Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
Yes, students deeply resent being schooled by their placements in use of drill and kill or other FCAT success strategies. Teacher ed teaches them to manage the student's day by understanding and utilizing the standards, employing realia, and as many forms of media as possible, teach content AND then ...they get jobs in schools that say Here's your script- please don't editorialize. The credibility of teacher education is on the verge of a very ugly period. Public education holds teacher education in disdain. I think not because we have failed- but because principals and other school board types want someone to blame. They are surely NOT blaming an economic system that took mom out of the home and replaced her with fast food and video games. Social scientists will give us more guidance about what's wrong with our teaching strategies than our education theory can. Even with a successful education, jobs are scarce, no longer dependable, and unsatisfying. Hmn, what to do?? On Sun, Jul 18, 2010 at 3:25 PM, medwa...@daltonstate.edu wrote: Our college's professional program requires pre-service teachers in the classrooms from first semeseter of junior year through last semester of senior year; in addition, the college/universities under our Board of Regents must guarantee each pre-service teacher spends a minimum of 900 hours in classrooms prior to program completion. Our pre-service teachers see a lot, learn a lot, and are integrated into the classroom (in most cases) to assist students/teachers. Pre-service teachers are required to develop lesson plans and teach a minimum of 3 (math, reading, social studies/science) per semester beginning in second semester/junior year; they are assessed by college supervisor and classroom teacher. Most of our candidates do an outstanding job and are sought after as first-year teachers. However, when hired into school systems, they are given professional development in the system's purchased programs and candidates wonder why did I go to college? - Original Message - From: beverleep...@gmail.com Date: Sunday, July 18, 2010 0:14 am Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group It would certainly reduce the 50 per cent attrition rate in 5 years. Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel -Original Message- From: Carol Meyer Sender: mosaic-bounces+beverleepaul=gmail@literacyworkshop.org Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2010 07:59:48 To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email GroupReply-To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply I think that pre-service teachers need to spend an entire year in a class room start to finish to get an idea of what it's all about. Spending 8 weeks in this or that classroom, designing lessons for a subject or two never prepare you for the actual reality that hits you when you get your first classroom. If they had that year to see the classroom advance and take notes I think it would be very helpful. Carol M --- On Tue, 7/13/10, Beverlee Paul wrote: From: Beverlee Paul Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group Date: Tuesday, July 13, 2010, 10:58 PM Yes So then to add to what you are saying Bev, it is the teachers' college who should be responsible for adding more hours of in school/class observation and/or student teaching. When I graduated college back in the day my first classroom experience was student teaching which came at the end. 3 months was just not enough in my opinion. The teachers we get in now are in shock for about one month of the three they are with us. They have not been prepared for what they will encounter when they walk into a classroom, especially in a Title One school setting. I truly believe colleges need to send their candidates out from the very beginning. Laura Yes, Laura. As with anything, learners need a gradual release to responsibility. Any college student who is interested in elementary or early childhood ed should get into a school to watch modeling ASAP--preferably their second semester. I do know not all kids know career interests that soon, though. Then, throughout the rest of their college career, they should have experience in a variety of classrooms with increasingly more active and responsible roles. I also have a real problem with colleges that require only a semester of student teaching, then gives them two assignments. Of course, I know that more experiences makes them more employable, but eight weeks just doesn't cut it for this profession, IMHO. A semester makes them a true apprentice and they can better be inducted into the profession. The small college my daughter attended even
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
Add to your comments the fact that our entire nation is continuously barraged with the misinformation that both our teachers and children are failing. Which of us feels like taking risks? Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel -Original Message- From: Carol Lau c...@ca.rr.com Sender: mosaic-bounces+beverleepaul=gmail@literacyworkshop.org Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2010 17:55:12 To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Groupmosaic@literacyworkshop.org Reply-To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply In additon to more preservice time, I believe new teachers need a longer probationary period. In California, teachers are tenured on the first day of their third year of service. That means they only get 2 years to be probationary teachers--actually less because administrators must decide by April of the second year whether to retain these teachers. I've seen teachers with excellent potential be let go; many of them were finishing their schooling during their first two years of teaching so they were really overwhelmed, but motivated. (I've also had student teachers who had night jobs to pay the bills which makes it very hard for them to spend the necessary time planning and reflecting.) I guess my point is that the system makes it hard for new teachers to experiment, fail, learn,and grow professionally. Our district's Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) is very good, but it would be even better if these new teachers got daily mentoring and were not expected to sink or swim in their own classrooms instead of working in an apprenticeship situation. Actually, this goes for any teacher in need of support. There is just no flexibility in this job, allowing for honesty about failure and sincerity in seeking help. Carol - Original Message - From: Carol Meyer schoolteacher52...@yahoo.com I think that pre-service teachers need to spend an entire year in a class room start to finish to get an idea of what it's all about. Spending 8 weeks in this or that classroom, designing lessons for a subject or two never prepare you for the actual reality that hits you when you get your first classroom. If they had that year to see the classroom advance and take notes I think it would be very helpful. Carol M ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
Our college's professional program requires pre-service teachers in the classrooms from first semeseter of junior year through last semester of senior year; in addition, the college/universities under our Board of Regents must guarantee each pre-service teacher spends a minimum of 900 hours in classrooms prior to program completion. Our pre-service teachers see a lot, learn a lot, and are integrated into the classroom (in most cases) to assist students/teachers. Pre-service teachers are required to develop lesson plans and teach a minimum of 3 (math, reading, social studies/science) per semester beginning in second semester/junior year; they are assessed by college supervisor and classroom teacher. Most of our candidates do an outstanding job and are sought after as first-year teachers. However, when hired into school systems, they are given professional development in the system's purchased programs and candidates wonder why did I go to college? - Original Message - From: beverleep...@gmail.com Date: Sunday, July 18, 2010 0:14 am Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group It would certainly reduce the 50 per cent attrition rate in 5 years. Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel -Original Message- From: Carol Meyer Sender: mosaic-bounces+beverleepaul=gmail@literacyworkshop.org Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2010 07:59:48 To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email GroupReply-To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply I think that pre-service teachers need to spend an entire year in a class room start to finish to get an idea of what it's all about. Spending 8 weeks in this or that classroom, designing lessons for a subject or two never prepare you for the actual reality that hits you when you get your first classroom. If they had that year to see the classroom advance and take notes I think it would be very helpful. Carol M --- On Tue, 7/13/10, Beverlee Paul wrote: From: Beverlee Paul Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group Date: Tuesday, July 13, 2010, 10:58 PM Yes So then to add to what you are saying Bev, it is the teachers' college who should be responsible for adding more hours of in school/class observation and/or student teaching. When I graduated college back in the day my first classroom experience was student teaching which came at the end. 3 months was just not enough in my opinion. The teachers we get in now are in shock for about one month of the three they are with us. They have not been prepared for what they will encounter when they walk into a classroom, especially in a Title One school setting. I truly believe colleges need to send their candidates out from the very beginning. Laura Yes, Laura. As with anything, learners need a gradual release to responsibility. Any college student who is interested in elementary or early childhood ed should get into a school to watch modeling ASAP--preferably their second semester. I do know not all kids know career interests that soon, though. Then, throughout the rest of their college career, they should have experience in a variety of classrooms with increasingly more active and responsible roles. I also have a real problem with colleges that require only a semester of student teaching, then gives them two assignments. Of course, I know that more experiences makes them more employable, but eight weeks just doesn't cut it for this profession, IMHO. A semester makes them a true apprentice and they can better be inducted into the profession. The small college my daughter attended even had classes the kids could take as juniors and seniors in high school. They worked with the high schools so that the H.S. students could work in elementary schools for an hour a day and receive duel credit. In her case, it was also free, and you could start your college career with a bit of a head start. I also think that would weed out some folks that have Disneyland ideas about teaching!! ___ 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. ___ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
I think that pre-service teachers need to spend an entire year in a class room start to finish to get an idea of what it's all about. Spending 8 weeks in this or that classroom, designing lessons for a subject or two never prepare you for the actual reality that hits you when you get your first classroom. If they had that year to see the classroom advance and take notes I think it would be very helpful. Carol M --- On Tue, 7/13/10, Beverlee Paul beverleep...@gmail.com wrote: From: Beverlee Paul beverleep...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Date: Tuesday, July 13, 2010, 10:58 PM Yes So then to add to what you are saying Bev, it is the teachers' college who should be responsible for adding more hours of in school/class observation and/or student teaching. When I graduated college back in the day my first classroom experience was student teaching which came at the end. 3 months was just not enough in my opinion. The teachers we get in now are in shock for about one month of the three they are with us. They have not been prepared for what they will encounter when they walk into a classroom, especially in a Title One school setting. I truly believe colleges need to send their candidates out from the very beginning. Laura Yes, Laura. As with anything, learners need a gradual release to responsibility. Any college student who is interested in elementary or early childhood ed should get into a school to watch modeling ASAP--preferably their second semester. I do know not all kids know career interests that soon, though. Then, throughout the rest of their college career, they should have experience in a variety of classrooms with increasingly more active and responsible roles. I also have a real problem with colleges that require only a semester of student teaching, then gives them two assignments. Of course, I know that more experiences makes them more employable, but eight weeks just doesn't cut it for this profession, IMHO. A semester makes them a true apprentice and they can better be inducted into the profession. The small college my daughter attended even had classes the kids could take as juniors and seniors in high school. They worked with the high schools so that the H.S. students could work in elementary schools for an hour a day and receive duel credit. In her case, it was also free, and you could start your college career with a bit of a head start. I also think that would weed out some folks that have Disneyland ideas about teaching!! ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
