The difference between teaching the way we (or most of us)do and the way a traditional teacher does is huge and goes far beyond reading. My son had a traditional teacher this past year (who happened to be my teaching partner), and I watched his love for learning dissipate as the year progressed. It was tragic!
He stressed and cried almost every night over the endless stream of worksheets that he had to complete perfectly. I know test scores are important, but becoming a lifelong learner is far more important!!! I left my private school job and have enrolled my children back in our local public school where I know their learning will be authentic and fun, and the teachers are held accountable. That's my perspective as a mom/teacher. Teresa -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Mary Manges Sent: Sunday, June 29, 2008 3:41 PM To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] strategies and testing Thank you to all who offered me advice and wisdom. I really value the thinking and experience of this group. I face frustration/anger/depression every year when the scores come back, and like you Gina, my colleagues who don't teach strategies or deep thinking have much better scores. I really worked harder this year to teach it more as a genre and show them how what we were learning would look on the test. Although I would never trade better scores for the thinking, interaction, and love of books that I see develop in my students, it is just hard to take when I work so hard to prepare them and expect so much more. I'm reminded of the Vygotsky quote that I hang above my desk each year, "Children grow into the intellectual life around them." I can honestly say most of my students grew into my intellectual world of a love for thinking, reading, and writing. They learned to see reading and literacy in a different way. If only there was a test to measure that. Anyhow... thanks for helping me to realize that I'm not alone in this frustration. Have a great day everyone! Mary :) ----- Original Message ----- From: "gina nunley" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, June 29, 2008 8:27 AM Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] strategies and testing > Hi Mary, I do sympathize with your concerns. For six years I have > kicked off my year with a Metacognition Unit and followed through with > strategies in all of our reading. I too have stayed true to best > practices. Matching kids with just right books, tracking their thinking, > discussions, etc.' etc. etc. I work hard to reach readers in the best > ways I can find. > > I also do a six week testing genre and strategy unit before our big > (Texas) state test. > > Many of my colleagues do whole class novels on tapes, and do not focus on > strategy work. Well there is a heavy emphasis on levels of questioning > which I am seeing gives a great return on investment. They do not worry > or pay attention to the research and best practices, though I believe they > are good teachers. > > The bottom line is that my test scores are no better than theirs, and are > sometimes worse. Believe me I have pondered this and still do not have an > answer. > > I do believe that my kids leave with an interactive way of thinking about > books that I believe will last through high school. They are very aware > of genres, and the genres that they particularly love, and we read read > read....talk talk talk. I tell myself that my impact can't necessarily be > tested, but has lasting effects. > > Am I right? I don't really know. I live in a state of questioning. Gina > _________________________________________________________________ > Earn cashback on your purchases with Live Search - the search that pays > you back! > http://search.live.com/cashback/?&pkw=form=MIJAAF/publ=HMTGL/crea=earncashba ck > _______________________________________________ > 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. _______________________________________________ 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.
