I really enjoyed reading these few chapters of the book. The book outlined why reading is critical to students and argues why it is such an important skill. It also talks about how to teach this important skill to students and sheds some light on some of the issues with current teaching styles.
In today's world teachers typically teach students the way they were taught because this is how it was modeled to them and, thus, it is their strength. Teachers too often use their strengths to guide their classroom, but the teacher needs to be aware that this might not be the best for their students. It is much harder for teachers to teach their strengths because it came so easily to them. When something comes easy to someone, the steps to how the person became successful in this area are blurred, therefore making it harder to teach a student the process of skill (i.e. reading). Instead they expect products and they expect students to be able to read higher levels of literature than they are probably capable of reading. In order to provide students with the skills needed to read higher levels of literature we first need to teach them how to read. Students must first be given the tools and the ability to read before they are expected to find meaning and critically think about and analyze complicated literature. As teachers it is our job is not to first force students to engage in higher level thinking, but, rather, to provide them with the technical reading skills and background of the content. Reading is a skill that is taught not implied or inferred. This is one of the most common issues with teaching of today.
In other words, one of the main ideas of this reading was to express to the reader that teaching "by the book" is common, but is not necessarily the best way to run a classroom in order to help students reach their full potential. Students are individuals and, thus, think differently. All students are on different reading levels and have different styles of learning. They are all unique and require special attention. Thus, instruction should cater to the students' unique style of learning and provide the special attention needed for success. If one teaches "by the book" the much needed individualized teaching style is forgotten and, thus, students will begin to fall behind and will not progress as readers. Only when a student has progressed and can grip the material comfortably can they begin to enjoy reading and move on to higher levels of thinking.
I completely agree with this argument. In our previous reading Wilhelm talked about students that could not appreciate Shakespeare simply because they could not understand the language. This is a great example of what this reading was talking about. Students are expected to analyze characters, themes, and language of a play that they have not yet even been taught how to read. When any student first sees Shakespeare's writing it looks foreign and it, frankly, scares them. It scared me! I vividly remember my teacher assigning us a reading of Romeo and Juliet and expecting us to talk about it the next class, and I also remember nobody saying a word that next class because nobody had any idea what they had just read. This is a perfect example of a moment where reading became meaningless to the students because the teacher had not provided them with the tools and skills necessary to understand the content. Too often have I seen this occur in classrooms that I have been in, and this reading really stressed this idea to me. Thus, I will try my best in the future to avoid this type of teaching.
Like it was addressed in chapter two, it is our job to teach students how to read literature and actually comprehend it. I like what you had to say about this helping students reach their full potential as readers and learners. As teachers, not only do you want your students to succeed and be able carry their knowledge with them, but you want to help them to create the same passion for the subject that you have. In order to do this, we have to develop a more individualized approach. For some students, reading Shakespeare is a breeze. For others, Early Modern English is actually like a foreign knowledge. In order for students to get to that level of passionate learning and thinking, they first must understand the material, and it is our job a teachers to help them accomplish that. Interesting thoughts, Taylor.
ReplyDeleteI meant "foreign language" not "knowledge."
ReplyDeleteLike it was addressed in chapter two, it is our job to teach students how to read literature and actually comprehend it. I like what you had to say about this helping students reach their full potential as readers and learners. As teachers, not only do you want your students to succeed and be able carry their knowledge with them, but you want to help them to create the same passion for the subject that you have. In order to do this, we have to develop a more individualized approach. For some students, reading Shakespeare is a breeze. For others, Early Modern English is actually like a foreign knowledge. In order for students to get to that level of passionate learning and thinking, they first must understand the material, and it is our job a teachers to help them accomplish that. Interesting thoughts, Taylor.
ReplyDelete