In additon to more preservice time, I believe new teachers need a longer probationary period. In California, teachers are tenured on the first day of their third year of service. That means they only get 2 years to be probationary teachers--actually less because administrators must decide by April of the second year whether to retain these teachers. I've seen teachers with excellent potential be let go; many of them were finishing their schooling during their first two years of teaching so they were really overwhelmed, but motivated. (I've also had student teachers who had night jobs to pay the bills which makes it very hard for them to spend the necessary time planning and reflecting.) I guess my point is that the system makes it hard for new teachers to experiment, fail, learn,and grow professionally. Our district's Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) is very good, but it would be even better if these new teachers got daily mentoring and were not expected to sink or swim in their own classrooms instead of working in an apprenticeship situation. Actually, this goes for any teacher in need of support. There is just no flexibility in this job, allowing for honesty about failure and sincerity in seeking help. Carol - Original Message - From: Carol Meyer schoolteacher52...@yahoo.com I think that pre-service teachers need to spend an entire year in a class room start to finish to get an idea of what it's all about. Spending 8 weeks in this or that classroom, designing lessons for a subject or two never prepare you for the actual reality that hits you when you get your first classroom. If they had that year to see the classroom advance and take notes I think it would be very helpful. Carol M ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
It would certainly reduce the 50 per cent attrition rate in 5 years. Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel -Original Message- From: Carol Meyer schoolteacher52...@yahoo.com Sender: mosaic-bounces+beverleepaul=gmail@literacyworkshop.org Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2010 07:59:48 To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Groupmosaic@literacyworkshop.org Reply-To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply I think that pre-service teachers need to spend an entire year in a class room start to finish to get an idea of what it's all about. Spending 8 weeks in this or that classroom, designing lessons for a subject or two never prepare you for the actual reality that hits you when you get your first classroom. If they had that year to see the classroom advance and take notes I think it would be very helpful. Carol M --- On Tue, 7/13/10, Beverlee Paul beverleep...@gmail.com wrote: From: Beverlee Paul beverleep...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Date: Tuesday, July 13, 2010, 10:58 PM Yes So then to add to what you are saying Bev, it is the teachers' college who should be responsible for adding more hours of in school/class observation and/or student teaching. When I graduated college back in the day my first classroom experience was student teaching which came at the end. 3 months was just not enough in my opinion. The teachers we get in now are in shock for about one month of the three they are with us. They have not been prepared for what they will encounter when they walk into a classroom, especially in a Title One school setting. I truly believe colleges need to send their candidates out from the very beginning. Laura Yes, Laura. As with anything, learners need a gradual release to responsibility. Any college student who is interested in elementary or early childhood ed should get into a school to watch modeling ASAP--preferably their second semester. I do know not all kids know career interests that soon, though. Then, throughout the rest of their college career, they should have experience in a variety of classrooms with increasingly more active and responsible roles. I also have a real problem with colleges that require only a semester of student teaching, then gives them two assignments. Of course, I know that more experiences makes them more employable, but eight weeks just doesn't cut it for this profession, IMHO. A semester makes them a true apprentice and they can better be inducted into the profession. The small college my daughter attended even had classes the kids could take as juniors and seniors in high school. They worked with the high schools so that the H.S. students could work in elementary schools for an hour a day and receive duel credit. In her case, it was also free, and you could start your college career with a bit of a head start. I also think that would weed out some folks that have Disneyland ideas about teaching!! ___ 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. ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
It is from Democracy and Education Blog...Somebody explain this to me. June 16, 2010 — George Wood Philomena Marinaccio-Eckel, Ph.D. Florida Atlantic University Dept. of Teaching and Learning College of Education 2912 College Ave. ES 214 Davie, FL 33314 Phone: 954-236-1070 Fax: 954-236-1050 -Original Message- From: ryantam...@aol.com To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Wed, Jul 14, 2010 7:37 pm Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply Can you send the name of this report, please? Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile -Original Message- From: Mena drmarinac...@aol.com Sender: mosaic-bounces+ryantammy7=aol@literacyworkshop.org Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2010 08:06:02 To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Reply-To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply First, I have to applaud this LISTSERV for enabling honest, risk-free, friendly, dialogues (similar to what I remember around the dining-room table at my grandmother's home on Sundays over sauce). My uncles loved to dispute current issues..they would yell and scream their opinions and then feel validated in just being able to share their experiences :) I truly value interacting with experienced professionals such as Rosie:) Second, ...Someone Explain this to Me is Awesome!!! This is what the article had to say about TFA. While I applaud the commitment of the young people who see things like Teach for America as a way to serve the nation, it is a shame that we think the best we can do for kids in our most challenged communities is a steady diet of inexperienced short term teachers. (And it might not be all that effective, according to a new report examining the academic achievement of students under the instruction of TFA staff.) Philomena Marinaccio-Eckel, Ph.D. Florida Atlantic University Dept. of Teaching and Learning College of Education 2912 College Ave. ES 214 Davie, FL 33314 Phone: 954-236-1070 Fax: 954-236-1050 -Original Message- From: Beverlee Paul beverleep...@gmail.com To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Wed, Jul 14, 2010 12:24 am Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply I'm thankful for the TFA kids; I know they take on some of the more difficult situations, but if they did well without an education-education, think how well they could do with classes in how kids learn, how teachers facilitate learning, etc., etc. etc. Sometimes how kids learn is counterintuitive to how we imagine they do from our viewpoint as adults/adult learners. One of my mentors said, Teaching isn't talking, and that's so true. Without training, we all feel like we're really presenting a rigorous curriculum when we talk and talk and talk. I think it's more pseudo-learning a child gets when he can chant back the words the teacher programs him to. Another of my favorite quotes is Learning is something done by a child, not to a child. It even takes outstanding teachers, who will take your breath away, much practice and commitment to recognize and live that truism. What seems efficient is sometimes wasted energy. I think engagement is a concept that is given inadequate attention in most teachers colleges. With an appropriate teacher education, teaching becomes simple. Not easy, but simple. When Mena writes about holding up boxed programs against a knowledge-based professional preparation, she's stating what I'm trying to say in a different way. We as teachers have to know not only what we think, but WHY we think that. When I say teaching is simple - if we know what is to be learned, and we know who is to learn it, we'll know what we have to do. It isn't always easy because the how we get there can stretch us to the max as teachers. And those kids that aren't easy? Those are the ones for which we need teacher education so we know what to do for them. But . . . it's probably those particular kids, their challenges and successes, their joy that keeps us in education and fascinated with what's to come. I think a TFA kid could probably do fairly well with herself as a teacher. But what the trained professional knows is how the environment in the room is also a teacher. And the other kids and teachers. They get the big picture. Another of my mentors responded to my question once as to the roles of nature/nurture in teachers. She said, There are some teachers who are born to be good teachers. There are some teachers who can be taught to be good teachers. But, for GREAT teachers, there has to be both nature and nurture. And what kinds
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
