- The message that i got from chpt 1 was how schools focus so much on test scores that they are cheating their students out of a real education. With school systems and states requiring teachers to teach so many standards per course it is almost impossible for teachers to cover all material in an effective way where the students are really grasping what the concepts are. Students are reading for the answers to the test they are not comprehending and enjoying what they are reading.
- I got from this chapter that as a teacher we have to work hard to find the happy median of fitting in all the standards but taking time to really focus on the important concepts that students need to get out of a content. We have to juggle to appease everybody, students, test scores and standards and some how hope that in the midst of it all the students retain something to carry on with them to the next grade.
- When i personally was in school as a student i enjoyed reading on a personal level but i hardly enjoyed anything that i read that was assigned to me. It was hard to get into something i was forced to read at a certain pace, on top of all the other subjects homework and after school activities. I found myself looking at spark notes and cliff notes for most of the books because i did not have time to fully read them. And when i did read i found myself daydreaming and not actually comprehending what i was reading. But now when i look back i wish i had learned and retained more from the books because i hardly remember anything i read in high school.
- Breaking it down i believe is one of the key concepts i have obtained from this class that i feel will be important for me to apply to in my future classes. Really looking at short passages and having students analyzing them and explaining them to me and the class. And it's not only important to pick out what they understand but help talk them through what they don't understand and help them build problem solving skills in reading that they can adapt to other forms of literature and other passages they will read that are confusing.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Readicide intro and chpt 1
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I agree that students are the ones hurting by the teachers making the students "test-ready". Standards are starting if not already completely out of control and prohibiting teachers from getting deep meaning of important topics to their students.
ReplyDeleteI also used spark notes and cliff notes in high school and would only read a book if I was personally interested in it and if I had the time.
Teachers definitely have a lot to juggle but I think the more strategies that we learn the easier it will be for US to implement the importance of reading in ALL contents!
I like you thinking about short text, Rebecca, and working through what they understand - and their confusions. I think first it takes buy-in from students. Reading critically and understanding what you read is a life skill, but how will you sell 10th graders on reading American History? What do you think will tap into their passions?
ReplyDeleteEven though I loved reading in high school, I too used spark/cliff notes probably far too often. I think part of this issue is that teenagers want to rebel against what they are asked to do. And they may not do it consciously. But to think that I am a reader and I still struggled to read things that were "required" says something.
ReplyDeleteI think some great ideas for you, Rebecca, for selling students on reading American History might be what you already mentioned- to give them shorter bits of text- maybe a short portion of a war scene from a book, or a short biography about a president not found in the textbook. I really like that idea because it helps the students not feel overwhelmed by the material, but still be engaging in critical information related to the content.