Saturday, December 19, 2009
A few myths of Critical Literacy
Hi!!
Here are a few myths that surround Critical Literacy as I found in our readings...
Myth #5
“Learning the ‘basic skills’ of reading and writing doesn’t make anyone literate”
Smith, Frank (1995) “Overselling Literacy” pg. 55
Important fact many teachers need to realize.
Literacy is not only about reading and writing.
Teaching phonics etc isn’t the only important aspect of literacy ... we need to help create critical students.
Myth #6
“When literacy is promoted as the cure for all economic, social, and educational problems, it is easy to assume that inability to read and write causes economic, social, and educational ills. Literacy becomes a caste mark, and those who haven’t got it are discriminated against. They are blamed for our troubles.”
“...not only is education a relatively ineffective agent for overcoming the effects of poverty and discrimination, but schools may actively participate in maintaining a status quo in which people have unequal access to our countries’ social and economic riches.”
Smith, Frank (1995) “Overselling Literacy” pg. 55
Curt Dudley-Marling et al (1997) “A Political Critique of Remedial Reading Programs: The Example of Reading Recovery” p. 460
Need to understand that it is not the students fault they cannot read or write, and that won’t cause the economic ills later on. Many other factors are at play.
See above
We need to focus on how to make things better instead of simply blaming the students or saying they will never be able to do it.
Myth #7
“Behind all the instructional programs, all the classroom materials and techniques, is a notion that learning can be improved, if not guaranteed, when what is to be learned is spelled out one little bit at a time, in the form of objectives that the learner must attain.”
Smith, Frank (1995) “Overselling Literacy” pg. 58
Money is being spent frivolously.
Techniques from prescribed programs are not the solution to the ‘literacy problem’.
Following the book isn’t the only path to success.
Myth #8
“I want to refer to the gross overselling of evaluation, to the incredible notion that students will learn more (and teachers will teach better) if there is continual detailed monitoring of everything the student is supposed to learn.”
“Tests that measure reading performance in terms of decontextualized measures or grade equivalents, unqualified by the context of reading, suggest that people learn to read “once and for all,” that learning to read is merely a technical activity.”
Smith, Frank (1995) “Overselling Literacy” pg. 59
Curt Dudley-Marling et al (1997) “A Political Critique of Remedial Reading Programs: The Example of Reading Recovery” p. 464
Testing leads to too much accountability which causes us to falter at our jobs.
Continuous testing makes us better teachers and teachers.
Here are a few myths that surround Critical Literacy as I found in our readings...
Myth #5
“Learning the ‘basic skills’ of reading and writing doesn’t make anyone literate”
Smith, Frank (1995) “Overselling Literacy” pg. 55
Important fact many teachers need to realize.
Literacy is not only about reading and writing.
Teaching phonics etc isn’t the only important aspect of literacy ... we need to help create critical students.
Myth #6
“When literacy is promoted as the cure for all economic, social, and educational problems, it is easy to assume that inability to read and write causes economic, social, and educational ills. Literacy becomes a caste mark, and those who haven’t got it are discriminated against. They are blamed for our troubles.”
“...not only is education a relatively ineffective agent for overcoming the effects of poverty and discrimination, but schools may actively participate in maintaining a status quo in which people have unequal access to our countries’ social and economic riches.”
Smith, Frank (1995) “Overselling Literacy” pg. 55
Curt Dudley-Marling et al (1997) “A Political Critique of Remedial Reading Programs: The Example of Reading Recovery” p. 460
Need to understand that it is not the students fault they cannot read or write, and that won’t cause the economic ills later on. Many other factors are at play.
See above
We need to focus on how to make things better instead of simply blaming the students or saying they will never be able to do it.
Myth #7
“Behind all the instructional programs, all the classroom materials and techniques, is a notion that learning can be improved, if not guaranteed, when what is to be learned is spelled out one little bit at a time, in the form of objectives that the learner must attain.”
Smith, Frank (1995) “Overselling Literacy” pg. 58
Money is being spent frivolously.
Techniques from prescribed programs are not the solution to the ‘literacy problem’.
Following the book isn’t the only path to success.
Myth #8
“I want to refer to the gross overselling of evaluation, to the incredible notion that students will learn more (and teachers will teach better) if there is continual detailed monitoring of everything the student is supposed to learn.”
“Tests that measure reading performance in terms of decontextualized measures or grade equivalents, unqualified by the context of reading, suggest that people learn to read “once and for all,” that learning to read is merely a technical activity.”