First, I have to applaud this LISTSERV for enabling honest, risk-free, friendly, dialogues (similar to what I remember around the dining-room table at my grandmother's home on Sundays over sauce). My uncles loved to dispute current issues..they would yell and scream their opinions and then feel validated in just being able to share their experiences :) I truly value interacting with experienced professionals such as Rosie:) Second, ...Someone Explain this to Me is Awesome!!! This is what the article had to say about TFA. While I applaud the commitment of the young people who see things like Teach for America as a way to serve the nation, it is a shame that we think the best we can do for kids in our most challenged communities is a steady diet of inexperienced short term teachers. (And it might not be all that effective, according to a new report examining the academic achievement of students under the instruction of TFA staff.) Philomena Marinaccio-Eckel, Ph.D. Florida Atlantic University Dept. of Teaching and Learning College of Education 2912 College Ave. ES 214 Davie, FL 33314 Phone: 954-236-1070 Fax: 954-236-1050 -Original Message- From: Beverlee Paul beverleep...@gmail.com To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Wed, Jul 14, 2010 12:24 am Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply I'm thankful for the TFA kids; I know they take on some of the more difficult situations, but if they did well without an education-education, think how well they could do with classes in how kids learn, how teachers facilitate learning, etc., etc. etc. Sometimes how kids learn is counterintuitive to how we imagine they do from our viewpoint as adults/adult learners. One of my mentors said, Teaching isn't talking, and that's so true. Without training, we all feel like we're really presenting a rigorous curriculum when we talk and talk and talk. I think it's more pseudo-learning a child gets when he can chant back the words the teacher programs him to. Another of my favorite quotes is Learning is something done by a child, not to a child. It even takes outstanding teachers, who will take your breath away, much practice and commitment to recognize and live that truism. What seems efficient is sometimes wasted energy. I think engagement is a concept that is given inadequate attention in most teachers colleges. With an appropriate teacher education, teaching becomes simple. Not easy, but simple. When Mena writes about holding up boxed programs against a knowledge-based professional preparation, she's stating what I'm trying to say in a different way. We as teachers have to know not only what we think, but WHY we think that. When I say teaching is simple - if we know what is to be learned, and we know who is to learn it, we'll know what we have to do. It isn't always easy because the how we get there can stretch us to the max as teachers. And those kids that aren't easy? Those are the ones for which we need teacher education so we know what to do for them. But . . . it's probably those particular kids, their challenges and successes, their joy that keeps us in education and fascinated with what's to come. I think a TFA kid could probably do fairly well with herself as a teacher. But what the trained professional knows is how the environment in the room is also a teacher. And the other kids and teachers. They get the big picture. Another of my mentors responded to my question once as to the roles of nature/nurture in teachers. She said, There are some teachers who are born to be good teachers. There are some teachers who can be taught to be good teachers. But, for GREAT teachers, there has to be both nature and nurture. And what kinds of teachers do we want for our kids? On Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 12:00 PM, Mena drmarinac...@aol.com wrote: I think that Beverlee's email also gives voice to the importance of Colleges of Education and the importance of preparing teachers as professionals in light of the many alternate paths to teaching that are currently available. I have a wonderful teacher in my graduate class who taught for Teach for America. She was a bit offended when I mentioned that I was worried that 1-3 years teachers in inner-city schools were being replaced by TFA teachers. She had a wonderful experience and didn't see how undergraduate courses could have better prepared her to teach. However, I think that so many new approaches and concepts are thrown at teachers, that only by holding up real-world, packaged programs to a solid foundation of theory, research, child development, and cognitive processes can teacher make the hard decisions of how to effectively teach a student. Philomena Philomena Marinaccio-Eckel, Ph.D. Florida Atlantic University Dept
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
I agree with about the enthusiasm and abilities of TFA teachers. However, like many of the hard choices in the current climate of change in our profession I have to think of the long-term consequences and messages being sent to the public. I do not agree with not requiring teachers to complete education courses. And it is a different situation to be enthusiastic when you are in a temporary position. I am happy to hear when TFA candidates do decide to stay in their teaching jobs. Of the TFA teachers who do stay longer than 2-3 years the attrition rate is 80%. I know many dedicated, hardworking, enthusiastic teachers who started out with unsurpassed drive and tenacity and continue to kill themselves teaching their students day-in and day-out. There are pros and cons..I just think this is another short-term solution to much needed drastic educational reform to integrate our segregated school system (Kozol). From, Philomena Philomena Marinaccio-Eckel, Ph.D. Florida Atlantic University Dept. of Teaching and Learning College of Education 2912 College Ave. ES 214 Davie, FL 33314 Phone: 954-236-1070 Fax: 954-236-1050 -Original Message- From: Randal Lichtenwalner rlichtenwal...@tufsd.org To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Tue, Jul 13, 2010 10:30 pm Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply I think that the single most important thing is a teacher's ability and willingness to meet their students where they are, and teach them what they need, regardless of the student's level or ability. These might be teachers who entered the profession through traditional teacher education programs, or through alternate means. I had the opportunity to teach some Teach for America candidates during their first year, and I have to say that they were like most other teachers I knew, with the exception that they were highly motivated to learn, change, and succeed. While many of my colleagues were flexible and enthusiastic, the TFA teachers' drive and tenacity far surpassed my colleagues'. Too many teachers in hard-to-place schools get stuck, or are happy to do enough to get by in some very trying circumstances. I found that the Teach for America candidates and Teaching Fellows candidates brought a breath of fresh air, and what they lacked in pedagogy they more than made up for in enthusiasm and dedication to their students. I'm not sure how TFA works in Florida, but TFA teachers are not taking jobs away from 2-3 year teachers in New York -- here, the Teaching Fellows and TFA teachers go where other fear to tread: the schools with the lowest rankings in terms of test scores, discipline, and conditions. I think it would be great for teachers with a decade of experience to come to teach in these schools, but sadly, there aren't many volunteers. Its true that they are learning the pedagogy while they are teaching, but the students deserve to have someone there who is really interested and invested in them. I've met many teacher who graduated undergrad programs -- and some who went straight on to grad programs -- who began the real-world teaching experience only to find that they don't like it. Now, $100,000 later, they decide to stick it out because its what they've prepared to do, even though their heart isn't in it. And heart is the most important ingredient...regardless of how one enters the profession. Randy Lichtenwalner Assistant Principal Washington Irving School Public Schools of the Tarrytowns ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
I don't think the problem is the fault of teachers in urban schools..I think it is the system and segregated schools. I don't blame the students for failing and I can't blame the teachers...we all need to take responsibility for the same or even worse segregation of schooling since before Brown ..even before that...since he 1900s. Things just don't seem to change. Even with the election of our president who campaigned for change. Value-laden teaching is more of the same thing. The following column was from 1980s:) I love the sentence...They must be flexible and able to bounce back after sixty-three defeats--ready and even eager to try again. I think we need to bounce back and try something different...I still believe separate but equal is not equal. From Susan Ohanian Column: The education managers who hand out competency tests and who write up official classroom observations make a critical mistake. They insist that prospective teachers should prove what they know. But we veteran teachers realize that the hard part of being a teacher has nothing to do with facts. Yes, teachers need to know where the apostrophes should land, but more important, they need to be nurturing human beings. They must be optimistic and enthusiastic about the possibilities of the children in their care. They must be flexible and able to bounce back after sixty-three defeats--ready and even eager to try again. I'm not much interested in seeing how a teacher carefully structures her lesson so that the kids stick to the objectives and the bell always rings in the right place--just after she makes her summary and gives the prelude for what will come tomorrow. I want to find out if that teacher is tough and loving and clever and flexible. I want to be sure she's more nurturing than a halibut What does she do when a kid vomits (all over those neat lesson plans)? Or an indignant parent rushes in denouncing the homework? Or the worst troublemaker breaks his arm and needs special help? Or the movie projector bulb burns out, and the replacements have to come from Taiwan? Or somebody spots a cockroach under her desk? A teacher's talents for dealing with crises aren't easily revealed on an evaluation report or rewarded on a salary schedule. And neither are those special moments that a teacher savors. So don't yield to the number crunchers--even when they dangle a golden carrot in front of you. Remember that the most wonderful joys of teaching happen in the blink of an eye and are often unplanned and unexpected. You can miss their importance and lose their sustenance if your eyes are glassily fixed on the objective you promised your principal you'd deliver that day. When you maintain a sharp eye and the ability to jump off the assigned task, the rewards are many--when a child discovers a well-turned phrase; or a mother phones and says, Our whole family enjoyed the homework. Please send more; or the shiest child in the room announces she wants to be the narrator in the class play; or the class bully smiles quietly over a poem. Our joy is in the daily practice of our craft, not in the year-end test scores or the paycheck. When outside experts ignore this, then we must stop and remind ourselves. We must talk, not of time on task but of the tantalizing vagueness and the lumps in the throat, the poetry and true purpose of our calling. Philomena Marinaccio-Eckel, Ph.D. Florida Atlantic University Dept. of Teaching and Learning College of Education 2912 College Ave. ES 214 Davie, FL 33314 Phone: 954-236-1070 Fax: 954-236-1050 -Original Message- From: Randal Lichtenwalner rlichtenwal...@tufsd.org To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Wed, Jul 14, 2010 10:38 am Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply Agreed...one of the reasons the attrition rate is higher among TFA and Teaching Fellows is because (a) they didn't imagine it would be their career forever (they did TFA instead of CityYear or the Peace Corps) and (b) they have less of an investment in it (2 years of schooling, no expectation of it being their career). I applaud any teacher who leaves after finding that teaching isn't for them. The real problem are the teachers who stay even after coming to that realization... ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
I, also, do not agree with the idea of teachers not completing education classes, because teaching is not all content. In fact, I would say teaching is less about content and more about understanding and relationship. And as a veteran, experienced, successful teacher who has been pink-slipped eight times in the last nine years, I highly object to the idea that the TFA system, some of whose candidates may have no real dedication to the profession, or may be doing it to pad their resume or climb up a ladder, is seen is the savior of the education system. I'm sorry, but that is simply demeaning to teachers and the public school system at a basic level. And yes, I'm fully aware that some TFA folks are dedicated, effective, and successful, but when one looks at the overall attrition rate and still touts this idea as a plus for education, at the expense of teachers like myself, then I find it to be an insult. But then, much of what is being done today in the name of education reform is nothing more than insult. Renee On Jul 14, 2010, at 4:45 AM, Mena wrote: I agree with about the enthusiasm and abilities of TFA teachers. However, like many of the hard choices in the current climate of change in our profession I have to think of the long-term consequences and messages being sent to the public. I do not agree with not requiring teachers to complete education courses. And it is a different situation to be enthusiastic when you are in a temporary position. I am happy to hear when TFA candidates do decide to stay in their teaching jobs. Of the TFA teachers who do stay longer than 2-3 years the attrition rate is 80%. I know many dedicated, hardworking, enthusiastic teachers who started out with unsurpassed drive and tenacity and continue to kill themselves teaching their students day-in and day-out. There are pros and cons..I just think this is another short-term solution to much needed drastic educational reform to integrate our segregated school system (Kozol). From, Philomena Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
