to implement both digital resources and an active engaging classroom of discussion.  Critical literacy is still important to incorporate in our curriculum because students need to know their lives, opinions, and interests matter.  Students need to know their voices can be heard.  It may be these students who may change the way our education system is going, so we need to prepare them well!

Poetry Promotes Passion

In reading Christensen’s chapter about poetry this week, I was inspired to teach poetry in a whole new way.  Looking at the 3 roles she writes about in this chapter made a connection for me in seeing poetry in a whole new light.  

The first role:  Community Builder

I have always tried to make my classroom the type where students felt they could take a risk and that their ideas, cultures, and heritages would be respected and heard.  I agree that students sharing their lives, whether good or bad, helps them to identify who they are and why they are important. Building those communities while working on academics helps make a connection between others who have similar challenges or joys.  Students seeing they are not alone, or have things in common with others, gives them hope and strength.  For teachers, we get a chance to know the “whole child” while practicing compassion and empathy. As students learn to actively listen to their peers, it helps spark an interest about sharing things more personal in their lives.  Setting this stage as a class community will play as a stepping stone onto content and political areas.

The second role:  Grammar Text

Christensen talks about teaching poetry all year long.  Many times we are tied to curriculum maps and pacing guides that tell us what and when to teach it.  Christensen reminds us that if we don’t build these opportunities into the curriculum, students may never get the chance to genuinely write. We need to listen to our students, learn about their lives, and then locate the right poems or stories that they can relate too.  In turn, we can create lessons that incorporate parts of speech and descriptive writing.

Her strategy of using 1 crayon to highlight repeated words or phrases, and the other to locate vocabulary words helps build their skills in identifying parts of speech, while building stamina in their pieces. Her idea of identifying vocabulary and using word lists is something I’d like to try this semester during my poetry unit.  

My district is currently struggling with the “right tools” or “references” to teach grammar in the elementary schools.  Christensen’s techniques gives students a chance to learn how to use grammar and language effectively.  Teaching skills in isolation on worksheets is no longer the norm.  There is simply not enough time.  I agree that teaching students how to pay close attention to detail, while they are writing something that is meaningful to them, is simply more effective.  

The third role:  Literary Tutor

I really like the idea of using poetry to demonstrate understanding of content. I’ve done this in my classroom but not to this extent.  It is more of a choice for a finished project for science or social studies. Not only are students learning about metaphors and what they mean, but they use the same skills to help them develop ideas for essays.  I now know why writing a poem for this week’s RAFT assignment was an option.

Finding the Poems that Hide: Why Students Should Write Poetry

When I read the poem Forgotten Things by Kati Macalusco, the first thing I felt was sadness.  In reading her thoughts that followed, I realized when she talks about the “space between experience and language,” her poem was written in a way that put me in that “space.”  Her explanation is so clear when she speaks of just telling her husband what happened at the grocery store would not do it justice.  She wrote the poem  in a way that made me feel sad for the elderly lady, just as she experienced it herself.

It made me think of times we may experience something, and how it impacts us emotionally, but when we try to explain to someone, and they are not feeling the intensity we did, it doesn’t seem validated or understood.  I can now see how poetry can help students express their own experiences during those times.

February 14

Coteaching

In our first reading (Emdin Chapter 5) we learn about 3 different types of  co-teaching.  The first is two adult teachers working together to deliver content.  It is explained that the teachers work together to decide who will teach what according to their expertise.  Although collaboration is positive, the negative is that the focus can shift from their students to teachers learning how to work together in such close quarters during a 6.5 hour day.  Personally, I think having a co-teacher would be very productive.  In fact, a DREAM!  Many times the demands of student needs and curriculum on the shoulders of one teacher can be overwhelming.  We are in a world of IEPs, PLPs, MLP, and  RTI plans, which include both academic and social emotional interventions.  It is challenging to teach and supply the interventions needed on a daily basis to students with these plans alone.  Having a teammate would be ideal and efficient in my eyes!

The second form of co-teaching is a teaching-learning opportunity.  An experienced teacher and a student or novice teacher both lead a classroom with the veteran teacher modeling practices while slowly giving responsibilities to the other. I have never had a student teacher.  The thought of adding on another responsibility is stressful to me, but I know I would love to do it.  I also think it would help me grow more as an educator because I would be forced to reflect more intently on practices as well as learning outcomes and community of my class. I’m also a bit of a control freak, so having someone take over my classroom would force me to try new things and think or do things I might not try or have thought about.  I also think having a novice teacher who is eager to learn, could bring fresh ideas and creativity to the table.  

