becoming an outstanding teacher...

"We have to accept that political forces will always influence the fields of science and educaion, but teachers can make their voices heard by:

• doing a great job in the classroom, 
• educating parents and policymakers,
• opening up the classroom o show their work,
• helping one another learn, and
• realizing the importance of their work for every child." 

 The article by Pinnell really hit home with me. I am in Trends and Issues this semester and in the class we seem to talk a lot about the negatives going on in the education system. From teachers being so harshly evaluated, to standardized tests, to assuming that every child is the same. Talking about all of the negatives was really starting to get to me, but this article puts teachers back in the positive light. It is good to hear about the positives not just the negatives. Pinnell talks about Carol, a third grade teacher who has taken many steps in order to become the best possible teacher that she can be. Pinnell walks us through what Carol does in her classroom in order to help her be a great teacher but also to help her students. Carol does something that standardized tests do not, she looks at the students as individuals instead of as a whole. She understands that all children are not the same and that they do not all learn in the same way. This is something that we have talked about a lot throughout this semester and it is such an important aspect to education. Many teachers fall short and end up teaching to the test, these are the teachers we tend to look at in Trends and Issues, so it is nice to see what one teacher does successfully. This article goes through many techniques that Carol uses, but some of the big ones are: professional development, becomes involved with many other teachers, makes the classroom fun, realizes that all children are different, and continues to educate herself on how to better understand her kids. I picked the quote at the beginning of this blog because it really stood out to me. There are always going to be policies in place in the field of education, but that does not mean that we have to fall behind because of them. As teachers we need to strive to do our best and to help all of the children that we come into contact with.

finding the "just-right" book

After reading the Rog and Burton article, it was obvious to me that reading levels are both very helpful but also very complex. Children need to find that "just-right" book, but how do we get them to that point? We must first set up a system that lets us know what book is "just-right" for the child and then we must pick a book on that level. I would say, it is going to be hard at first putting a system into action, but once we figure out what works for us it will be well worth it. The problem really comes when it is time to pick the books. Rog and Burton point out that not all book companies use the same leveling system. For instance, one book might be considered a level 2 reader, but at another company it might be considered a 3 or 4. This is a HUGE problem in my eyes. Sure as the teacher, I will hopefully be able to figure out what book is right for the child, but what about the parents of the child? Say they want to go to the library and get a book for their child. They might not realize that the leveling on books are different. This is a problem in my eyes, therefore, we as teachers must educate not only our children on what books are "just-right" for them, but we must also educate the parents. This seems to be a common trend in education. You are not only a teacher for your students but also for your parents. Parents play a huge role in the child's life, so we better get them on board early!

This is the site that Monica showed us last class, but I found it to be very helpful so I just wanted to share the link on here - Reading A-Z
This website gives a few good tips on how to pick a book that is "just-right" - Reading Rockets