Hi Michelle, Welcome to the Mosaic listserv. I see you've already received quite a few responses to your query. The last time I taught in the US was in 1996. Then, I moved to Ecuador and now to Canada. I am overwhelmed by what teachers have to put up with now and really admire you as a future teacher for seeking answers to some very difficult questions. I feel very fortunate to be in Calgary where I still have the freedom to exercise my professional judgement. I know that even here this has changed a lot in the last few years as there is a push from the US to move its educational policies north and south. I think the best advice I can give you under the circumstances is to stay connected to like-minded teachers either at your school or through a listserv such as this one. It will help you realize that you're not alone and you will get support as you start your teaching career. Sometimes you can make inroads despite mandates if you stay current professionally and can back up what you are doing with results and not necessarily number results. Getting parents on your side by educating them about what you're doing in the classroom is crucial during this difficult period.
Good luck and stay connected! Elisa Waingort Calgary, Canada Hello! My name is Michele S. Herdoiza and I am in Nancy Creech's Teaching Reading Comprehension class at Wayne State University. Like Donna, this is my last class and in the fall, I will embark on my third, and final, phase of student teaching. I'm grateful for the opportunity to have been introduced to this email group as it has proven to be a wonderful resource. Over the past week, I have been following the various discussions and the one about complacency has really provoked my thinking. Throughout my life, reading, and in turn writing, have been crucial to my success. Reading is integral to almost everything and it amazes me how many people I have come across that have little or no ability to read. Therefore, I am passionate about helping children learn how to become successful readers. When it comes to teaching reading, Mosaic of Thought beautifully sums up all of the elementary and early childhood education courses I have taken. I do not need research to tell me that the comprehension strategies work because they are exactly what have made me a successful reader. What I do not understand is why, with all the available research, the thinking and teaching in many of our schools has not followed suit and continues to follow a cookie-cutter approach when teaching children how to read. All of this brings me to my questions. When I see so many children struggling with reading and being taught in ways that only make them dislike the experience even more, why do we continue down the same path? Why or how has it become, that in the teaching profession, people with little or no experience in the classroom, or those who have been out of the classroom for years, and people not involved in education, like politicians, are the decision makers instead of the teachers in the classrooms who are the experts? If you look at, for instance, medicine, when decisions need to be made, we look to the people within the medical profession to help find the solution. Why is this not so in our profession? For those of us in school now, when we finally get a job we may not be able to implement what we have learned. What advice can you give me? I want to do what is best for the children I will teach, but as a new teacher I know I won't have much say in the way things are done-especially if I want to keep my job. Thank you in advance for your input. Michele Wayne State University Education Student _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
_______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
