Things can change in an instant

It is amazing how quickly things can change.  With life's worries and responsibilities, we forget how our world can change for the better in just a few days. 

This fall, after years of trying, my sister and her husband had my nephew Shane.  Suddenly, like a miracle, their lives were changed.  After years of making art, my husband got both gallery representation and won Best in Show at the LaCloche Art Show (big show in my hometown) in the span of a few weeks.  Lately, things are going pretty well for me too.

But, there were times over the past few years when it seemed like the bad changes outweighed the good.  So, I am writing it down so I don't forget the good stuff when things are bad.  I know it is true for me and I know it will be true for my friends that are living the bad: things can change in an instant... you just have to pack your boxes and wait for the good.

A year of literacy support: how it looks at the end of the ride

Well, I am new to the "literacy game" and thankfully, this is my first, last and only year as Literacy Support Teacher. The process has been a challenging one, a discouraging one.

The preliminary scores are in, so it seems like a good time to begin to organize my thoughts about my role in the process. The results are confidential at this point, but I don't think I am giving too much away to say that not every student passed.

What does this mean to me, or more importantly, about me? It means that there were students that I was not able to help. They were not successful so, was I?

Maybe all kids can't pass? I know they can't. But, I hate the fact.

Maybe the idea that we can fix literacy deficiencies in Grade 10 is ludicrous?

Maybe teaching to the test without the building underlying literacy skills is a waste? (I think our board and school plan addresses both test preparation and literacy building but what the hell do I know?)

Maybe this shows my own inadequacies? It feels like it does.

A lot of maybes and one discouraged teacher.

Are standardized tests killing reading? A review of Readicide by Kelly Gallagher

I am just finishing a year as the Literacy Support Teacher at my school, so I have been steeped in literacy for months. That makes it the perfect time to do some professional reading about the role of an teacher in a world full of standardized tests.

The book I am reading is Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It by Kelly Gallagher.  Gallagher has been writing about reading for years and I have an earlier book of his, Deeper Reading, on my summer reading list.

In Readicide, Gallagher contends that educators are killing the love of reading.  The most immediately relevant to my role as LST is Gallagher's well-reasoned argument that the emphasis on developing test-takers over lifelong readers is contributing to the death of reading.

The emphasis on the results of the OSSLT is bad.  I think it can be misleading to publishing them like they define a school which, in my opinion, ignores the real use of the test.  The test should be used to identify students' weaknesses so we can offer them direct help (in the wise words of a fellow LST).  But, I also know the pressure on the students and LSTs in the weeks leading up to the test, to cover every angle, close every gap, know every trick.  So the question I have been struggling with, I mean really struggling, is how to help students prepare for the literacy test without losing sight of the real goal, true and lifelong literacy. 

I think Gallagher sums it up:  "... if students are taught to read and write well, they will do fine on mandated reading tests.  But if they are only taught to be test-takers, they will never learn to read and write well." (26)

As I finish my stint as LST and return to the English classroom, I now see my role more clearly.  I am going to go back to teaching kids to read and write well (I am a better reader than writer).  And, I am going to use Gallagher's suggestions to do so.  I will let you know how it goes.

Kindling a love of reading: I'm on fire

I have been reading like mad lately. It was sparked by the Kindle I got for Christmas. I think I had read 9 books before the Christmas break was over. I love that little electronic reader. It fits in my purse. It is light. It stores hundreds of books.

I also think that working with students who are weak or reluctant readers has fueled the fire. I can't believe there are so many people who don't read for pleasure. I guess I never asked the people around me if they liked to read until I started the Literacy Support position this year. So many colleagues say that they stopped enjoying reading in grade school and don't really read for pleasure. So many students struggle with reading and will do anything to avoid it.

Suddenly, reading feels like a gift.

It has always been my escape. If I am happy, I read. If I have free time, I read. If I want to reward myself, I buy a new book and read. If I am lonely or sad, I read.

My inner landscape is populated by the characters from books. When I am at a loss for words, their words come to me. Some books feel like friends.

If I have taken anything away from this past year, it is that I have to try harder to pass the gift of reading along and that as an English teacher, reading for enjoyment is the greatest gift I can give to my students.

So, I am reading every young adult book on the "Best Of" lists. I am reading "Books with Buzz". I am reading fantasy, non-fiction, literary fiction, historical pastoral, pastoral comical... oh, there is the voice of Polonius - see - they are all in there, talking away (see my last post about sanity - is this a bad sign?).

My Dad's words are in there too: "Could you leave me alone for a minute? I only have 20 pages left in my book".