Smith, Frank (1995) “Overselling Literacy” pg. 59
Curt Dudley-Marling et al (1997) “A Political Critique of Remedial Reading Programs: The Example of Reading Recovery” p. 464
Testing leads to too much accountability which causes us to falter at our jobs.
Continuous testing makes us better teachers and teachers.
Friday, October 30, 2009
What Are We Teaching???
When does race really matter? I sit hear on the Eve of Halloween, and I cannot help but remember the discussion we had about race and how we have all witnessed some act of racism. As sad as this sounds, the members of my table had all discussed how some student within their schools had experienced some sort of racism. Although within a few cases it may have been unconscious, it confuses me as to how this behaviour could still be happening!!
As Educators, we are all inclusive, colour does not and should not matter, and we should all be appreciative of everyone for we are all unique. Heck, being in the Catholic school system, we should all be considered Gifts from God and yet this ignorant behaviour exists and seeps into our classrooms!
How can this be combated?? Where is this behaviour coming from? Will it every truly disappear?
Well, I just wanted to share a quick story that took place a few days ago.
Currently, in my school, I am happy to say that our staff has changed and one can now note that there are a wide variety of races represented on the teaching staff. I would also like to point out that my Grade 6 students pointed this fact out to me and that ironically, I never really took note of what cultures were represented on my staff. However, the fact that my students did troubled me in a way. Why would they notice? Was their an underlying reason as to why they were so happy to have these teachers in their school?
I thought about this situation and I carefully outlined how to ask these students about their observations from the other day.
Honestly, I anticipated the worst response, and yet their answer was quite simple.
They did note that our staff had changed because the new staff members happened to be new teachers that used to work in the neighboring community centre. Thus, they were not impacted by their races, they were just happy to see friendly faces!
I really hope that we can all teach our kids to see faces and not colour…and I hope that these teachings will rub off on the older generations as well!!
As Educators, we are all inclusive, colour does not and should not matter, and we should all be appreciative of everyone for we are all unique. Heck, being in the Catholic school system, we should all be considered Gifts from God and yet this ignorant behaviour exists and seeps into our classrooms!
How can this be combated?? Where is this behaviour coming from? Will it every truly disappear?
Well, I just wanted to share a quick story that took place a few days ago.
Currently, in my school, I am happy to say that our staff has changed and one can now note that there are a wide variety of races represented on the teaching staff. I would also like to point out that my Grade 6 students pointed this fact out to me and that ironically, I never really took note of what cultures were represented on my staff. However, the fact that my students did troubled me in a way. Why would they notice? Was their an underlying reason as to why they were so happy to have these teachers in their school?
I thought about this situation and I carefully outlined how to ask these students about their observations from the other day.
Honestly, I anticipated the worst response, and yet their answer was quite simple.
They did note that our staff had changed because the new staff members happened to be new teachers that used to work in the neighboring community centre. Thus, they were not impacted by their races, they were just happy to see friendly faces!
I really hope that we can all teach our kids to see faces and not colour…and I hope that these teachings will rub off on the older generations as well!!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Learning Literacy Blog #2
Workshops #3 & 4
Coming from my experiences of working in the junior and intermediate divisions, and now within the realm of special education, the thoughts of what one can do to best aid students struggling with the concepts of literacy is three fold.
I feel that for those students who are experiencing difficulty grasping the various concepts associated with literacy, a multifaceted approach needs to be acted upon in order to fend off or possibly avoid any pitfalls associated with not being literate.
The three steps that need to be taken in order to stave off this problem are Early intervention, Remedial action, and finally Support and Resource teams.
*Early intervention: All professions within education must be trained to evaluate and identify the problems of learning literacy early. With such an advantage, the students could be given aid without isolating them from their classmates.
*Remedial action: Whether additional support is needed or required within the classroom, I think that all students need exposure to some form of remedial literacy education in a concentrated and consistent manner. Aggressive intervention will of course be offered to those students who need it and will help ensure that any issues regarding learning literacy be resolved prior to becoming more of an issue.
*Support teams: In some cases, there are support teams that consist of the student, parents/guardians, and educational professionals that can be put into action in order to develop goals and intervention strategies within a transparent and collaborative manner to aid students with experiencing difficulty.
These are just a few of my thoughts. I look forward to any comments.
