What do I want to learn more about?

I learned a lot from this class- theories, literacy in general, blogging, teaching, etc. But I'd like to learn more about getting my future class to enjoy reading. I guess all along I figured everyone was as nerdy as I was about books (honestly, I still can't get over the fact that Harry Potter is over. I feel like I got dumped after a ten year relationship)- I digress. What I mean is, I can't even grasp how kids can't like to read so how do I go about teaching kids who don't want a book anywhere near them? I guess that's something I have to figure out on my own in time. I see reading as such a private thing, at least it is to me. When I read, I shut everyone and everything else out, that is unless if it's a textbook. How do you introduce something that feels so private to a classroom of kids who are on all different reading levels? I'd like to learn more about actually teaching literacy to different types of students. I'll definitely be using that Routeman book though- great textbook. Besides everything from this class, I also learned not to take 2 summer classes at once at a graduate level. =)

technology and literacy

I think overall technology has become an excellent resource and opportunity for students. They have become very familiar with it, and use it everyday. Kids read without even knowing it, whether they're surfing the web, downloading music, or playing video games. I don't think kids realize how much reading they do, especially when they etxt message or IM. Reading has become much more apparent in communication, but I also think that technology can hurt literacy too. One example is the popular spell check. Kids can see where they have made mistakes and with the click of a mouse, is corrected for them. But does that teach them anything? Not reall, considering they're not even really self-evaluating their own writing anymore. And why do kids have to pick up a book anymore if they're online, or on tape? The same goes for magazines and newspapers. Everything is online. It would be so weird to actually write a letter to someone when you can just email or IM. Students have become more aware of using "lol" and smiley faces than to actually read a book and take in the words. In terms of research, many students use resources online and automatically think that everything is 100% true. That is definitely not always the case when using websites. I do think reading changes when the materials chane. I have a harder time remembering what I read online, when I'm getting emails or IMs sent to me at the same time. When I read a book, it's just me and the author. It's more personal. The good thing about technology is that it can also help you find new books to read or buy. There are websites for people to discuss certain books as well, which I think is a great thing. Although, it is nice to see that over what, 8 million people have purchased the last Harry Potter book, (me being one of them, and I'm very depressed over it). That just shows that there are children out there who do love to read. I think technological advancements in literacy are great. They teach people to read and write everyday without it being actual work, but I think sometimes we get so ahead of ourselves that we don't appreciate taking the time out to read a book or flip through the pages of a newspaper.

NCLB

I just accidentally posted about the NCLB on the motherblog and now i deleted it but of course without copying it first. I'll try to repeat my rant in the right blog.

I don't understand the NCLB Act. I can see how it was a good idea at first, but how do standardized tests help evaluate a child's success in school? Not everyone are good test takers. How will this assist in Reading? This may be a stupid question, but isn't the basis of reading skills, is well... reading? How do you know if a child is a good reader by scantron sheets? And what about the teachers? They have to teach by the book and for the sake of making sure everyone scores high on these tests. What kind of education is that? I don't think NCLB is fair for the students. It puts too much pressure on them and everyone involved- teachers, parents, etc. It takes time out of the classroom to go over standardized test questions rather than learning something new and exciting. It's all about money and politics these days, which is sad, because of allplaces- schools? Schools are supposed to be safe havens for kids but they've become this center for political debate and chaos. You need to go in the schools, work with the kids and teachers, to see the success and drawbacks, not just try to understand it by penciled in ovals. I do believe that there is a lot of corruption within the NCLB. Between the unfair factors being argues about minorities and drop-outs, to the funding- things just don't seem right with this Act. Testing children isn't a better way to see what they know and don't know, it's just another way to assess them, a way, which in my opinion, is not effective at all.

Chapter 15

I had no previous information on assessments. As a hopeful teacher, it's a topic that I will really want to concentrate on. I really liked the self-assessment ideas in Chapter 15, and I especially like the idea of really connecting with the students' parents and asking them what they like and dislike. I think it's very important to be on good terms with the parents and to know their idseas and opinions. I also like the idea of the "Me Box" and plan on going back to this book when I have my own classroom oone day.
My friends who are teachers ALWAYS complain about the parents but you can't blame them. They're leaving their children in your hands, and you're in charge of their education. This reading opened my eyes to a lot of great ideas for further use. It's very important to assess a child's performance- not to just point out anything they need to work on, but also to point out their success!
When I did one-on-one tutoring, I always made sure to go over everything with the parents- both the good and the bad. It's key to show parents all the amazing work their kids have done but to also not shy away form what needs to be worked on. The only way to achieve is to know your strenghts and weaknesses. There is nothing wrong with that; no one is perfect and it's valuable to give credit where credit is due, especially for younger people.

TIP 5,6,7

I agreed with the Family Literacy part in Chapter 5 and how important it is to stress literacy in the home with your children. I think that is setting the foundation for children in terms of reading and writing. I was fortunate enough to have a childhood that was filled with my parents reading to me and having me read to them. I think that is why I love to read today and why I always enjoyed books. I think children should be exposed to books in the home and of course in the classroom as well. Children learn 24/7, not just between the hours of 8am and 3pm. I also like the idea of the big books. At work, I've come across books with small writing and pictures, and I hate using them during story time. Books with large print and big, colorful pictures make the children more eager to be engaged in a book, and it gets their attention. Getting their attention is the most important task in the classroom. I think the Maturation Theory is, for a lack of better words- dumb. Children should be introduced to literacy as soon as possible while still making them comfortable and happy with reading and writing. Children learn so much when they're still very young, so it would be silly not to take advantage of those years.

