Bev... You make some very good points. We really do need to act as coaches. That is why the coteaching model at my school is so effective. It is ongoing support... We are not pouring knowledge into our newbies heads...as tempting as that may be to attempt, especially when they have so much to learn! :-) We need to take our leads from our new teachers and move them forward from where they are. Just as we keep our standards high for our students, we need to do so for our teachers too...BUT we also need to give very high support in order to achieve that lofty goal. My mentor is wonderful because she will do just that for new teachers...she will cut out their laminating, put up bulletin boards, score spelling tests...anything to take some of the pressure off of the newbies. She is also really good at celebrating with them the little things they accomplish. (At the end of the year last year, she had breakfast for them in the conference room, complete with party hats and horns with which each could use to "toot their own horns" regarding something they had accomplished in their first year.) Our newbies may not be ready for full blown strategy instruction, but they need to see where we want them to reach for as well. Jennifer In a message dated 9/28/2008 3:58:42 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
It also seems that if you have someone, such as Judy or Jennifer, who is willing to scaffold TU with the newbies, that it holds tremendous promise. Those newbies are very fortunate to be in the position they're in in that school. Jennifer's position seems ideal for integrating Ellin's philosophy and recommended practices while accomplishing other goals as well because she teaches WITH the teachers. Now, all that being said, I'm not sure how much our newbies can absorb when it takes 100% of their time right now to just survive. Many of them have young children at this time, and they go home at 6:00 to cook and clean and launder and put kids to bed, then fall asleep while trying to prepare tomorrow's mini-lessons or fill out the dozens of "important forms" they can't get to at school. Add to that, I believe now that NCLB is into our teachers' colleges, our newbies are not getting an education in the reading process. They're getting an education in fidelity. Too much for my brain on a Sunday. Hope we can get posts from several people on this important topic, because when we talk about understanding, we talk about more than just our students. **************Looking for simple solutions to your real-life financial challenges? Check out WalletPop for the latest news and information, tips and calculators. (http://www.walletpop.com/?NCID=emlcntuswall00000001) _______________________________________________ Understand mailing list [email protected] http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/listinfo/understand_literacyworkshop.org