Agreed...one of the reasons the attrition rate is higher among TFA and Teaching Fellows is because (a) they didn't imagine it would be their career forever (they did TFA instead of CityYear or the Peace Corps) and (b) they have less of an investment in it (2 years of schooling, no expectation of it being their career). I applaud any teacher who leaves after finding that teaching isn't for them. The real problem are the teachers who stay even after coming to that realization... ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
I, also, do not agree with the idea of teachers not completing education classes, because teaching is not all content. In fact, I would say teaching is less about content and more about understanding and relationship. I must disagree with this. I think we need to celebrate and mentor anyone who is willing to work in those oh so difficult places. My two daughters both went into education on provisional certificates. They had to take education classes but began teaching, both in bilingual classrooms. They are both successful and effective bilingual teachers who have given much back to their perspective districts. If those provisional certificates hadn't been available to them, the profession would have lost two dedicated and caring teachers who were not in it for their resume or to enhance their career path. Carol ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
The problem is HOW to desegregate them. The voucher system is a JOKE. The kids with the fewest resources are still going to be left behind because a voucher is not going to cover it all OR provide transportation. The only ones the vouchers help are the kids whose parents can already afford it and have a way to provide the transportation. I teach in a rural school district (on top of a mountain, I might add-throw in snow/winter driving) and in order for parents to select a better school they better be willing to drive 30 minutes each way everyday. Education is a 3 legged stool- teachers, admin students and parents. Take out one leg you get a wobbly stool! I am so sick of teachers getting ALL the blame for students not performing well. I read a wonderful article once that compared teaching and an auto mechanic. It said even if you take your car to the BEST mechanic but at the end of the day, the mechanic rolls your car out front and allows anyone walking by to work on your car until the next day...you might get lucky and have a great running car or you might not. Teachers do not have their students 24 hours a day. -- From: Mena drmarinac...@aol.com Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2010 11:17 AM To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply I don't think the problem is the fault of teachers in urban schools..I think it is the system and segregated schools. I don't blame the students for failing and I can't blame the teachers...we all need to take responsibility for the same or even worse segregation of schooling since before Brown ..even before that...since he 1900s. Things just don't seem to change. Even with the election of our president who campaigned for change. Value-laden teaching is more of the same thing. The following column was from 1980s:) I love the sentence...They must be flexible and able to bounce back after sixty-three defeats--ready and even eager to try again. I think we need to bounce back and try something different...I still believe separate but equal is not equal. From Susan Ohanian Column: The education managers who hand out competency tests and who write up official classroom observations make a critical mistake. They insist that prospective teachers should prove what they know. But we veteran teachers realize that the hard part of being a teacher has nothing to do with facts. Yes, teachers need to know where the apostrophes should land, but more important, they need to be nurturing human beings. They must be optimistic and enthusiastic about the possibilities of the children in their care. They must be flexible and able to bounce back after sixty-three defeats--ready and even eager to try again. I'm not much interested in seeing how a teacher carefully structures her lesson so that the kids stick to the objectives and the bell always rings in the right place--just after she makes her summary and gives the prelude for what will come tomorrow. I want to find out if that teacher is tough and loving and clever and flexible. I want to be sure she's more nurturing than a halibut What does she do when a kid vomits (all over those neat lesson plans)? Or an indignant parent rushes in denouncing the homework? Or the worst troublemaker breaks his arm and needs special help? Or the movie projector bulb burns out, and the replacements have to come from Taiwan? Or somebody spots a cockroach under her desk? A teacher's talents for dealing with crises aren't easily revealed on an evaluation report or rewarded on a salary schedule. And neither are those special moments that a teacher savors. So don't yield to the number crunchers--even when they dangle a golden carrot in front of you. Remember that the most wonderful joys of teaching happen in the blink of an eye and are often unplanned and unexpected. You can miss their importance and lose their sustenance if your eyes are glassily fixed on the objective you promised your principal you'd deliver that day. When you maintain a sharp eye and the ability to jump off the assigned task, the rewards are many--when a child discovers a well-turned phrase; or a mother phones and says, Our whole family enjoyed the homework. Please send more; or the shiest child in the room announces she wants to be the narrator in the class play; or the class bully smiles quietly over a poem. Our joy is in the daily practice of our craft, not in the year-end test scores or the paycheck. When outside experts ignore this, then we must stop and remind ourselves. We must talk, not of time on task but of the tantalizing vagueness and the lumps in the throat, the poetry and true purpose of our calling. Philomena Marinaccio-Eckel, Ph.D. Florida Atlantic University Dept. of Teaching and Learning College of Education 2912 College Ave. ES 214 Davie, FL 33314 Phone: 954-236-1070 Fax: 954-236-1050 -Original Message
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
I agree... wholeheartedly...we need to figure out HOW to desegregate the schools (but I hope people do not mistakenly think that parents are to blame). This is a necessary discussion...I sincerely believe that the politicians aren't going to solve this problem seems to me that government programs have been making businessmen rich for years. I believe teachers are our only hope because they are the only ones who truly care about the students and not the profit. We need to dialogue and brainstorm until WE come up with a solution because public education is at risk. We know value-laden teacher pay, more standardized tests, and charter schools are just more of the same money-making approaches to solving the problem. Basing teacher pay on test scores just puts more money in the pockets of testing companies. Charter schools take scare funding sources away from public schools and you are right students are left behind! Busing didn't work. We need to think...but it makes my head hurt! But like good teachers...we must be flexible and able to bounce back after sixty-three defeats--ready and even eager to try again. Philomena Marinaccio-Eckel, Ph.D. Florida Atlantic University Dept. of Teaching and Learning College of Education 2912 College Ave. ES 214 Davie, FL 33314 Phone: 954-236-1070 Fax: 954-236-1050 -Original Message- From: Sue Pratt expecting2...@comcast.net To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Wed, Jul 14, 2010 1:10 pm Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply The problem is HOW to desegregate them. The voucher system is a JOKE. The kids with the fewest resources are still going to be left behind because a voucher is not going to cover it all OR provide transportation. The only ones the vouchers help are the kids whose parents can already afford it and have a way to provide the transportation. I teach in a rural school district (on top of a mountain, I might add-throw in snow/winter driving) and in order for parents to select a better school they better be willing to drive 30 minutes each way everyday. Education is a 3 legged stool- teachers, admin students and parents. Take out one leg you get a wobbly stool! I am so sick of teachers getting ALL the blame for students not performing well. I read a wonderful article once that compared teaching and an auto mechanic. It said even if you take your car to the BEST mechanic but at the end of the day, the mechanic rolls your car out front and allows anyone walking by to work on your car until the next day...you might get lucky and have a great running car or you might not. Teachers do not have their students 24 hours a day. -- From: Mena drmarinac...@aol.com Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2010 11:17 AM To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply I don't think the problem is the fault of teachers in urban schools..I think it is the system and segregated schools. I don't blame the students for failing and I can't blame the teachers...we all need to take responsibility for the same or even worse segregation of schooling since before Brown ..even before that...since he 1900s. Things just don't seem to change. Even with the election of our president who campaigned for change. Value-laden teaching is more of the same thing. The following column was from 1980s:) I love the sentence...They must be flexible and able to bounce back after sixty-three defeats--ready and even eager to try again. I think we need to bounce back and try something different...I still believe separate but equal is not equal. From Susan Ohanian Column: The education managers who hand out competency tests and who write up official classroom observations make a critical mistake. They insist that prospective teachers should prove what they know. But we veteran teachers realize that the hard part of being a teacher has nothing to do with facts. Yes, teachers need to know where the apostrophes should land, but more important, they need to be nurturing human beings. They must be optimistic and enthusiastic about the possibilities of the children in their care. They must be flexible and able to bounce back after sixty-three defeats--ready and even eager to try again. I'm not much interested in seeing how a teacher carefully structures her lesson so that the kids stick to the objectives and the bell always rings in the right place--just after she makes her summary and gives the prelude for what will come tomorrow. I want to find out if that teacher is tough and loving and clever and flexible. I want to be sure she's more nurturing than a halibut What does she do when a kid vomits (all over those neat lesson plans)? Or an indignant parent rushes in denouncing the homework
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
