RE_5539

It was interesting reading about Laurie from kindergarten through second grade. I enjoyed reading about her relationship with Nicholas. Being a kindergarten teacher, this is definitely easy to picture. Since Laurie assumed a motherly role at home, I guess it was easy and natural for her to carry this over to school. She felt comfortable in this role. She also had another role that she could assume with Nicholas and that was being an adolescent with him. This seemed like an important relationship for her. They seemed very close since they ignored another child in a center. There was a part in the book that said, "She was academically and socially more mature than he was, and this gave her an edge of authority." The motherly identity was in her and I believe this made her feel good about herself. I'm sure that she liked the authority and she knew that she could have that with Nicholas. I found it interesting how it limited her academic practices with the goop episode. Sometimes this happens with kindergartners. You want them to get something out of it academically but instead it may be more domesticated. But I believe that is alright sometimes because at the kindergarten age children are learning social skills and how to get along. They are also learning through play. I read a poem about children and play and it said that when you see your child playing in the homeliving center, for example, your child may be learning how to be a mom or dad someday.
Laurie seemed to have a successful kindergarten year and progressed in academics throughout the year.

I believe that it was unfortunate that in her first grade year, part of the problem was due to the reading series. I could see how this could happen. I have had some series in the past and couldn't believe some of the books in it. Some books were too difficult to read and other books were ones that no one would want to pick up and read because they were not very meaningful. Fortunately, in my kindergarten classroom now, we can take and use what we deem appropriate. We also have a reading book room where teachers have wonderful reading materials appropriate for our students. We can use these in our guided reading lessons and find books that are interesting for the children to read. I believe this approach would have been much better for Laurie. I know the teacher was committed to teaching the adopted curriculum but what could she have done for Laurie? I feel that if it wasn't working for Laurie that the teacher should have explored a different avenue. The same approach doesn't necessarily work for all children.

As I continued to read, I was saddened by Laurie's regression in school after her ADD diagnosis. I like how Deborah Hicks became an advocate for Laurie and combined work on reading and writing with a nurturing relationship. I believe it helped when she found an area of common interest. I found the story touching at the end when Laurie said, "I love you" to Deborah Hicks. This story reminded me of a girl in my classroom. As my research project, I read to her an extra ten minutes a day. We would go to some quiet place and spend time reading together. This was something that she didn't get much of at home. The girl began to enjoy reading books. She wanted to retell and sometimes act out the stories. She would always say, "Don't forget. We have to read today." One day as she was getting on the bus she said to me "I love you." I like the way Deborah Hick says it. "Our relationhip, which by that time was one of mutual caring and acceptance, helped to make such movement between practices possible. Though we were living our lives in different class settings, we were in this moment of teaching and learning able to move between and across those disparate locations." She also goes on to say that this is possible in classrooms but it can be difficult.

After reading this chapter, I thought of so many ideas to address. To conclude, I have enjoyed teaching Writers' Workshop this year. My children have been successful at it just as it seemed to be good for Laurie. Great chapter!