I think that is a wonderful analogy, Lori. Or how about doctors treating all patients with the same meds or procedures, no matter what the illness. Barb ----- Original Message ----- From: "ljackson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group" <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2007 6:46 AM Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Repeated Readings for Fluency - Question for Tim
> We are hosting Michael Smith (Reading Don't Fix No Chevys) and my husband > and I went to dinner with him last night. In two hours of conversation, > the > issue oft the image and perception of teachers came up. He made the point > that as a group, teachers have failed as of late to communicate the > complexity and challenges of our profession. Therefore, as sense that > expertise or intelligence has made programs like Teach For America seem > like > sensible solutions. Please note that personally I have had nothing but > admiration and respect for these dedicated young people on an individual > basis, but I would agree whole heartedly that as a movement, this is just > not good for education. > > I also have to wonder about the role that Hollywood plays in all of this. > I > used to think all those feel good Hollywood scenarios where the wide-eyed > visionary turns the school around were inspirational but I have really > come > to wonder otherwise. I read an article in the New York Times ticking off > he > numbers and realities for a long line of these super-teachers, and not one > on the list of 'based-on-actual-experience' super-teachers was still > teaching after five years. Two comments: we do see a lot of bright, young > teachers leaving teaching but I am also concerned at the message these > films > send about the rest of the teachers. Somehow if we all just cared enough, > were passionate enough...the ills of the educational society would just > fade > away. > > I am passionate, and I care deeply...honestly, look around you and I still > feel that the halls of our institutions are still populated primarily by > people who do, or at least, people who did at one point in their careers. > NCLB has made us scapegoats, responsible collectively for the failures of > education and, indirectly, the failures of the community, of the society. > We are messaged by all the programs and pundits that if we just stuck to a > program, we could save the world. No one would dream of suggesting our > Foreign Ambassadors, each working with uniquely different groups of people > around the world, lay aside their personal knowledge of their populations > and needs to adopt some sort of standardized, prescriptive approach. That > may not be the strongest example, but you get the general idea. > > I am not quite sure how to do it, but we need to take back our profession > and re-embody it. > > Lori > > > On 7/10/07 11:26 PM, "Beverlee Paul" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> I have to agree, with reservations. I think our profession is going to >> be >> gone as a profession if something doesn't change. And it'll go with "a >> whimper not a bang." Too many with integrity and intelligence just plain >> won't be able to stand seeing that script one more time. They'll go. >> And >> the ones left? They'll be the ones who cruise in 10 minutes before >> school >> to take up their post and administer the day. >> >> >> Well, I also think teachers have allowed this to happen. It is not only >> the decision-makers who have taken leave of their senses.... it is a >> great number of teachers in the trenches as well. There are a lot of >> teachers who *like* DIBELS, who *like* Open Court, who *like* SRA, who >> *like* Success for All, who *like* Star Reading, who *like* computer >> tests, who *like* Saxon Math, who *like* Excel Math, who *like* >> programs that tell them what to do, who *like* assessments that give >> them a number to go by. >> >> And way too many teachers who don't like these programs but who just go >> along and do whatever they are told without thinking about it, without >> speaking up, without making a case for something better. >> >> Way, way too many, in fact. >> At least that's how it is where I live. >> >> _________________________________________________________________ >> http://imagine-windowslive.com/hotmail/?locale=en-us&ocid=TXT_TAGHM_migration_ >> HM_mini_pcmag_0507 >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Mosaic mailing list >> [email protected] >> To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to >> http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. >> >> Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. >> > > -- > Lori Jackson > District Literacy Coach & Mentor > Todd County School District > Box 87 > Mission SD 57555 > > http:www.tcsdk12.org > ph. 605.856.2211 > > > Literacies for All Summer Institute > "Literate Lives: A Human Right" > July 12-15, 2007 > Louisville, Kentucky > > http://www.ncte.org/profdev/conv/wlu > > > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > [email protected] > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > > _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. 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