The knowledge-building vs. strategies debate, misinterpreted due to messy messaging, needs to find a direct route from decoding words to a deep understanding of text. Some suggestions in four parts.
I agree with Mike--this is a great piece! Another piece I would like to explore is how do schools account for teachers at different places and different levels. If I were teaching high school math, you better believe I would want a script and I know that well organized script could help me be a good math teacher even though I would not ever be a superstar. On the other hand, if I were teaching first grade literacy I would want the ability to be able to pull things together and use my thirty years of experience and success. It's. a question I have been sitting with over the past few years. I know there is no easy answer but I will keep exploring it.
"if I were teaching first grade literacy I would want the ability to be able to pull things together and use my thirty years of experience and success."
Great distinctions about levels of experience. One of the problems is that the novice teacher is often presented with ELA programs that offer too many activities/choices (basal bloat), so without some guidance from a well-structured teacher training program or a literacy coach, this teacher--forced to make decisions due to time constraints--runs the risk of choosing activities that are both ineffective and inefficient. You're right: no easy answer.
Great piece, Harriett. Thank you. If I had one wish for every teacher, superstars and average Joe's alike, it would be that they find themselves surrounded by colleagues and a school that has firmly committed to a common teaching and learning environment, where they all use the same terminology, and commit to learning from each other. Thanks again.
Thanks, Mike! As you know, we were there together when we came pretty darn close to fulfilling your wish--and you were instrumental in making that happen. Good times for us--good fortune for our students.
I agree with Mike--this is a great piece! Another piece I would like to explore is how do schools account for teachers at different places and different levels. If I were teaching high school math, you better believe I would want a script and I know that well organized script could help me be a good math teacher even though I would not ever be a superstar. On the other hand, if I were teaching first grade literacy I would want the ability to be able to pull things together and use my thirty years of experience and success. It's. a question I have been sitting with over the past few years. I know there is no easy answer but I will keep exploring it.
"if I were teaching first grade literacy I would want the ability to be able to pull things together and use my thirty years of experience and success."
Great distinctions about levels of experience. One of the problems is that the novice teacher is often presented with ELA programs that offer too many activities/choices (basal bloat), so without some guidance from a well-structured teacher training program or a literacy coach, this teacher--forced to make decisions due to time constraints--runs the risk of choosing activities that are both ineffective and inefficient. You're right: no easy answer.
Great piece, Harriett. Thank you. If I had one wish for every teacher, superstars and average Joe's alike, it would be that they find themselves surrounded by colleagues and a school that has firmly committed to a common teaching and learning environment, where they all use the same terminology, and commit to learning from each other. Thanks again.
Thanks, Mike! As you know, we were there together when we came pretty darn close to fulfilling your wish--and you were instrumental in making that happen. Good times for us--good fortune for our students.