I also liked the theory of social learning in chapter 6. I think it's very true that children gain insight in literacy through modeling and socializing with people. Communication plays a huge role in learning how to spell, write, and read. I really enjoyed the part about social interraction between author and reader. I never saw reading books like a form of social interraction and now it brings a whole new spin to it. If you take away all of terms and theories in literacy, what you have is communication and interraction in the general sense.

Lastly, in chapter 7, several cognitive theories were used in explaining literacy, and all mostly had to do with memorization. Out of all of them, I related and agreed most to the Interactive Theory. I don't see literacy as a one way process, and it this theory goes along those same lines. I was also interested in the Automatic Theory because it gave valid information as to why some children enjoy reading and some don't. It's a refreshing way to look at a popular problem.

I had no idea these theories existed. I actually had no idea theories of reading in general existed. I guess I thought that since I love reading and do it frequently, that I know a lot about it. I think I was wrong. I have read a lot of info on literacy (and there's more to come), but I'm interested in learning more as a future teacher. As with anything, I don't think you can ever stop learning.

Language

I think children acquire language by their environment, but also have an innate capacity they're born with to acquire language. I communicate with kids all the time at my job at the museum and it's fascinating the things these kids say to me. Some are quiet and use the wrong tenses and endings. Some use slang, which makes me feel old and confused, and a lot use the same words I would say if I was talking to a friend. These are my favorite conversations. One time I had a boy explain to me all about his weekend and the sushi restaurant he went to. I had a girl tell me all about "High School Musical" and was "shocked" I never saw it. Sometimes we forget that kids are miniature versions of grown men and women. Some are more experienced with language than others, some have learned it from hearing others, some from books. It's interesting to listen to the difference between children in where they have acquired language.
The critical period in young children is a great time to really help kids in learning language and to even teach them a foreign language. I wish I took advantage of that was when I was young. I have always wanted to learn French but now, I think I would have a very tough time grasping it. It's very important to give children that "window of opportunity" for their language(s) to grow, and to give them a positive environment for them to learn from.
When I tutored, all of the children were from non-English speaking homes. It was very interesting in how they communicated with me. I had to help them with using certain words and would ask them to repeat anything they accidentally said in their native language. I would make sure that they knew it was okay to speak their native language but in their school, they need to know English too. A lot of these children got their English from friends, television, and books. For example, one child was a die-hard soccerr fan. He read soccer books and watched it on TV all the time. If I asked him about soccer, and had him write about it, he wouldn't have nearly as much as trouble if I asked him about George Washington, or his Science homework.
The familiarity in daily activities is what helps a child grow with language. But it's also important to open the doors for new words and meanings for them them grasp, so in turn their vocabulary expands as they get older.

Essential Questions

I always found it difficult to understand articles in Wikipedia. i don't know what it is about that website- maybe I always have a negative approach to it because I know pretty much anyone can enter that site and type up anything they want about something they know nothing about. Anyway, in reference to the Wiki article, I thought the part about world literacy was interesting, mainly because it's something I am considering using in my Child Advocacy final paper. I also thought the definition of literacy was right on target. Regarding the debate of which practice is better in teaching literacy, I personally feel that no matter how many times you exercise lessons in the classroom, a kid isn't going to become a good reader until he, well- reads. Obviously, the student has to understand how to read, but I always felt that reading out loud with a child is the best experience in literacy a kid can have.

I think any event where child literacy gets the spotlight is a good thing. I thought The Greatest Art article was interesting; for awhile I was interested in illustrating books but then i realized I wasn't as good as an artist as I thought I was. I use children's books all the time at work (the NJ Children's Museum) and I always look for books that showcase great pictures along with a good story. That's what catches the kids' eyes- it's all about the pictures. If you read a story about ocean animals without pictures, and asked kids what animals were in the story, odds are you wouldn't get as many responses if you read the book with big, bright illustrations of whales, seahorses, turtles, etc. I was also obsessed with Eric Carle books when I was younger, so now I know there's a museum dedicated to his work from this article.

The third article really saddened me, and I know there are many districts with the same situation. The teachers fought hard to make a difference in kids' lives and to do their job- teach, help children learn, make a difference. When you become a teacher, one of your duties does not include being the lap dog of the superintendent or anyone else who makes such harsh and unfair decisions. Education should not go hand-in-hand with politics, but these days it does, and it's really sad that people threaten the education of children, especially of low-income families, just to try to prove they're right. Everyone has different beliefs and intentions, especially in education, but that does not mean that anyone has the right to interfere and control being who are just trying to do their jobs. This educator worked like crazy to assist non-English speaking children to achieve. When did that ever become such a bad thing? Why would the district allow for corporate individuals to just walk right into their schools and tell teachers how to do their jobs? Nothing in education should be so artificial and unfair, yet it's a problem educators deal with all the time. I'm happy for the educator in the article that she was able to step up and speak out. Sure, she lost her job by doing so, but she did the right thing, and for all the right reasons.

Overall, I'm really scared to teach one day. There's so many things you have to take in consideration- the politics of it, parents, lesson plans, testing, peers, etc. things that you don't realize are part of teaching until you're in your classroom. I think it's really important to stand up for what you believe in and to put children first. I also think I have a lot to learn about before I have my own classroom one day.