I loved reading Dana's insightful musings about her reading for a class: "I just finished a School Law class and throughout it, there was no fervency (is that a word?), no dwelling, no emotional connections. Quite the opposite of what has happened in all of my other classes. But is it because I didn't understand? Or is it because I didn't care? Or are those two one and the same?"
June continues Dana's reflections considering her own students and wondering if "these same children were asked to derive meaning from printed text long before they had adequately developed language to engage successfully in phonological processing? I think many of my students would fail into that category." Fascinating thinking, Dana and June! I wonder how Ellin would explain the difference in our engagement with self-selected vs. required reading. True story: my family will not let me forget that on the day I graduated from UCLA, I said, "Finally, I can read what I want." This is not to say that I experienced none of Keene's outcomes in my college days, but it does tell you about the power of self-selection for this reader. As I teacher, I must assign reading. I choose text for guided reading hoping to prompt engagement and discussion, but the texts are still my choice. Again, I wonder how Ellin would explain the difference in our engagement with self-selected vs. required reading. Judy _______________________________________________ Understand mailing list [email protected] http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/listinfo/understand_literacyworkshop.org