The last form of co-teaching discussed is the inclusion classroom featuring one general educator and the other a special educator.  It can be effective because the students are a mix of general educated students and children who have behavior problems and or learning disabilities. They are exposed to the grade level curriculum while having the support staff and resources they need to succeed.  I taught in an inclusion classroom for 3 years with a special educator and a teacher assistant.  It was one of the most challenging jobs I ever had.  General education students were mixed with students with special needs, primarily with learning disabilities.  The second year, administration decided to add behaviorally challenged students to the mix.  THIS WAS NOT EFFECTIVE!  Due to the challenges that were faced to maintaining a safe environment, the students did not always have good models to reflect upon and instead of things getting easier, everything was extremely hard.  Emdin expressed in the chapter that “Students are well aware which teacher occupies which role and because of hierarchies that privilege the content expert over the other teacher, inherit a respect for one teacher and a disrespect for the other.”  I found this NOT to be true in the 3 years I did this.  My team teacher and I always worked together in a way that I believe was a true team.  On the other hand, I did see this perception from my students with my teacher assistant.  No matter what, I always told my colleagues we were a team.  If one of us made a decision for the class, we had to support it.  It was like parenting...once you said “no,” you expect your significant other  to back you up and say “no” too.

Gallagher Chapter 5

My favorite take away from this reading is on page 93. “We tell students that writing is worthwhile. They tell us they don’t like to write.  We scoff at that, telling them that the big game is coming (the state-mandated writing exam).  We insert them into pressure writing situations (their efforts will be scrutinized and graded).  When they finish the “game” they are grateful that it is over and hope not to write again any time soon.

This really hit home for me.  I fear that the same may be perceived by my own students. Even though I always think I am giving them great feedback and telling them how impressed I am with their writing, I now know, it is not enough.  “Tests come and go, but attitudes about writing can be lifelong. (Page 93) Already I am thinking about ways I could possibly change their outlook on writing by taking a break from “standardized” writing and finding something of more interests to them.  I totally agree with the notion of “taking a step back before we can move forward.”  Looking through the ten ideas to get students to write was refreshing to me.  I’m going to give a few a try.  If I am asked by administration what my students are writing about, my reply will be, “I am taking a step back so that my students can move forward.”

Christensen Chapter 2

All I can say is “Wow!”  This chapter was loaded with so much enriching and powerful information to teach Narrative writing.  I especially like the technique she uses called blocking.  One of the things I say in writing is, “show don’t tell.”  Blocking is a strategy I can use to help the students visualize the scene.  I agree with why teaching narrative writing matters.  Sharing and discussing students’ lives brings us to the reality of the “whole child.” Integrating stories and read alouds, making sure you have a variety of cultural and ethnical authors, helps students to identify with themselves.  If a classroom is created with a welcoming community, students are more apt to feel comfortable enough to share and take risks.

I was also reinforced with the fact that not all of what my kids write, needs to be published.  Whoosh writing pieces or quick writes can be drafts with maybe the student only picking one to publish.  I find it is important to write, a lot, every day.  I like how she recommends color coding to help with their revisions.  I use this technique for persuasive writing, but now I know how I can use it for narratives! I also want to try the Read-Around Procedure. (So exciting!)

Testing...Testing...

“What meets the standard?”  “What is the criteria?”  “How long does it have to be?”  “How many paragraphs do you want?”  These questions are common in today’s standardized learning  environments.  We as teachers strive for our students to succeed so we unpack the standards, integrate them into our classrooms as best we can and try our best to keep up.  But I have to question...what are we really teaching our students?  To be good test takers?  What are our roles as teachers now?  To become assessors rather than teachers?  EVERYTHING is based on data.  How do we keep up with what is expected while instilling the desire to question and investigate and strive for success into our young students’ minds?  
Many times I am afraid we are giving them mixed messages about achievement.  Consistently, baseline tests are given with the purpose to group students by ability so more efficient teaching can take place to fill gaps of concepts not yet mastered.  We tell them, “Don’t worry.  This does not go on your report card.”  “It’s more information for me, so I can see where you are and where I need to go next in my teaching.”  Their reply, “So this doesn’t count?  It doesn’t matter?” The conversations that follow can be very confusing and frustrating.  If students don’t understand the point of what they are expected to do, they do not invest in it.  Computerized tests of such formative assessments for math, pop up a percentage score when it is complete.  The student is concerned.  They see a 68%.  I have to tell them, “The score doesn’t matter, it’s finding out for me what needs to be taught.”  We are giving our youth, mixed messages! They want to do well, but they still feel the pressure and stress, no matter how you try to conceal it.  I have to question not just PARCC testing but ALL of this excessive data collecting as did Johnson and Richer  in saying, “This contributes to the cycle of self-doubt, struggles, and potential failure for my students.” (Johnson and Richer, RIC, July, 17, 2015)