Coming from my experiences of working in the junior and intermediate divisions, and now within the realm of special education, the thoughts of what one can do to best aid students struggling with the concepts of literacy is three fold.
I feel that for those students who are experiencing difficulty grasping the various concepts associated with literacy, a multifaceted approach needs to be acted upon in order to fend off or possibly avoid any pitfalls associated with not being literate.
The three steps that need to be taken in order to stave off this problem are Early intervention, Remedial action, and finally Support and Resource teams.
*Early intervention: All professions within education must be trained to evaluate and identify the problems of learning literacy early. With such an advantage, the students could be given aid without isolating them from their classmates.
*Remedial action: Whether additional support is needed or required within the classroom, I think that all students need exposure to some form of remedial literacy education in a concentrated and consistent manner. Aggressive intervention will of course be offered to those students who need it and will help ensure that any issues regarding learning literacy be resolved prior to becoming more of an issue.
*Support teams: In some cases, there are support teams that consist of the student, parents/guardians, and educational professionals that can be put into action in order to develop goals and intervention strategies within a transparent and collaborative manner to aid students with experiencing difficulty.
These are just a few of my thoughts. I look forward to any comments.
Where I Am From
Where I Am From
I'm from tick tock the mouse with the clock. From Jack and Jill and their treks up the hill.
I'm from the engine that could and the power within a puppet made of wood.
I'm from walking a sidewalk that was soon to end to a big shaggy dog as my best friend.
I'm from Superman, HeMan, and Transformers gallore.
I'm from green eggs and ham and 1984.
I'm from Calculus, physics, and algebraic quarters.
I'm from the time machine and now nursery rhymes as my daughter gives the orders.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Learning Literacy Blog #1
My Thoughts on Workshop #1 & 2
After reading through all of the articles there were a couple of aspects that really stuck out for me. One point that really resonated with me as a Special Education Teacher was that about uncertainty and the certainty that lies within standardized testing. Currently, I have been helping out with the grade 3 and grade 6 teachers with the preparation and administration of the EQAO testing. Having done so for the past couple of years, one cannot help but notice the amount of pressure and stress that is applied to both the students and the teachers. Although our school has scored very well in the past, there is always this pressure to do better and achieve better results. Personally, I do not believe that the EQAO is important enough to stress out nine and twelve year olds and I do not believe that it paints a very accurate picture of the academic standards of these children. After all, EQAO decides the academic ability of children based on their performance on one test. A snapshot of a child’s life is used to predetermine what their abilities or disabilities are. More importantly, it is the methodology used to assess this test that truly concerns me. How accurate is the assessment when it has been altered over a period of years, weeks, and even hours?
When one begins to prepare for the EQAO test, past test booklets and other extra questions are used. However, when reviewing these worksheets, many educators will disagree as to what the best response or answer should be. Hence, with a test that is so subjective, how can it produce such objective results??
Out of pure curiosity, I joined the masses of teachers and agreed to mark and assess the EQAO booklets for the government. What I noticed while marking the booklets was the complete inconsistency of the marking scheme. Within a period of 3 hours, the expectations for a level 1, 2, 3, and 4 were altered. In addition, about half way through the second week marking period, the expectations that clearly indicated a level three result were changed to score a level four. Now, how accurate was the assessment of the booklets? There were many students that have already been marked and given a level three that should have gotten a level four!?! With such a discrepancy in the marking how can anyone hold the results with such great value? Now, do not get me wrong, I do think that the EQAO testing is valuable, yet it should not be treated as an excellent high source of information, for it is far from that in my opinion.
The one other discussion that really hit home for me from these articles was about the underachievers not being able to get out from ‘under’. An article discussed that fate of children of ‘underachievers’ who eventually find it difficult to change the realities of their lives. Thus, the article basically ironed out that these children will and do find it difficult to change their surroundings and escape the bad neighbourhoods. I feel that we as educators are not necessarily helping this cause. Students are labelled on a consistent basis and although their behaviour may change from worse to better, they will always be that kid that did that thing back in grade four.
I would like to propose that every year, these children, all children, be given a fresh start where possible. Sure it is hard to forget those exhibiting defiant behaviour, but what about the child who is really trying to change?? Although this would be ideal, I truthfully do not see it happening just yet. Even as class lists are being made for next year, teachers propose strong arguments for not having a certain individual in their class based on their behaviour and performance from previous years. Where is the fairness?? How can a child climb out of the ‘rut’ that they may have been born in, when we as educators are placing further obstacles in their paths?
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