Can you send the name of this report, please? Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile -Original Message- From: Mena drmarinac...@aol.com Sender: mosaic-bounces+ryantammy7=aol@literacyworkshop.org Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2010 08:06:02 To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Reply-To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply First, I have to applaud this LISTSERV for enabling honest, risk-free, friendly, dialogues (similar to what I remember around the dining-room table at my grandmother's home on Sundays over sauce). My uncles loved to dispute current issues..they would yell and scream their opinions and then feel validated in just being able to share their experiences :) I truly value interacting with experienced professionals such as Rosie:) Second, ...Someone Explain this to Me is Awesome!!! This is what the article had to say about TFA. While I applaud the commitment of the young people who see things like Teach for America as a way to serve the nation, it is a shame that we think the best we can do for kids in our most challenged communities is a steady diet of inexperienced short term teachers. (And it might not be all that effective, according to a new report examining the academic achievement of students under the instruction of TFA staff.) Philomena Marinaccio-Eckel, Ph.D. Florida Atlantic University Dept. of Teaching and Learning College of Education 2912 College Ave. ES 214 Davie, FL 33314 Phone: 954-236-1070 Fax: 954-236-1050 -Original Message- From: Beverlee Paul beverleep...@gmail.com To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Wed, Jul 14, 2010 12:24 am Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply I'm thankful for the TFA kids; I know they take on some of the more difficult situations, but if they did well without an education-education, think how well they could do with classes in how kids learn, how teachers facilitate learning, etc., etc. etc. Sometimes how kids learn is counterintuitive to how we imagine they do from our viewpoint as adults/adult learners. One of my mentors said, Teaching isn't talking, and that's so true. Without training, we all feel like we're really presenting a rigorous curriculum when we talk and talk and talk. I think it's more pseudo-learning a child gets when he can chant back the words the teacher programs him to. Another of my favorite quotes is Learning is something done by a child, not to a child. It even takes outstanding teachers, who will take your breath away, much practice and commitment to recognize and live that truism. What seems efficient is sometimes wasted energy. I think engagement is a concept that is given inadequate attention in most teachers colleges. With an appropriate teacher education, teaching becomes simple. Not easy, but simple. When Mena writes about holding up boxed programs against a knowledge-based professional preparation, she's stating what I'm trying to say in a different way. We as teachers have to know not only what we think, but WHY we think that. When I say teaching is simple - if we know what is to be learned, and we know who is to learn it, we'll know what we have to do. It isn't always easy because the how we get there can stretch us to the max as teachers. And those kids that aren't easy? Those are the ones for which we need teacher education so we know what to do for them. But . . . it's probably those particular kids, their challenges and successes, their joy that keeps us in education and fascinated with what's to come. I think a TFA kid could probably do fairly well with herself as a teacher. But what the trained professional knows is how the environment in the room is also a teacher. And the other kids and teachers. They get the big picture. Another of my mentors responded to my question once as to the roles of nature/nurture in teachers. She said, There are some teachers who are born to be good teachers. There are some teachers who can be taught to be good teachers. But, for GREAT teachers, there has to be both nature and nurture. And what kinds of teachers do we want for our kids? On Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 12:00 PM, Mena drmarinac...@aol.com wrote: I think that Beverlee's email also gives voice to the importance of Colleges of Education and the importance of preparing teachers as professionals in light of the many alternate paths to teaching that are currently available. I have a wonderful teacher in my graduate class who taught for Teach for America. She was a bit offended when I mentioned that I was worried that 1-3 years teachers in inner-city schools were being replaced by TFA teachers. She had a wonderful experience and didn't see how undergraduate courses could have better
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
So then to add to what you are saying Bev, it is the teachers' college who should be responsible for adding more hours of in school/class observation and/or student teaching. When I graduated college back in the day my first classroom experience was student teaching which came at the end. 3 months was just not enough in my opinion. The teachers we get in now are in shock for about one month of the three they are with us. They have not been prepared for what they will encounter when they walk into a classroom, especially in a Title One school setting. I truly believe colleges need to send their candidates out from the very beginning. Laura -Original Message- From: Beverlee Paul beverleep...@gmail.com To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Mon, Jul 12, 2010 8:46 pm Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply And yet another perspective, that one of a reading specialist, lit coach, and university instructor: I understand how frustrating it may have been for you, and hope you had a good lit coach or grade level partner to help you through, but I'd like to speak to the issue of teacher education. What you missed in your teachers' college was what I call training which is different than education. The teachers' college really does have the responsibility to prepare you for the profession of teaching and what is known best practice. It sounds as if that's what they did. They educated you as to what we currently know about how kids learn and how you build on that to teach. How to be a professional educator. That took the 36 hours or whatever you had in your major. Now, within that, they certainly could have spent some hours talking about the real world but it couldn't take much time away from their obligation to educate professional educators. They needed all the time they could get to educate you as a professional. Fortunately, I guess, it doesn't take nearly as long to train managers/teachers to follow a basal reader or do the kinds of things required by NCLB/Reading First type programs. That's the kind of training a school district can do; it's not all that sophisticated and the decision-making that is required of a professional isn't involved. It takes no knowledge of child development or of cognitive processes or any of the other sophisticated knowledge that would be required by a program in which a teacher had the responsibility to design teaching and learning. Truly, a couple of days with some refreshers could prepare someone for the lower-level job of delivering the curriculum with fidelity and standardization, a one-size-fits-all program. So, from my perspective they probably did the best they could: they prepared you to be a teacher, and left the job to the district to train you for whatever they wanted. Hope you still have that knowledge within you! There'll come a day. . . . Bev A different perspective if I may... I graduated 9 years ago from a school that had a clear philosophy of inquiry based learning. I had no exposure to a basal text, and direct instruction was also considered evil. While I believe that the ideas presented in the Mosaic books is the best way for certain to learn, it is very disheartening as a new teacher to learn that many school districts do not hold similar views. Please expose your students to basals and whatever the required curriculum is for your district or state. When I first started teaching I was very angry that my school did not prepare me for what I saw as the real world. There was little to no discussion about standardized testing especially those related to NCLB and AYP. Just another viewpoint. Rosie ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
I think that Beverlee's email also gives voice to the importance of Colleges of Education and the importance of preparing teachers as professionals in light of the many alternate paths to teaching that are currently available. I have a wonderful teacher in my graduate class who taught for Teach for America. She was a bit offended when I mentioned that I was worried that 1-3 years teachers in inner-city schools were being replaced by TFA teachers. She had a wonderful experience and didn't see how undergraduate courses could have better prepared her to teach. However, I think that so many new approaches and concepts are thrown at teachers, that only by holding up real-world, packaged programs to a solid foundation of theory, research, child development, and cognitive processes can teacher make the hard decisions of how to effectively teach a student. Philomena Philomena Marinaccio-Eckel, Ph.D. Florida Atlantic University Dept. of Teaching and Learning College of Education 2912 College Ave. ES 214 Davie, FL 33314 Phone: 954-236-1070 Fax: 954-236-1050 -Original Message- From: Beverlee Paul beverleep...@gmail.com To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Mon, Jul 12, 2010 8:46 pm Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply And yet another perspective, that one of a reading specialist, lit coach, and university instructor: I understand how frustrating it may have been for you, and hope you had a good lit coach or grade level partner to help you through, but I'd like to speak to the issue of teacher education. What you missed in your teachers' college was what I call training which is different than education. The teachers' college really does have the responsibility to prepare you for the profession of teaching and what is known best practice. It sounds as if that's what they did. They educated you as to what we currently know about how kids learn and how you build on that to teach. How to be a professional educator. That took the 36 hours or whatever you had in your major. Now, within that, they certainly could have spent some hours talking about the real world but it couldn't take much time away from their obligation to educate professional educators. They needed all the time they could get to educate you as a professional. Fortunately, I guess, it doesn't take nearly as long to train managers/teachers to follow a basal reader or do the kinds of things required by NCLB/Reading First type programs. That's the kind of training a school district can do; it's not all that sophisticated and the decision-making that is required of a professional isn't involved. It takes no knowledge of child development or of cognitive processes or any of the other sophisticated knowledge that would be required by a program in which a teacher had the responsibility to design teaching and learning. Truly, a couple of days with some refreshers could prepare someone for the lower-level job of delivering the curriculum with fidelity and standardization, a one-size-fits-all program. So, from my perspective they probably did the best they could: they prepared you to be a teacher, and left the job to the district to train you for whatever they wanted. Hope you still have that knowledge within you! There'll come a day. . . . Bev A different perspective if I may... I graduated 9 years ago from a school that had a clear philosophy of inquiry based learning. I had no exposure to a basal text, and direct instruction was also considered evil. While I believe that the ideas presented in the Mosaic books is the best way for certain to learn, it is very disheartening as a new teacher to learn that many school districts do not hold similar views. Please expose your students to basals and whatever the required curriculum is for your district or state. When I first started teaching I was very angry that my school did not prepare me for what I saw as the real world. There was little to no discussion about standardized testing especially those related to NCLB and AYP. Just another viewpoint. Rosie ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
