Me too. Thanks for your comment. I was a little afraid that using that descriptor might offend some people for religious reasons. But I meant it most sincerely, the moments that radically changed my understanding of teaching and learning. One of my moments was finally getting to learn about teaching/learning after settling down from 18 moves in 20 years as a military wife. I had taught all those years but not necessarily very well as I had almost zero professional development. This was the year in California of really taking on the teaching of writing. And I was a college and high school English teacher. When I finally read all the research, I can still remember standing on a table in the basement of the university library and calling out very loudly in anger, why didn't I know this 60 years of research? Why didn't I know that teaching grammar in isolation of real writing was not only useless but counterproductive. Why didn't I know..... The Goodmans, yes, and the whole language summer conferences were more life changing moments.
My personal metaphor for teaching has always been a kaleidoscope. (I love kaleidoscopes.) But I see these beautiful patterns (current schema/theory) Holding and trembling as new insights come in that can't be assimilated and the moment when it all tumbles and a new pattern emerges. Have felt a bit guilty that my metaphor is not organic - like a plant or flower (and I actually like those) but the born again/Kaleidoscope metaphors prevail. Sally On 5/23/11 8:13 AM, "Mena" <[email protected]> wrote: > OMG...Sally I always refer to the early 90's when I heard Yetta and Kenneth > Goodman speak at a whole language conference as a "born again" teacher moment! > Mena > > > > > Philomena Marinaccio-Eckel, Ph.D. > Florida Atlantic University > Dept. of Teaching and Learning > College of Education > 2912 College Ave. ES 214 > Davie, FL 33314 > Phone: 954-236-1070 > Fax: 954-236-1050 > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group > <[email protected]> > Sent: Sun, May 22, 2011 10:06 pm > Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Common Core - response to feeling the standards > arealways helpful > > > I want to second Sally's invitation. I hope many of you will be able to make > it. > > Elisa > Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry > > -----Original Message----- > From: Sally Thomas <[email protected]> > Sender: [email protected] > Date: Sun, 22 May 2011 14:11:41 > To: mosaic listserve<[email protected]> > Reply-To: "Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group" > <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Common Core - response to feeling the standards are > always helpful > > Kaui, You actually prove my point in your reply. I hear that you defer to > the "powers that be" instead of trusting your own professional knowledge > about teaching and learning. I understand that you believe you have to do > this for the kids so they will pass the test. But what if the test is not > worthwhile? What if it is not helping your kids be the best they can be? > > I can hear how much you want to be there for your students and are searching > for answers that will help them, so I offer the following as a possible path > to take in that search. I well remember MANY TIMES along the way in my own > general when I had to start intensive inquiries into my educational beliefs > and practices. I call them my "born again" times (with no disrespect > intended for those to whom is this strictly a religious matter!). > > The teachers I network with, the research and informed education news and > current educational books that I read regularly AND just as important what > I've learned from and with children in my many classrooms over the years - > all that tells me that the powers that be don't know very much about > teaching. And they haven't even tried. For one thing, they've never even > taught by and large. They haven't included our best educational leaders and > our best teachers in their planning. And the tests measure only a > superficial layer of what children need to know to be truly successful > throughout their schooling and lives. This not to even mention the dreadful > consequences of the constant testing time used up and pressures and stress > felt by all. Standards and testing are going hand and hand in creating this > situation. > > The standards are leading to school experiences that are more and more > fragmented (almost because teachers want them to be more and more specific > sadly - I do understand this urge). Problem is children do not remember > information which is not experienced in meaningful contexts. They can learn > it briefly sometimes (the spelling test on Friday is a great example - they > forget it in their writing the next week! The kids that don't forget it by > Monday usually had the words in the first place so the testing didn't really > teach them anything - just gave them a privilege over the others.) Learning > has to really hook to prior schema and hook deep to stay there. So they > will not actually learn all the separate standards lessons for the test > anyway. > > I'd like to invite you to participate in a list serve discussion next week > on email. It happens 6 - 7:30 pm each day Eastern standard time - adjust in > different time zones. We will be discussing Ken and Yetta Goodman's > Declaration of Professional Conscience. This is part II of a previous > discussion a month ago. That was rich and wide ranging and has led to many > of us joining the challenge of gaining back respect for teachers and > educators who have actually lived their work through the years, committed to > what is best for their students, committed to life long learning and so on. > > http://www.rcowen.com/rcoprfdv.htm > > The invitation is open to anyone who would like to be included. It's asked > that you read the Declaration (on the web page announcement) before joining > in. Even if you won't be home or at your computer, you can sign up and you > will get home to a plethora of emails all discussing back and forth > implications of different issues dealt with in the Declaration. And you can > add to the discussion your ideas later in the evening, tho some won't be > responded to till the next day. TLN listserve by the way stands for The > Learning Network. We have great discussions all the time but these focused > discussion are giving all of us courage and more courage to stand up to > those "powers that be" that think they know more than we do about children > and teaching and learning. > > In solidarity, > > Sally > > > > > On 5/22/11 11:41 AM, "kaui norton" <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Thank you for your thoughts. I do see your point. I suppose I should say >> that, >> although standards teaching may not be the best solution to our ongoing >> struggles to educate, it is, nevertheless, here to stay. At least, till the >> powers that be change their minds again! >> When I say I like it, it is because I am tired of teaching a gadzillion >> standards and benchmarks that are vague to say the least. In Hawai'i we have >> a ridiculous number of standards to teach. It has always been a guessing >> game >> for many teachers as to how to apply the standards mandated by our state. >> Many teachers, old and new, are totally lost because there is no direction >> in >> how to go about teaching to the standards, thus, we have teachers who don't >> teach them resulting in students who move on without the knowledge that they >> are expected to learn. >> Unfortunately, testing is always going to "drive" how we teach and what we >> teach. I don't see it changing any time soon. So...if that is so, then I >> believe I need to do the best, for my students, with what I am given. Of >> course, I will make every effort to fill the holes that appear. Honestly, I >> feel we are fighting a losing battle and need to cut our losses. I do know, >> they can't mandate, yet, how I teach the standards or what else I teach with >> them. THerefore, it is my responsibility to ensure my students get more than >> what they need to pass a test. >> >> > > > > On 5/22/11 11:41 AM, "kaui norton" <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Thank you for your thoughts. I do see your point. I suppose I should say >> that, >> although standards teaching may not be the best solution to our ongoing >> struggles to educate, it is, nevertheless, here to stay. At least, till the >> powers that be change their minds again! >> When I say I like it, it is because I am tired of teaching a gadzillion >> standards and benchmarks that are vague to say the least. In Hawai'i we have >> a ridiculous number of standards to teach. It has always been a guessing >> game >> for many teachers as to how to apply the standards mandated by our state. >> Many teachers, old and new, are totally lost because there is no direction >> in >> how to go about teaching to the standards, thus, we have teachers who don't >> teach them resulting in students who move on without the knowledge that they >> are expected to learn. >> Unfortunately, testing is always going to "drive" how we teach and what we >> teach. I don't see it changing any time soon. So...if that is so, then I >> believe I need to do the best, for my students, with what I am given. Of >> course, I will make every effort to fill the holes that appear. Honestly, I >> feel we are fighting a losing battle and need to cut our losses. I do know, >> they can't mandate, yet, how I teach the standards or what else I teach with >> them. THerefore, it is my responsibility to ensure my students get more than >> what they need to pass a test. >> > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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. > _______________________________________________ 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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