At my high school, student-teacher relationships are paramount. When we hire, we look for people who share that belief. I have long wondered how we can quantitatively document the value relationships have on learning, but have seen the following scenario take place time after time in my own home: I am working on a unit, and have several books scattered around. My daughter's friends wander in, home from college, grab a book off my desk, clutch it to their chest, close their eyes, throw back their heads and say, "Oh! Mrs. Mench's Sophomore English class. I LOVED the discussions we had about this book." They never, never, never say anything about themes, or character development, or plot.
At least in high school, even with the struggling readers I teach, I find the "take away" piece to be primarily an emotional attachment that then links to a more concrete or cognitive connection. That emotional attachment in the brain's filing cabinet can often be found attached to the memory of a particular teacher and classroom. It's mighty humbling, isn't it? > Like me, my kids have trouble remembering titles--but I've never > deemed that particularly important. Do we want them to remember the > plot? > The feel of the book? What it left them thinking? What do you > think we > want to help them remember?" _______________________________________________ Understand mailing list [email protected] http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/listinfo/understand_literacyworkshop.org