Our local university does a good job of sending the kids out right away. We have quite a few Title 1 schools with very diverse populations. I think they become aware of some of the challenges that they might face and some strategies to address them. Many of their students are from very different hometowns than this. They also get to see different grade levels. I know in the past I've had student teachers who have said they thought they wanted to teach 1st grade and then they visited a first grade and saw how much work it was. -Original Message- From: readingla...@aol.com To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Tue, Jul 13, 2010 7:13 am Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply So then to add to what you are saying Bev, it is the teachers' college who should be responsible for adding more hours of in school/class observation and/or student teaching. When I graduated college back in the day my first classroom experience was student teaching which came at the end. 3 months was just not enough in my opinion. The teachers we get in now are in shock for about one month of the three they are with us. They have not been prepared for what they will encounter when they walk into a classroom, especially in a Title One school setting. I truly believe colleges need to send their candidates out from the very beginning. Laura -Original Message- From: Beverlee Paul beverleep...@gmail.com To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Mon, Jul 12, 2010 8:46 pm Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply And yet another perspective, that one of a reading specialist, lit coach, and university instructor: I understand how frustrating it may have been for you, and hope you had a good lit coach or grade level partner to help you through, but I'd like to speak to the issue of teacher education. What you missed in your teachers' college was what I call training which is different than education. The teachers' college really does have the responsibility to prepare you for the profession of teaching and what is known best practice. It sounds as if that's what they did. They educated you as to what we currently know about how kids learn and how you build on that to teach. How to be a professional educator. That took the 36 hours or whatever you had in your major. Now, within that, they certainly could have spent some hours talking about the real world but it couldn't take much time away from their obligation to educate professional educators. They needed all the time they could get to educate you as a professional. Fortunately, I guess, it doesn't take nearly as long to train managers/teachers to follow a basal reader or do the kinds of things required by NCLB/Reading First type programs. That's the kind of training a school district can do; it's not all that sophisticated and the decision-making that is required of a professional isn't involved. It takes no knowledge of child development or of cognitive processes or any of the other sophisticated knowledge that would be required by a program in which a teacher had the responsibility to design teaching and learning. Truly, a couple of days with some refreshers could prepare someone for the lower-level job of delivering the curriculum with fidelity and standardization, a one-size-fits-all program. So, from my perspective they probably did the best they could: they prepared you to be a teacher, and left the job to the district to train you for whatever they wanted. Hope you still have that knowledge within you! There'll come a day. . . . Bev A different perspective if I may... I graduated 9 years ago from a school that had a clear philosophy of inquiry based learning. I had no exposure to a basal text, and direct instruction was also considered evil. While I believe that the ideas presented in the Mosaic books is the best way for certain to learn, it is very disheartening as a new teacher to learn that many school districts do not hold similar views. Please expose your students to basals and whatever the required curriculum is for your district or state. When I first started teaching I was very angry that my school did not prepare me for what I saw as the real world. There was little to no discussion about standardized testing especially those related to NCLB and AYP. Just another viewpoint. Rosie ___ 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
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
I think that the single most important thing is a teacher's ability and willingness to meet their students where they are, and teach them what they need, regardless of the student's level or ability. These might be teachers who entered the profession through traditional teacher education programs, or through alternate means. I had the opportunity to teach some Teach for America candidates during their first year, and I have to say that they were like most other teachers I knew, with the exception that they were highly motivated to learn, change, and succeed. While many of my colleagues were flexible and enthusiastic, the TFA teachers' drive and tenacity far surpassed my colleagues'. Too many teachers in hard-to-place schools get stuck, or are happy to do enough to get by in some very trying circumstances. I found that the Teach for America candidates and Teaching Fellows candidates brought a breath of fresh air, and what they lacked in pedagogy they more than made up for in enthusiasm and dedication to their students. I'm not sure how TFA works in Florida, but TFA teachers are not taking jobs away from 2-3 year teachers in New York -- here, the Teaching Fellows and TFA teachers go where other fear to tread: the schools with the lowest rankings in terms of test scores, discipline, and conditions. I think it would be great for teachers with a decade of experience to come to teach in these schools, but sadly, there aren't many volunteers. Its true that they are learning the pedagogy while they are teaching, but the students deserve to have someone there who is really interested and invested in them. I've met many teacher who graduated undergrad programs -- and some who went straight on to grad programs -- who began the real-world teaching experience only to find that they don't like it. Now, $100,000 later, they decide to stick it out because its what they've prepared to do, even though their heart isn't in it. And heart is the most important ingredient...regardless of how one enters the profession. Randy Lichtenwalner Assistant Principal Washington Irving School Public Schools of the Tarrytowns ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
Agreed. And here's the saddest fact of all. After NCLB has rendered any of those schools you mention in failure, which teachers would you expect to see there? It won't be those who have dedicated their lives to children and families in those schools and still remain enthusiastic, optimistic, and committed. They will run for the suburbs as fast as they can because they can't take the abuse and demoralization of failure to make AYP. Or the new acronym - PLAS (persistently low-achieving schools). So our children who most need the expertise of teachers, whether TFA or traditional, will be deprived of those very teachers. In my area of the country, there is a mass exodus out of those schools, and it's breaking the hearts of dedicated teachers to leave there, but there's only so much professionals can live with and still hold up their heads. I'm anxiously awaiting President Obama's and Secretary Duncan's promise to measure children's progress not child-against-child, but so far, I'm still waiting. . . . . . . . . . . . . On Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 8:30 PM, Randal Lichtenwalner rlichtenwal...@tufsd.org wrote: I think that the single most important thing is a teacher's ability and willingness to meet their students where they are, and teach them what they need, regardless of the student's level or ability. These might be teachers who entered the profession through traditional teacher education programs, or through alternate means. I had the opportunity to teach some Teach for America candidates during their first year, and I have to say that they were like most other teachers I knew, with the exception that they were highly motivated to learn, change, and succeed. While many of my colleagues were flexible and enthusiastic, the TFA teachers' drive and tenacity far surpassed my colleagues'. Too many teachers in hard-to-place schools get stuck, or are happy to do enough to get by in some very trying circumstances. I found that the Teach for America candidates and Teaching Fellows candidates brought a breath of fresh air, and what they lacked in pedagogy they more than made up for in enthusiasm and dedication to their students. I'm not sure how TFA works in Florida, but TFA teachers are not taking jobs away from 2-3 year teachers in New York -- here, the Teaching Fellows and TFA teachers go where other fear to tread: the schools with the lowest rankings in terms of test scores, discipline, and conditions. I think it would be great for teachers with a decade of experience to come to teach in these schools, but sadly, there aren't many volunteers. Its true that they are learning the pedagogy while they are teaching, but the students deserve to have someone there who is really interested and invested in them. I've met many teacher who graduated undergrad programs -- and some who went straight on to grad programs -- who began the real-world teaching experience only to find that they don't like it. Now, $100,000 later, they decide to stick it out because its what they've prepared to do, even though their heart isn't in it. And heart is the most important ingredient...regardless of how one enters the profession. Randy Lichtenwalner Assistant Principal Washington Irving School Public Schools of the Tarrytowns ___ 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. -- There is nothing so unequal as equal treatment of unequals.Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
Yes So then to add to what you are saying Bev, it is the teachers' college who should be responsible for adding more hours of in school/class observation and/or student teaching. When I graduated college back in the day my first classroom experience was student teaching which came at the end. 3 months was just not enough in my opinion. The teachers we get in now are in shock for about one month of the three they are with us. They have not been prepared for what they will encounter when they walk into a classroom, especially in a Title One school setting. I truly believe colleges need to send their candidates out from the very beginning. Laura Yes, Laura. As with anything, learners need a gradual release to responsibility. Any college student who is interested in elementary or early childhood ed should get into a school to watch modeling ASAP--preferably their second semester. I do know not all kids know career interests that soon, though. Then, throughout the rest of their college career, they should have experience in a variety of classrooms with increasingly more active and responsible roles. I also have a real problem with colleges that require only a semester of student teaching, then gives them two assignments. Of course, I know that more experiences makes them more employable, but eight weeks just doesn't cut it for this profession, IMHO. A semester makes them a true apprentice and they can better be inducted into the profession. The small college my daughter attended even had classes the kids could take as juniors and seniors in high school. They worked with the high schools so that the H.S. students could work in elementary schools for an hour a day and receive duel credit. In her case, it was also free, and you could start your college career with a bit of a head start. I also think that would weed out some folks that have Disneyland ideas about teaching!! ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
