Though I have not posted recently, I continue to read this listserve daily. I guess it's my "professional fix". Last week I attended a National Conference on Service Learning. They presented sobering statistics on high school graduation rates in larger cities. It's amazing how mentally overloaded one can get just by attending invigorating sessions. Though this was not a literacy conference, it had everything to do with learning. At the last minute a friend was able to attend. How much richer my learning became because we could bounce ideas off each other. I continue to witness the immense power of talk, even with very young children. With only 2 1/2 chapters into To Understand, I continued asking the fundamental question, "What's essential in our schools today?" This is a question that encompasses all academic areas (I'm a big picture person). I realized most of us here are "process orientated" while much of education today is "product orientated". Reading Ellin's conversations with kids allows us to witness the process. The postings from the past few weeks celebrate the process the students and the teachers go through. While the product may be unpredictable and varied, we celebrate the learning that occurred along the way. This cannot be measured on standardized tests (we are in our 2nd week of testing). To Understand does include a framework but it is not a "How to teach literacy manual". It has us thinking, discussing, wondering, questioning, confirming, celebrating, learning and understanding. This is what education should be about. Unfortunately, so much has gotten lost with NCLB. I'm encouraged to hear that this book is being sold off the shelves. We are ready for the big shift in literacy instruction. (Embedded image moved to file: pic30333.gif)
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