School Improvement Plans are shared with parents and school committees.  What is the common thread, that all in favor, need to see to prove school achievement?  DATA!  Looking at the PARCC score data from the previous year, even though it is old and no longer valid, all those involved want to see an increase in scores.  Ridiculous expectations are made in SLO’s set by administration to close the “gap” and aim for higher achievement.  If not met, those SLO’s are not met, and teacher’s status as highly qualified will decline.  “However, simply setting Academic experiences must be designed to increase students’ sense of self-efficacy as well.” (Johnson and Richer, RIC, July 17, 2015)  Are we losing our focus of teaching the whole child?  I can’t help but think we are skimming skills from the top and not giving students enough time to dig deep into analyzing, predicting, and thoroughly learning any one content. Time is always against us.  Thirty-six percent  of teachers are reporting spending “over 15 hours preparing students for the content of the test” (Johnson and Richer, RIC, July 17, 2015) What could I do with 15 extra hours?  I know, I could actually teach!
Don’t get me wrong.  I do think standards are important.  I like having a guideline of what they need to know, and how I’m going to get them there.  But I do feel that long are the days where a teacher’s own creativity and ideas and theories were considered in a professional manner.  Many teachers feel they are not heard or their  expertise is simply not good enough.  I wonder if that culture is slowly seeping into our students’ perception of their learning as well.  A rubric can say “Almost There” but to a student, it is a failing grade.  They did not “meet the standard.”  

As teachers we need to think of ways to instill self-worth in our students.  Bring out their uniqueness and inspire them to question the norm.  In class we are learning how important it is to incorporate current events and political views into literacy.  Now that we are into our third year of PARCC testing, it could be a topic that could be explored and brought to engage students in expressing their point of view.  I am curious if such an inquiry has been investigated.   

What Does it Mean to be Literate in our Society?

The idea of being literate is understanding how to use oral and written communication for thinking and behaving in society.  What I question is whether the skills and knowledge has been properly offered and/or taught to ALL members of society.  Are we truly teaching literacy in a way that includes both political and social practice or are we picking and choosing ways in which to maintain social order?  

Teaching basic literacy skills in reading and writing helps prepare people for employment preparation.  Functional Literacy provides the skills needed to be active members of both educational and societal settings. Due to the fact that this resides in the range of 4th-6th grade ability, we are teaching people “how to read as opposed to reading to learn.” (Shannon, 1989, Myers, 1996)  Curriculum used to educate students at this level can appear to be “pre-packaged and restrictive” (Kelly, 1997, p. 10)  Missing is the lack of encouragement needed to challenge texts or ideas to promote critical thinking.   Research shows us that students that tend to fall in this category are ethnic minorities, or low working class people.  History proves that turning our heads, possibly having pre-conceived notions that they don’t want to work toward becoming educated,  have kept them maintained in social inequality.

Our students need to be heard.  Culture needs to be appreciated and discovered.  Standards are a cookie cutter way of teaching skills that will promote learning and promotion in society, but what happens to those students where English is not their first language?  Are we properly engaging them in experiences and literature that provides them with opportunities to discover, question, or analyze? Do we promote their values or knowledge in literacy or politics?  “The greater the intellectual and emotional involvement in learning, the more effectively the brain learns, uses, and retains what is learned.” (Weaver, 1988, p.7)  What gets muddy is how to examine questions of culture, power, and politics in a way that is effective without administration or parents believing we have our own hidden agendas or promoting our own political views or abusing our power of social status.  

The NCTE states a purpose of writing is to develop reasoning with others to improve society.  We need to embrace people from all walks of life and add their language to ours and learn from them as well.  As educators we need to strategically incorporate our students’ backgrounds, regardless of race, ethnicity, or economical status.  Collaboration is needed to look at ways to teach the skills needed to actively participate in society while at the same time including their own lived experiences and background knowledge that they bring to our classrooms.  

In a world where Growth Mindset promotes “hard work will make you successful” we need to supply the resources necessary to help them reach it.  Many poverty stricken students watch their parents work hard every day and see no improvement or change in their lives. Children are simply lacking things like  food, clothing, and  emotional stability to be prepared to learn.  What are ways in which our school systems are addressing this?  How are we as a society fixing this? History has taught us only the elite were allowed to earn an education.  Now that we are in the 21st Century, has anything really changed?