I'm thankful for the TFA kids; I know they take on some of the more difficult situations, but if they did well without an education-education, think how well they could do with classes in how kids learn, how teachers facilitate learning, etc., etc. etc. Sometimes how kids learn is counterintuitive to how we imagine they do from our viewpoint as adults/adult learners. One of my mentors said, Teaching isn't talking, and that's so true. Without training, we all feel like we're really presenting a rigorous curriculum when we talk and talk and talk. I think it's more pseudo-learning a child gets when he can chant back the words the teacher programs him to. Another of my favorite quotes is Learning is something done by a child, not to a child. It even takes outstanding teachers, who will take your breath away, much practice and commitment to recognize and live that truism. What seems efficient is sometimes wasted energy. I think engagement is a concept that is given inadequate attention in most teachers colleges. With an appropriate teacher education, teaching becomes simple. Not easy, but simple. When Mena writes about holding up boxed programs against a knowledge-based professional preparation, she's stating what I'm trying to say in a different way. We as teachers have to know not only what we think, but WHY we think that. When I say teaching is simple - if we know what is to be learned, and we know who is to learn it, we'll know what we have to do. It isn't always easy because the how we get there can stretch us to the max as teachers. And those kids that aren't easy? Those are the ones for which we need teacher education so we know what to do for them. But . . . it's probably those particular kids, their challenges and successes, their joy that keeps us in education and fascinated with what's to come. I think a TFA kid could probably do fairly well with herself as a teacher. But what the trained professional knows is how the environment in the room is also a teacher. And the other kids and teachers. They get the big picture. Another of my mentors responded to my question once as to the roles of nature/nurture in teachers. She said, There are some teachers who are born to be good teachers. There are some teachers who can be taught to be good teachers. But, for GREAT teachers, there has to be both nature and nurture. And what kinds of teachers do we want for our kids? On Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 12:00 PM, Mena drmarinac...@aol.com wrote: I think that Beverlee's email also gives voice to the importance of Colleges of Education and the importance of preparing teachers as professionals in light of the many alternate paths to teaching that are currently available. I have a wonderful teacher in my graduate class who taught for Teach for America. She was a bit offended when I mentioned that I was worried that 1-3 years teachers in inner-city schools were being replaced by TFA teachers. She had a wonderful experience and didn't see how undergraduate courses could have better prepared her to teach. However, I think that so many new approaches and concepts are thrown at teachers, that only by holding up real-world, packaged programs to a solid foundation of theory, research, child development, and cognitive processes can teacher make the hard decisions of how to effectively teach a student. Philomena Philomena Marinaccio-Eckel, Ph.D. Florida Atlantic University Dept. of Teaching and Learning College of Education 2912 College Ave. ES 214 Davie, FL 33314 Phone: 954-236-1070 Fax: 954-236-1050 -Original Message- From: Beverlee Paul beverleep...@gmail.com To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Mon, Jul 12, 2010 8:46 pm Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply And yet another perspective, that one of a reading specialist, lit coach, and university instructor: I understand how frustrating it may have been for you, and hope you had a good lit coach or grade level partner to help you through, but I'd like to speak to the issue of teacher education. What you missed in your teachers' college was what I call training which is different than education. The teachers' college really does have the responsibility to prepare you for the profession of teaching and what is known best practice. It sounds as if that's what they did. They educated you as to what we currently know about how kids learn and how you build on that to teach. How to be a professional educator. That took the 36 hours or whatever you had in your major. Now, within that, they certainly could have spent some hours talking about the real world but it couldn't take much time away from their obligation to educate professional educators. They needed all the time they could get to educate you as a professional. Fortunately, I guess, it doesn't take nearly as long to train managers/teachers to follow
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
Hi Mary, I also teach undergrad and grads literacy pedagogy...I encourage my students to join the MOSAIC LISTSERV..so that they can learn as well from this collaborative group of kindred spirits. Philomena Philomena Marinaccio-Eckel, Ph.D. Florida Atlantic University Dept. of Teaching and Learning College of Education 2912 College Ave. ES 214 Davie, FL 33314 Phone: 954-236-1070 Fax: 954-236-1050 -Original Message- From: medwa...@daltonstate.edu To: beverleep...@gmail.com; Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Cc: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Sun, Jul 11, 2010 6:32 pm Subject: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply Folks, I thoroughly enjoy and LEARN from your responses on this website. This fall I will teach an undergrad class in Reading Assessment and Prescription (I didn't dream up the title) to senior teacher candidates. (I typically have taught graduate courses.) I am enthralled with the discussion from real teachers of reading and I will work to incorporate your suggestions, ideas, and strategies as I prepare future teachers of reading. I concur with your perceptions of why schools use basals (security for first year teachers and a guarantee for schools that something is being taught.). In our state we have state standards aligned with IRA standards that explicitedly state what students should know and be able to do. We prepare our teacher candidates to use multiple resources to teach the state standards (correlated to state assessments). Frequently we're finding when our candidates graduate they are employed by school systems who purchase canned products that purport to meet state standards and they are required to use the products. Teachers feel they are turned into technicians of reading and are not able to use best practices to teach reading. THANKS for the information. I will continue to read your missives with much interest. Mary - Original Message - From: beverleep...@gmail.com Date: Saturday, July 10, 2010 5:32 pm Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Chapter 1 (Book Whisperer) To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group I, too, think basals have some value, especialy for new teachers with a not-so-wonderful teacher education program. THAT IS, if the level of the basal meets the level of the student, which precludes whole class instruction. It's only been recently in my career, though, that I've seen a better alternative. When I became a literacy coach, our district had just adopted an official balanced literacy stance. Most of us had been following balanced literacy practices for 20 years, though. I was under the impression at that time that lit coaches were nice, but not necessary. WOW was I wrong. To refer to Judy's letter at this point, I would say that the exception to new teachers needing a year with a basal's planning and support would be the presence of a lit coach, with an appropriate ratio of 20 teachers:1 coach. There are so many wonderful books out now to guide coaches, but one of the most powerful books is Jennifer Allen's A Sense of Belonging: Sustaining and Retaining New Teachers. Every administrator on this list should take advantage of their summer-of-less-work to read this book! Jan Miller Burkins has great books as well. I have 9 or 10 coaching books that guide coaches to guide teachers into professional educators. One of my profs said that the way to get outstanding teachers was to either hire them or to grow the ones you had. We have the knowledge to do that now, just not the will. Instead many of the Powers that Be wish to spend billions on teacher-proofed materials. Even the Feds themselves have admitted that the Reading First program spent well over 6 BILLION dollars and didn't develop comprehending readers -- why would we want any other kind of readers??? RF was the biggest program to take teacher judgment out of the equation and look at the results!! Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel -Original Message- From: jvma...@comcast.net Sender: mosaic-bounces+beverleepaul=gmail@literacyworkshop.org Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2010 15:09:50 To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email GroupReply-To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Chapter 1 (Book Whisperer) I am one who denigrated basals, but I do agree with Laura (see below). In fact, for many reasons, I think new teachers SHOULD start with basals. That is how we learn to teach reading in a traditional way as we gather our own reading theories--and the planning is done for them. Mosaic would have made no sense to me if I hadn't already had a foundation in teaching reading. Unfortunately, last
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
Philomena, Thanks. I had planned on doing it. I told a few last spring when I taught a seminar class; I think MOSAIC is a wonderful website. I am sure teachers in our area are not cognizant of the site and I'll spread the word. Mary - Original Message - From: Mena Date: Monday, July 12, 2010 9:43 am Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Hi Mary, I also teach undergrad and grads literacy pedagogy...I encourage my students to join the MOSAIC LISTSERV..so that they can learn as well from this collaborative group of kindred spirits. Philomena Philomena Marinaccio-Eckel, Ph.D. Florida Atlantic University Dept. of Teaching and Learning College of Education 2912 College Ave. ES 214 Davie, FL 33314 Phone: 954-236-1070 Fax: 954-236-1050 -Original Message- From: medwa...@daltonstate.edu To: beverleep...@gmail.com; Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group Cc: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group Sent: Sun, Jul 11, 2010 6:32 pm Subject: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply Folks, I thoroughly enjoy and LEARN from your responses on this website. This fall I will teach an undergrad class in Reading Assessment and Prescription (I didn't dream up the title) to senior teacher candidates. (I typically have taught graduate courses.) I am enthralled with the discussion from real teachers of reading and I will work to incorporate your suggestions, ideas, and strategies as I prepare future teachers of reading. I concur with your perceptions of why schools use basals (security for first year teachers and a guarantee for schools that something is being taught.). In our state we have state standards aligned with IRA standards that explicitedly state what students should know and be able to do. We prepare our teacher candidates to use multiple resources to teach the state standards (correlated to state assessments). Frequently we're finding when our candidates graduate they are employed by school systems who purchase canned products that purport to meet state standards and they are required to use the products. Teachers feel they are turned into technicians of reading and are not able to use best practices to teach reading. THANKS for the information. I will continue to read your missives with much interest. Mary - Original Message - From: beverleep...@gmail.com Date: Saturday, July 10, 2010 5:32 pm Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Chapter 1 (Book Whisperer) To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group I, too, think basals have some value, especialy for new teachers with a not-so-wonderful teacher education program. THAT IS, if the level of the basal meets the level of the student, which precludes whole class instruction. It's only been recently in my career, though, that I've seen a better alternative. When I became a literacy coach, our district had just adopted an official balanced literacy stance. Most of us had been following balanced literacy practices for 20 years, though. I was under the impression at that time that lit coaches were nice, but not necessary. WOW was I wrong. To refer to Judy's letter at this point, I would say that the exception to new teachers needing a year with a basal's planning and support would be the presence of a lit coach, with an appropriate ratio of 20 teachers:1 coach. There are so many wonderful books out now to guide coaches, but one of the most powerful books is Jennifer Allen's A Sense of Belonging: Sustaining and Retaining New Teachers. Every administrator on this list should take advantage of their summer-of-less-work to read this book! Jan Miller Burkins has great books as well. I have 9 or 10 coaching books that guide coaches to guide teachers into professional educators. One of my profs said that the way to get outstanding teachers was to either hire them or to grow the ones you had. We have the knowledge to do that now, just not the will. Instead many of the Powers that Be wish to spend billions on teacher-proofed materials. Even the Feds themselves have admitted that the Reading First program spent well over 6 BILLION dollars and didn't develop comprehending readers -- why would we want any other kind of readers??? RF was the biggest program to take teacher judgment out of the equation and look at the results!! Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel -Original Message- From: jvma...@comcast.net Sender: mosaic-bounces+beverleepaul=gmail@literacyworkshop.org Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2010 15:09:50 To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email GroupReply-To: Mosaic: A Reading
