> I hear you Joan. We have a scripted program in the secondary schools in our district. They keep talking how wonderful it is and how much it has helped the students but haven't seen any concrete evidence. Plus, it sooo boring for the students and me. It is mostly fluency based. AND I have people--program police-- (who are not educators--not even close) monitoring seven weeks out of the year. To make sure we never digress from their manual. It is very depressing at times I feel like I am holding my breath. I have practically begged my superintendent to come observe but not once in three years. I believe some have lost what it is like to be a teacher. It should be mandated they spend so many hours in the classroom a year and working the "programs" they bought.
Have you read "Reading for Profit"? It really opens your eyes to why we have these programs. It is nuts! Why can't administrators see that we are not all the same and we need to be making thinkers and dreamers not little robots. I hold on to wonderful authors and positive influences like Ellin Keene and Cheryl Sigmon and Stephanie Harvey to keep me up on the latest. Hope and pray this craziness will pass! Rhonda Our district has truly implemented the scripted reading program this year > Everyone in the district in the same grade (30 + elementary schools) are > on the same story and the same day. We all take the same tests on the > same days at the end of every unit. It doesn't matter if your kids find > it easy or hard. You stay with the program because it (HM) has been > developed by experts and we need to follow it. Under our literacy coach, > we have meetings to plan exactly what we will be teaching, and on what > day, for each story. Our lessons plans state the objectives, what and how > we will be teaching the reading comprehension, phonics/word work, and > language (writing/grammar) for every story. > > The district was named a program improvement district last year. Even > though the school I teach at does extremely well (within the top 10% of > the state) we have to follow the script. Our individualism is in our > "must do's" and "may do's". > > The paper today came out with an article stating that Reading First > schools following a highly scripted program didn't do any better than > other schools that didn't follow this approach. > > I don't think the pendulum will swing back towards teacher judgment before > I retire. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Saturday, May 03, 2008 12:53 PM > To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group; understand > Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] teacher expertise was off topic math conversation > >> Bonita >> You are the best...truly! > > Wow, I am blushing. This list seems like one of the only places that I > can come and divulge my thinking and feel supported rather than dismissed > with an eye roll! > >> What a fascinating and thoughtful question! I will reply and ask you to >> consider cross-posting a version of it on the To Understand list where >> there are >> some other souls who might be interested in discussing the topic. (I am >> hoping that those of you on both lists will understand why that might be >> a good >> thing to do.) > > I have cross posted and hope for no fireworks. I am wondering if this > conversation is best left on the To Understand list?? > >> Your post is of personal interest to me right now. We have had, up to >> this >> point, a fantastic reading intervention in our district called Reach. > > What a sad story you shared as to the dismantling of that program. I am > so sorry when I see these things occur. And I wonder who takes > responsibility? It is like when corporations (wide bonita-type connection > that will not make sense to others).., when corporations do bad things to > people-like knowingly polluting waters, or knowingly using slave-labor, I > always think, "Who made that call? Who was the person who said--hey--let's > do THAT--?" > >> Bonita, a colleague of mine always says that a good, quality curriculum >> is a >> floor...not the ceiling. > > Love this idea. I think experienced teachers can teach without programs > after a while. I really do. But then I need standards, if I am to work > in a grade-level based environment without a given curriculum. Standards > offer some guide to help me be sure I have taught what is needed for the > next grade. I mean this for a grade level based environment-the system > really does dictate the details. In a different system (no grade levels) > it might be less linear/list like and more holistic. > >>We need that...but we also need even more, teachers >> who understand how kids learn to read, how to respond to the different >> needs >> of the children in front of them. Lesson study, to me, would fill the >> second >> requirement, but not the first. Lesson study is about the process of >> teaching, to me, not a way to find out what to teach. > > I think we found a little cross over into curriculum in lesson study, but > only in the particulars--and I think that occurs as a result of the > interconnectedness of all that we do as teachers. Again, probably why we > keep wandering "off topic," too. > >> As a beginning teacher, I would have been lost without my anthology >> teachers >> guide. It is a floor...but by now, I don't even crack open the >> covers..and >> there is no way I feel that I know enough to say I have the ceiling in >> sight! > > Yes. That is what I was trying to say above. On the other hand, my > teammate (25 years experience) and I (15 years experience) took on a new > teacher who planned and organized with us in total partnership. She grew > quite confident without a text or program in her first year of teaching. > Maybe that sort of teaming would preclude the need for an anthology in the > beginning? > >> Hmmm... I don't think I am even beginning to answer all your >> questions..I >> guess my first thoughts here are that we need a quality curriculum to >> start >> with...and then highly trained teachers who know how to build from that >> to meet >> the needs of their kids. > > How do we motivate teachers to want to reach for this? So much of this > conversation comes back to teachers wanting to continuously learn, to > pursue understanding of what we do as teachers and how best to do it. How > do we make all (or just most) teachers join this "intellectual" world? And > that thought is right out of Ellin Keene's mind, I think. I have lost > track of where it is her thinking versus mine... > > :)Bonita > > _______________________________________________ > 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. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > > > -- > This message has been scanned for viruses and > dangerous content by EduTech's MailScanner Vaccine1, and is > believed to be clean. > > _______________________________________________ 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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