RES 5535: Race, Class, and Gender in Literacy Research (summer 2010)

I too had to stop and reread Hick’s comments about Laurie’s diagnosis and subsequent medication. Having worked with many, many ADD children, and having talked to doctors and filled out diagnostic scales, I don’t remember anger being a prominent symptom. Frustration and lack of social skills are sometimes a part of such a diagnosis, and are present in many disabilities where focus is an issue. What I interpreted from Hicks comments was that the ADD diagnosis and medication were used as behavior management tools for Laurie’s guardians who were unable to provide the structure, discipline and attention Laurie needed. Certainly there are kids for whom medication is a godsend, but for a child who does not need it, the side effects and risks (both physical and emotional) far outweigh the benefits. What I don’t understand is why Laurie was diagnosed at all if she initially failed the screening, and did not display the symptoms at school (children are supposed to display the disorder across environments). This reminds me of a little girl named Kyla I worked with in student teaching. I can remember her running down the hallway with her mother screaming at her to stop. My supervising teacher only had to speak her name once for her to stop, listen and obey. She came in after a diagnosis of depression, drugged out of her mind. She fell down the slide, slipped and hit her head in the bathroom, fell asleep at her desk, and would otherwise stumble around with dark circles under her eyes and her hair in her face. Kyla was not in any way depressed, but rather her contentious relationship with her mother caused her to act out and withdrawal. Her behavior at home, like Laurie’s was dramatically different than at school. It is sad that medication is sometimes used as a quick fix instead of the parenting skills kid’s need.

I think we all agree that our kids need more time to develop reading skills, but in this world of high stakes testing the opposite is happening. Curriculum is getting pushed into lower and lower grades, to the detriment of those kids who are capable but slow learners.
-Rebecca Ashby

I must agree with your description of curriculum being suited for the fast paced learner,however I have come to loathe the phrase "left behind." I feel the "No Child Left Behind" policies have pushed our education system to the brink of disaster for so many children. Our children who learn slower or need more practice at beginning reading skills, are being made to feel like school is a place to fail. They are often reminded that they are not keeping up with the class. They know they are not doing "well" and this eats away at their confidence in their learning. We need to look at each child individually and assess the growth in comparison to his/her progress rather than have him/her fill a cookie cutter mold.
Susan Hines

Maria,
I also highlighted Hick's writing of the curriculum being composed of anthology texts. I find it hard to believe that materials aren't available for all readers. A common suggestion for a classroom curriculum by professors of literature, is to be sure that children are reading at their instructional level. As teachers, it is important that our literature instruction is not a one-way trip through the grade level. It is important to offer more than one trip, finding the levels of our students and adjusting to meet the needs of students. Why is it that the same students do not pass the EOG from each grade level? If the test is not on the child's reading level, how do we expect them to read the passages? I am afraid that in order to correctly assess students, our educational system will have to work to rewrite tests on different levels. There are many different ways to integrate reading levels in the classroom, including using guided reading groups, and building a classroom library. I am interested to research, or discover other ways in which we can incorporate different reading levels to meet the needs of struggling readers?

I have heard that students may begin being measured on individual growth. Some students take their EOG's and have 10-20 points growth and still not score a 3 or 4. They feel like they have failed even though they have made a lot of gains. The bottom line is students should be taught at their instructional level.

Wow! So many hot buttons in this post and the comments that I don't know which one to tackle first. So, I will say that you are all RIGHT ON! Teaching over the years, I can now recognize immediately when a child "forgets" to take their ADD medicine, and while I believe it can be a valuable product for some children, I don't believe it is the right choice for everyone. Like in Laurie's case. Would she have acted differently if she had had a better home life?
About no child let behind...this is causing serious problems to America's educational system. While the idea itself is a good idea, this isn't Utopia. We aren't all the same and we don't all learn at the same rate. We are pushing some children into dropping out of school. I hear this often from my middle school kids who haven't ever passed an EOG. Yet, they grew 6, 8, or even 10 points this year. That is a true measure of a child's success and not a measure of failure.

I really appreciate your thoughts about cooperative seating…Pairing one that loves to read and one that struggles can and does have a positive influence for both students. Providing that extra support is necessary for we cannot be with all our struggling readers at once. By setting up the classroom with these cooperative groups allows for students to be ready to partner read and echo read. Wow at the classroom management time we can save by using this strategy.

With our young readers, we often have to help them find those “hooks”. They often cannot pick a book that they will be successful in reading…Sometimes picking a book too hard and even too easy. We have to be the guides in those choices of books. Making time throughout the week for our students to read to us and choice quality books they CAN read is essential. Let us work so that our students do not get their fingers slammed in a book they cannot read.

I believe you are right many students get left behind when a little review could help them get onboard. A review of known materials never hurts anyone, especially when it will help the ones that are taking longer to catch on.
I believe a love of reading can be contagious, especially in young students. So this reinforces your belief in cooperative seating arrangement to let other students be an encouragement to others to read and develop a love for it.
I love to read and spend a lot of tome reading to my students. I often have them close their eyes and imagine they are one of the characters in the story, I tell them I do this when I read. I joke that it is how I go on vacations or adventures without leaving the safety of my recliner! I invite them all to join me, several have and in turn found a love for books they never knew they had.

Maria,
I liked the title of your post and how you tied it in at the end. You're right, a review won't hurt the other children who just might need it as well. It's funny how we look back at our childhoods after reading this and realize we were learning and developing our sense of story and who we are. I used to imagine all kinds of things when I was little. My great-grandma and my grandmother encouraged me to tell stories and pretend. My grandma told me there were Smurfs that lived under the toadstools in the park where we'd go for walks. I would tell stories about them and draw pictures to go with my stories. I think this helps kids become great writers as well because they aren't afraid to use their imaginations. Laurie loved to visit the writing center in Kindergarten and it showed that she had a great imagination. It wasn't until she doubted her abilities because she began to struggle and she was put on medicine that she seemed to give up for a while in first grade. I think her medicine did have a negative impact on her. Reshawna Greene