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
A different perspective if I may... I graduated 9 years ago from a school that had a clear philosophy of inquiry based learning. I had no exposure to a basal text, and direct instruction was also considered evil. While I believe that the ideas presented in the Mosaic books is the best way for certain to learn, it is very disheartening as a new teacher to learn that many school districts do not hold similar views. Please expose your students to basals and whatever the required curriculum is for your district or state. When I first started teaching I was very angry that my school did not prepare me for what I saw as the real world. There was little to no discussion about standardized testing especially those related to NCLB and AYP. Just another viewpoint. Rosie -Original Message- From: medwa...@daltonstate.edu To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Mon, Jul 12, 2010 9:52 am Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply Philomena, Thanks. I had planned on doing it. I told a few last spring when I taught a seminar class; I think MOSAIC is a wonderful website. I am sure teachers in our area are not cognizant of the site and I'll spread the word. Mary - Original Message - From: Mena Date: Monday, July 12, 2010 9:43 am Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Hi Mary, I also teach undergrad and grads literacy pedagogy...I encourage my students to join the MOSAIC LISTSERV..so that they can learn as well from this collaborative group of kindred spirits. Philomena Philomena Marinaccio-Eckel, Ph.D. Florida Atlantic University Dept. of Teaching and Learning College of Education 2912 College Ave. ES 214 Davie, FL 33314 Phone: 954-236-1070 Fax: 954-236-1050 -Original Message- From: medwa...@daltonstate.edu To: beverleep...@gmail.com; Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group Cc: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group Sent: Sun, Jul 11, 2010 6:32 pm Subject: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply Folks, I thoroughly enjoy and LEARN from your responses on this website. This fall I will teach an undergrad class in Reading Assessment and Prescription (I didn't dream up the title) to senior teacher candidates. (I typically have taught graduate courses.) I am enthralled with the discussion from real teachers of reading and I will work to incorporate your suggestions, ideas, and strategies as I prepare future teachers of reading. I concur with your perceptions of why schools use basals (security for first year teachers and a guarantee for schools that something is being taught.). In our state we have state standards aligned with IRA standards that explicitedly state what students should know and be able to do. We prepare our teacher candidates to use multiple resources to teach the state standards (correlated to state assessments). Frequently we're finding when our candidates graduate they are employed by school systems who purchase canned products that purport to meet state standards and they are required to use the products. Teachers feel they are turned into technicians of reading and are not able to use best practices to teach reading. THANKS for the information. I will continue to read your missives with much interest. Mary - Original Message - From: beverleep...@gmail.com Date: Saturday, July 10, 2010 5:32 pm Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Chapter 1 (Book Whisperer) To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group I, too, think basals have some value, especialy for new teachers with a not-so-wonderful teacher education program. THAT IS, if the level of the basal meets the level of the student, which precludes whole class instruction. It's only been recently in my career, though, that I've seen a better alternative. When I became a literacy coach, our district had just adopted an official balanced literacy stance. Most of us had been following balanced literacy practices for 20 years, though. I was under the impression at that time that lit coaches were nice, but not necessary. WOW was I wrong. To refer to Judy's letter at this point, I would say that the exception to new teachers needing a year with a basal's planning and support would be the presence of a lit coach, with an appropriate ratio of 20 teachers:1 coach. There are so many wonderful books out now to guide coaches, but one of the most powerful books is Jennifer Allen's A Sense of Belonging: Sustaining and Retaining New Teachers. Every administrator
Re: [MOSAIC] a professor's reply
And yet another perspective, that one of a reading specialist, lit coach, and university instructor: I understand how frustrating it may have been for you, and hope you had a good lit coach or grade level partner to help you through, but I'd like to speak to the issue of teacher education. What you missed in your teachers' college was what I call training which is different than education. The teachers' college really does have the responsibility to prepare you for the profession of teaching and what is known best practice. It sounds as if that's what they did. They educated you as to what we currently know about how kids learn and how you build on that to teach. How to be a professional educator. That took the 36 hours or whatever you had in your major. Now, within that, they certainly could have spent some hours talking about the real world but it couldn't take much time away from their obligation to educate professional educators. They needed all the time they could get to educate you as a professional. Fortunately, I guess, it doesn't take nearly as long to train managers/teachers to follow a basal reader or do the kinds of things required by NCLB/Reading First type programs. That's the kind of training a school district can do; it's not all that sophisticated and the decision-making that is required of a professional isn't involved. It takes no knowledge of child development or of cognitive processes or any of the other sophisticated knowledge that would be required by a program in which a teacher had the responsibility to design teaching and learning. Truly, a couple of days with some refreshers could prepare someone for the lower-level job of delivering the curriculum with fidelity and standardization, a one-size-fits-all program. So, from my perspective they probably did the best they could: they prepared you to be a teacher, and left the job to the district to train you for whatever they wanted. Hope you still have that knowledge within you! There'll come a day. . . . Bev A different perspective if I may... I graduated 9 years ago from a school that had a clear philosophy of inquiry based learning. I had no exposure to a basal text, and direct instruction was also considered evil. While I believe that the ideas presented in the Mosaic books is the best way for certain to learn, it is very disheartening as a new teacher to learn that many school districts do not hold similar views. Please expose your students to basals and whatever the required curriculum is for your district or state. When I first started teaching I was very angry that my school did not prepare me for what I saw as the real world. There was little to no discussion about standardized testing especially those related to NCLB and AYP. Just another viewpoint. Rosie ___ 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] a professor's reply
Folks, I thoroughly enjoy and LEARN from your responses on this website. This fall I will teach an undergrad class in Reading Assessment and Prescription (I didn't dream up the title) to senior teacher candidates. (I typically have taught graduate courses.) I am enthralled with the discussion from real teachers of reading and I will work to incorporate your suggestions, ideas, and strategies as I prepare future teachers of reading. I concur with your perceptions of why schools use basals (security for first year teachers and a guarantee for schools that something is being taught.). In our state we have state standards aligned with IRA standards that explicitedly state what students should know and be able to do. We prepare our teacher candidates to use multiple resources to teach the state standards (correlated to state assessments). Frequently we're finding when our candidates graduate they are employed by school systems who purchase canned products that purport to meet state standards and they are required to use the products. Teachers feel they are turned into technicians of reading and are not able to use best practices to teach reading. THANKS for the information. I will continue to read your missives with much interest. Mary - Original Message - From: beverleep...@gmail.com Date: Saturday, July 10, 2010 5:32 pm Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Chapter 1 (Book Whisperer) To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group I, too, think basals have some value, especialy for new teachers with a not-so-wonderful teacher education program. THAT IS, if the level of the basal meets the level of the student, which precludes whole class instruction. It's only been recently in my career, though, that I've seen a better alternative. When I became a literacy coach, our district had just adopted an official balanced literacy stance. Most of us had been following balanced literacy practices for 20 years, though. I was under the impression at that time that lit coaches were nice, but not necessary. WOW was I wrong. To refer to Judy's letter at this point, I would say that the exception to new teachers needing a year with a basal's planning and support would be the presence of a lit coach, with an appropriate ratio of 20 teachers:1 coach. There are so many wonderful books out now to guide coaches, but one of the most powerful books is Jennifer Allen's A Sense of Belonging: Sustaining and Retaining New Teachers. Every administrator on this list should take advantage of their summer-of-less-work to read this book! Jan Miller Burkins has great books as well. I have 9 or 10 coaching books that guide coaches to guide teachers into professional educators. One of my profs said that the way to get outstanding teachers was to either hire them or to grow the ones you had. We have the knowledge to do that now, just not the will. Instead many of the Powers that Be wish to spend billions on teacher-proofed materials. Even the Feds themselves have admitted that the Reading First program spent well over 6 BILLION dollars and didn't develop comprehending readers -- why would we want any other kind of readers??? RF was the biggest program to take teacher judgment out of the equation and look at the results!! Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel -Original Message- From: jvma...@comcast.net Sender: mosaic-bounces+beverleepaul=gmail@literacyworkshop.org Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2010 15:09:50 To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email GroupReply-To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Chapter 1 (Book Whisperer) I am one who denigrated basals, but I do agree with Laura (see below). In fact, for many reasons, I think new teachers SHOULD start with basals. That is how we learn to teach reading in a traditional way as we gather our own reading theories--and the planning is done for them. Mosaic would have made no sense to me if I hadn't already had a foundation in teaching reading. Unfortunately, last year (when California could still afford new teachers), I got in trouble for recommending that our newbies use the basal for a year. They were foundering with comprehension strategies and needed a foothold. Alas. When I taught 3rd grade and focused on comprehension strategies, I used the basal as an anthology and we read almost all of the selections. It seems to me that most basals have excellent selections these days. My objection to the 5th grade basal is that many of the selections are excerpts and they leave students feeling unfinished and dissatisfied. Sorry this is so disjointed- -you can see I still have mixed feelings about basals. What I detest most is the way the publishers throw way too much thoughtless busywork into a week and don't give kids a chance to learn. But, as you may glean from my thoughts, I
