The first chapter just seemed to be an overview but there was one part that I particularly liked. On page 6 the author talked about the strength of kids just showing up. Kids that have continued to fail and still show up show so much strength on their part. If you try yet continue to no succeed there will probably be a time that you say you will just stop trying. Why try if you are only going to fail? That is what a lot of students think and so they just quite doing whatever it was they were trying. On the other hand there are some students that know they have failed in the past but continue to offer hope to succeed. They are the ones that continue to come to class and do their work even though they know they might not pass. These students are the ones we really need to look after because they are ultimately putting in the most work.
I particularly liked the beginning of the second chapter. It's interesting to see how many questions a little kid can come up with in just one question. Leah was asking "What is it?"She didn't want to know just what the brass ring was but she wanted to know how to get it, what you do with it once you have it, do you have to give it back, and why it was made out of brass? Most of us would think to just ask those different questions but she thought those questions were included in "What is it?" As teachers we are going to have to think more in depth. We are going to have to analyze what students are saying and try to figure out what they mean by the questions they ask.
Another misconception is about the struggling reader. Most people that were asked to sit like a struggling reader sat with their head down and arms crossed but there are more to struggling readers than that hunch. There are struggling readers that might just try to be invisible to the teacher yet has a lot of friends and there might be ones that are the attention getter, that want other kids to laugh and have fun but when it comes to the teacher calling on them they will freeze. There is not just one style to struggling students and we need to be aware of the other students so we can help them just as much as we can help the ones hunched over with their heads down.
There are going to be independent readers and dependent readers. Our job as teachers is to make dependent readers into independent ones. An independent is not necessarily a perfect reader but they know how to continue through a passage if they get stuck. I think that technique is one of the most important. Somewhere along the line students and even teachers are going to get stuck on a passage but they need to know what to do from there. Independent readers know to move on and try to come back and figure out the passage later. Just because your good at something doesn't mean you have to be perfect but you need to know how to figure things out if you do happen to stumble.
There are going to be independent readers and dependent readers. Our job as teachers is to make dependent readers into independent ones. An independent is not necessarily a perfect reader but they know how to continue through a passage if they get stuck. I think that technique is one of the most important. Somewhere along the line students and even teachers are going to get stuck on a passage but they need to know what to do from there. Independent readers know to move on and try to come back and figure out the passage later. Just because your good at something doesn't mean you have to be perfect but you need to know how to figure things out if you do happen to stumble.
I really enjoyed reading Beers' points about the strengths of the students who "just show up". Essentially, these should be our target students, so to speak. Of course, we want to push our students who naturally excel to be their best and we also want to work with those students who just really don't care at all; but, I feel that the students who put in the effort to at least come to class and attempt their work, even if they are completely clueless, deserve a significant amount of our time. I know that in my school years, I was considered one of those students who naturally excelled. Of course, I had my struggling points, but for the most part, I was a pretty easy student to teach. However, I felt like teachers would hang around me, putting all of their effort into my work, while others who greatly needed their help were pushed to the side. I didn't realize it at the time; but, now when I think back, the teachers had it all wrong. Of course it probably felt good for them to work with me and then see my success, but wouldn't it have felt better to work with a struggling student and see them overcome their struggles? I hope with my teaching, I can accurately distribute my time; giving all students a chance to do well, not just the ones that I know will do well.
ReplyDeleteI also thought Beers showed a great example with the strength and weakness points. It was interesting to see how many answers a child can make with only one question. I also agree that there is not one style to a struggling reader. Just because a student sits with a hunch does not mean they cannot read or are a bad student. Looking at characteristics like this too closely could give the wrong idea about students.
ReplyDeleteLots of good points. We can't assume just because a student "looks" like they are reading that they are actually comprehending. This also shows the importance of getting to know your students.
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