On Jul 19, 2007, at 7:23 PM, Debbie Goodis wrote: > Renee, > First of all, I appreciate the conversation we have been having. > Believe me, I am hearing what you are saying. I can only hope that > this is an extreme exception. I will continue to look for the good in > all teachers I meet. Thank you for standing up for anyone who is > presumed guilty before all facts are known. I have to say this has > helped me see more than one side of the unions. I think it's good to > discuss these things. I have no plans to be a principal, but if I > change my mind, I will remember our exchange here and try to keep > things in perspective. > Debbie
Debbie, I greatly appreciate your words here and since I know I am one of the ones who heated up this discussion because of my strong feelings about unions and my experience in general, I want to make sure that everyone on this list understands that I am not trying to put anyone down. I think the best we can do as teachers is stand together and support each other. There will be bad apples in the teacher bunch just as in any profession. As for having students come to us who we think have been given a bum deal and who know nothing, I have been there too, but truly it has been the exception. Students who can decode like crazy but can't for the life of them tell me what they've read. Students who do just whatever they can to get a good score but do not in any way engage in the learning process. Students who hate to read because reading has previously been reduced to answering questions on a worksheet. Students who hate to read because they have never been allowed to choose their own reading. Students who can rattle off multiplication facts accurately but couldn't even begin to explain what it means to multiply, or to draw a picture showing a multiplication problem. The reality is that no teacher on earth is going to reach every student all of the time. And sometimes we run out of time. I think most of this is less due to bad teachers and more due to "too much curriculum" and the mistaken idea by teachers that they have to "cover everything" rather than making some choices. I can't speak for everyone else, but in California the standards are very nit-picky and the curriculum has been pushed down. It used to be that first graders were expected to be able to read (something) at the end of first grade; now, Kindergartners are expected to be able to read (something) at the end of Kindergarten. Make that February or March. When I was teaching third grade ten years ago, I was teaching multiplication and division. Now these are taught in second grade. Even first grade. Too much curriculum results in less learning, not more. Teachers know this, but those who write the standards are not elementary school teachers. The National Reading Panel had only one elementary school teacher on it. ONE. A good number of teachers.... even some on this list, I think.... are convinced that their job is to address all the standards at their grade level. It's not possible. It will never be possible. We can only do what we do, support each other in our efforts, and give other teachers the benefit of the doubt. In the end, if we teach students strategies for learning (Aha!) they will be ahead, even if we didn't get to all the standards. And the end is way out there. It isn't this June. A list like this one brings people together with a common goal. Specifically here, it is reading comprehension via the Mosaic strategies. Here's a little insight: I obtained my copy of "Mosaic of Thought" from a pile of "freebies" on a staff room table. Think about that. :-) Renee > > Renee <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Jul 19, 2007, at 6:00 PM, Debbie Goodis wrote: > >> Renee, >> Let me ask you this. Do you think that it is possible for someone to >> have gotten so lazy, so aware that nothing will be done about bad >> behavior, so engrossed in yet another "endeavor" to the extent that >> they would conduct other business on school time, that they would tell >> me that they don't need my grades because they already did the report >> cards, have parents yanking their kids out of her classroom as soon as >> they figure out what's up...trust me, I could go on...do you think it >> is possible that this could be going on???? > > Absolutely. > And I believe it is the extreme exception. > > Renee First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out-- because I was not a communist; Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out-- because I was not a socialist; Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out-- because I was not a trade unionist; Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out-- because I was not a Jew; Then they came for me-- and there was no one left to speak out for me. -Pastor Martin Niemöller, 1945 _______________________________________________ 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.