SED 445

Teaching for Joy and Justice

Christensen  

In Teaching for Joy and Justice, Linda Christensen shares her belief of uncovering brilliance by saying “Teaching for joy and justice also begins with the non-negotiable belief that all students are capable of brilliance.” (Christensen 2009, p.2) We as educators, have new students that arrive to our classrooms every year, each carrying their own backpack of experiences and skills. We have to keep in mind and respect each of their cultures and heritages.  Some of their school experiences  have scared them to believe they are not “good” in school or have fallen into a learned helplessness. “But just because students lack skills doesn’t mean they lack intelligence.” (Christensen 2009, p.2)

This quote is one that I agree with and strive to seek in my students. It is non-negotiable.  Making a connection with students individually is such an important part of this process. When I look back at students in my past who came to me struggling to write, and remember the growth they have made I know uncovering their brilliance was a part of it.  A practice I use in my classroom is the power of the word YET.  It is easy to say, “I’m not good at writing.” However when you put the word YET after it, and make a student say it, it reinforces how everything takes practice.  

Part of using the word YET is the way I conference with a student about their writing.  First, I go over all of the great things I noticed.  Next, it’s the student’s turn to share with me what they noticed or are most proud of.   I encourage how “brilliant” they are. After we have both shared,  I focus on one thing I’d like them to continue to develop.   Christensen’s experience with her student Jerald taught her to “teach the writer, not the paper.”  Gaining your students’ trust encourages them to bring out their “brilliance.”

Teaching Adolescent Writers

Kelly Callagher

Chapter 1 Reflection

Although I am currently an Elementary Teacher, I find Callagher’s Top Ten Writings Wrong in Secondary Schools (Teaching Adolescent Writers, 2006, p.9-10) up for debate.  For example, Number 3 states:  “Below-grade-level writers are asked to write less than others instead of more than others.” Callagher defines this as a “wrong” in teaching writing, that students are doing less writing and more worksheets.  I’d like her to define worksheets.

Graphic organizers are a way to help a struggling writer organize their thoughts and sort information.  Are graphic organizers considered a worksheet?  If writing down information in phrases or in a bulleted list is where the student is currently performing , how can you expect them to write more?

Gallagher also states, “these students, who need twice as much writing instruction, end up receiving half the writing instruction of others.  In essence, this approach ensures that these students will never catch up.”  (Gallaher, 2006, p.9-10) Never is a strong word.  I have actually found the opposite can be true.

With current RTI practices and Professional Learning Communities, teachers are finding more time out of a child’s schedule to get what they academically need.  Data collection of students’ progress shows the effectiveness of these practices.

For example, a technique used during a writing workshop model is small group instruction.  It is efficient as the student is getting access to the curriculum, then getting the attention he or she needs to grow as a writer. Using techniques such as a graphic organizer, (worksheet) or a sequencing chart, (worksheet), or a word web, (worksheet) are effective ways to guide and scaffold instruction that promotes success.  

I believe a few things on her list could be called generalizations that if a young impressionable teacher were to hear, “students will never catch up” they may believe it.  Education has changed greatly since this book was published. So much has changed in the last 10 years. I question if these Top Ten Writing Wrongs are still happening in secondary schools.

Radical Eyes for Equity

Confronting “our rigid refusal to look at ourselves”

By James Baldwin

Baldwin makes us look at best practices and if they align with our authentic and critical goals.  He suggests if they don’t align then we need to change them.  This is much harder than it sounds.  More often than not, we are pressured as educators to conform to “best practices” by teaching certain standards by certain times of the year.  We are micromanaged to the point where data is collected on spreadsheets that track student growth.  Meetings are made with administrators when students are not making proper growth and you are asked, “What will you be doing to make this population grow?” followed by a 6 week follow up meeting where you need to bring evidences of growth from student work pieces.  Student Learning Objectives, (SLO) are being written by administrators setting incredibly high expectations of growth that are affecting our teacher rating and evaluation score.  These are just a few things that get in the way of having freedom in our classroom and curriculum. Lou LaBrant states, “Teaching and teachers have been profoundly and negatively impacted by external forces for a century at least, and those corrosive forces have been intensified during the recent thirty plus years.”  We are held accountable for all aspects of our student population from academics to social and emotional health.  

Remaining true is the idea to teach students. Providing a classroom where students are comfortable to take risks and asking yourself as an educator, “What is best for students?”  Teachers need to downplay the stress of data collection and not make assessments  the main purpose of their learning.  Instead, as educators we need to encourage our students’ values, identity, and lead them to ways they can connect their lives and purposes through literature.