There are times in life when the question of knowing if one can think differently than one thinks, and perceive differently than one sees is absolutely necessary if one is to go on looking and reflecting at all.
Michel Foucault
In closing out this course and the reading program, I found this quote to be most meaningful. During my time in the reading program, I have learned to look at reading in a way that I never had. As much as I loved to read and share this love with my students, I was weak when it came to teaching reading. I attribute some of this to the personal ease and enjoyment I received from reading and the rest I would attribute to a weak undergrad education program in the area of reading. Being a part of this program has allowed to me think and look at the world of reading (and the way I teach reading) in a new light.
I feel this class has also opened my eyes to some of the issues that I thought little about when teaching reading to my students. I have always been a teacher that reflected on what works for my students and what I could do to make my students become more successful in the classroom. I would try many different approaches to teaching and instruction until I found what worked best for my students. I believe that because I started teaching in a school where many of the students lived “rough” lives, I have always taken into account the home environment when planning lessons and grading/assigning homework. Although I was aware of my students home lives, I never really thought about how that played into how they learned to read successfully (well with the exception of students that spoke other languages at home).
In the beginning of this course we were presented with several articles that addressed various issues in regards to teaching reading to different “types” of students. My experience working with children from poverty and low income homes taught me to distinguish between school language and home language. The Dowdy and Delpit articles discussed how different groups of children used language at home that were different from the language that was used and accepted at school.
The Noll article discussed how American Indians (Daniel and Zonnie) struggled in school because their teacher did not use their strengths to support their classroom learning. They were viewed as under achievers when they excelled in areas that were not considered to be school related. As I think back to the students that I have taught, I feel that I have always tried to use their strengths (regardless of what those strengths may be) in order to help them be successful in the classroom. I will definitely think more about helping to connect the areas where my students excel into my classroom.
I think that I made the best connection with the Perry article. It reminded me of The Lost Boys movie that was popular when I was growing up. The Sudanese children were living in an area of war and danger. They lost their homes and families, forced to travel to a refugee camp and later to America. These students had to learn to bridge their cultures and ways of living with the new culture they had to adapt. The part of their culture that survived and provided that connection was their ability to use storytelling in their daily lives. I believe that we can use storytelling in our classroom to get our students involved in reading and writing. Allowing the students to share a story from their lives and then write that story down as a way to help others connect with them is very beneficial to all students. I have always encouraged my students to write about things they are familiar or have a connection, but allowing them to first share their story orally and then write it down seems to give them a chance to build that story before expecting them to write things. I am excited to begin school the fall so that I can try this out and see how successful students can become with writing.
I think that I was most impacted by the Deborah Hicks book, Reading Lives: Working-Class Children and Literacy Learning. This book really caused a stir inside me. When reading this book, I began to reflect on my teaching, wondering if I had over looked some of the issues my students might have been having at home that could have impacted their learning. I have always been mindful of the things my students might be lacking in their home such as good books or quiet settings where learning can best occur. As mindful as I have been about things that might be occurring in the home, I never took into account the values and expectations that my students developed from their family. Thinking about the year ahead, I want to really factor in my students family influence into their learning. Why they are the way they are, so that they can be most successful in the classroom environment. I believe that I will take this book and keep it in my classroom so that I can quickly reference it when issues come up that could relate to class and gender.
Over all, I think that this class has caused me to think more about what my students bring to my classroom and how I can use these issues, values, and ways of thinking to help them become successful students that have a love of learning.