I really related to Cicely’s story in this chapter as well. I enjoyed reading her story about why she continued to stay as others left. I hear myself saying “I am ready to get out” but I just can’t take that step forward. Our kids do not need more transition in their life. They need to know their teachers are staying for them and fighting for them–it just keeps getting harder to leave. But we will see what the future holds…

And again…what a full circle we have come.

I also do not understand how we can put so much emphasis on just one test for these little kids.  How fair is it that we base an entire grade level and success on how they score on one test.  That philosophy should not really make sense with anyone–why does it?

Authentic assessment does make the most sense but I know I have heard teachers including me say time is a factor with these assessments, but I truly feel once we got into the groove of giving these assessments it would be a positive and true experience for everyone.

A very important point I gained from this chapter and actually the book I read as well is that we cannot say that parent involvement is coming into the school constantly. We need to see parent involvement as anything form sending in glue sticks, reading a book to their child, responding to a note sent home, and of course coming into the school. Many families have two working parents and life is busy. I also see the point made in the chapter about past experiences and we may need to be the teacher that helps a parent get past their fear of schools and involvement and gain trust. All parents want the best for the children some parents may just not know how to express it or be an advocate for their child–as teachers we can help. Removing barriers is a term in the chapter that was enjoyable to me as well–a great way to put it.

Personalization–We do not have the ideal smaller classes of 15 per class

Continuous relationships–I have yet to see a teacher loop in our school–it is not a practice that seems open unless you ask and then it might get thought about

Standards and performance assessment–We do have the GPS that we use and I am excited to say that I have been on the K report card committee for the county and we are moving to a standards based report card with a rubric this next school year–very exciting

Authentic curriculum–in depth learning–how about “teach to the test” learning–to me teach to the test is not real-world connection. The principal is excited about the new CRCT Coach books. But I do know teachers use real world connections in their teaching.

Adapted Pedagogy–Differentiated instruction–we have some teachers that just are not open to change and this kind of teaching. We have teachers that still put assignments on the board ands say “go at it”. We have others that do differentiated instruction all day long in all grades–so at least it is happening–that is a start

Antiracist Teaching–Not sure our school seeks out diversity–we are still working on a respectful community for all students–this needs to include everyone in the school–from administration to teachers to cafeteria etc… We are models…

Qualified Teachers–We have incredible teachers in our school. I hate to say not so good ones too because that is just the word out and I actually have not seen their teaching habits.

Collaboration and development–This year we are starting to get more collaboration time

Family/community Connections–I think we could be more family and community oriented

Democratic Decision Making–Shared governance? Common Vision? Not now anyway–I hope this changes. I did see a spot on our committee choices for next year for a “Professional Development Committee” –not sure what that will entail

I see the importance of all of these conditions to promote a positive school culture. All schools should have these conditions as goals to success.

I am usually quick to rush to get the next thing going in my classroom or school. But I want to “marinade” a little before I go rushing to my principal about him and getting him in our school and showing the power point, etc.

I am not feeling down but I feel like at times that with these presentations and the Eds Program, we are preaching to the choir. We are the ones who want to hear these things, we are the ones who want to read book after book to make better changes in our teaching practice. How do we get to the other side? It seems so hard at times. I guess that is when we become change agents –even if it is little steps at a time (like opening up to peers about how Columbus Day could be taught in a socially just way, for example)

Overall–I am rooting for Gorski and I hope to hear or see more of him in the near future.

  I must admit I might need to be a little more aware of my SES status in my class.  If you asked me right now how many students are on free or reduced lunch in my room…I have no idea!  Is that bad? I could name a few from remembering forms but I have no idea how many or who unless I look it up. 

My book I am reading for the book postings has really opened my eyes and has showed me the meaning of critical teaching and being responsive to our students needs.  By knowing my free/reduced status it may help me be more responsive to their needs.  I know I got off the subject of Ruby but….I am ready to see Gorski and hear what his philosophies are…

Another item I thought was interesting was pronouncing names correctly.  This is one area I have always been in agreement with and I feel I can easily say I have not pronounced names wrong after learning how to say it the first time.  And I  make sure I know names the first day I meet my students.  But I will say this reminds me of a time this year in which I have two girls that have accent marks on their name.  (For example, Beyonce’ and Tah’lei)  I didn’t realize I left these marks off of their name on the sign in sheet and on their name tag.  Both of them asked me about it within about 3 weeks or so (at different times).  I felt horrible and I can not imagine how they felt–those marks are important to a name.  I wasn’t doing it because I thought their name wasn’t important, it just came from the office like that and I copied it.  So not only pronouncing names correctly is important but writing it appropriately is just as important to helping our students feel validated.

One issue I  agree with is the balanced approach to literacy.  It is not getting rid of any certain approach like conventional spelling for example, but is balancing the skills and knowledge about literacy and learning.  Even if views of reading change through the different cycles of literacy education, a balanced approach will still be beneficial because we are using multiple approaches in a balanced way.  Benji Chang, the first grade teacher, showed a great example of balance in his story about using the basal and tying in multicultural literature.  The balanced literacy approach also ties in the importance of home/school connection with literacy to provide more opportunities to build on home languages and cultures.  I feel I use a balanced approach the most in my classroom setting-a variety is the best option for me.

I think there could be positives pulled out from a variety of approaches in literacy and we can use all of them if we need to. It comes down to being able to make our own decisions and choices that would best suit our students. I remember hearing our literacy coach saying how disappointed she was because she was walking into teachers’ rooms and everyone was teaching differently and reading workshop looked differently and there was no consistency. We are all individuals even if we are teachers. We need to have the freedom to be individuals in our classrooms as well. If the students saw the same approaches and instruction in every room in every grade level what would happen to that student’s excitement and motivation for school. This should not be a reading war, we should be using the best literacy approaches to help students make sense of print.