I agree with Jack in the sense that "Rayford's Song" is a very sad story. Although seemingly unintentional, the teacher probably did silence little Rayburn for a long time, if not forever. The scary thing is that this kind of stuff probably happens more than we think in the classroom. I know that I have seen things like this occur before in my time as a student. I could see the teacher's point of view in that she probably wanted to teach Rayburn the "proper" way to speak, but went about it in the wrong way. I think this is an example of where teachers need to think "outside of the box." Instead of being concerned with the "proper" way of speaking or learning, a teacher needs to appreciate a student's willingness to be open. This takes me back to Schoenbach's article in which it talks about creating a safe environment for students to learn in. Well, in this story the teacher did not create a safe environment in my opinion.
I think the dimensions talked about in Schoenbach's article are also very interseting. I think in order for strong literacy building to occur all 4 of these dimensions have to be present. However, I agree with Anita's comment from the other day in that it is difficult to decipher the cognitive dimension from the knowledge building. I need to study these dimensions a little bit more I guess. I think another important mention in the article is that reading is not just a basic skill, but rather a process. I think many of us just do it, but don't really think about doing it. I know that sounds weird and kind of what we were talking about in class last week, but I think it is true. I think maybe if we thought about reading some more instead of just doing it, then it might be more worthwhile for us.
I would like to make Miriam one of the sherpas for next week.
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It's amazing how I've gotten this far in my education without having a teacher shut me down just as the boy in the poem, Rayford. It is important as educators to encourage children to think and build their confidence to express their feelings and ideas, whether we agree with them or not. It's important to get them thinking. I can see how I am able to establish the 4 dimensions of literacy into everyday teaching. Practice makes perfect. Obivously one isn't going to get it immediately but with time and examening classroom management, lesson plans, ect. You will be able to incorporate the 4 dimensions. If you look closely to the brief descriptions of each dimension you can differentiate between the four.
And the idea, too, here is that maybe if we think about doing it a bit more we will be able to be better mentors for our students in understanding how to think about our disciplines. Some part of teaching is about good modelling, good mentoring, I think. Not all of it but some it. I know what you mean, Richie. It's hard as you and Jack also write about to get metacognitive - especially on pieces that we're so familiar with - because it's almost like riding a bike. THese are things that are just second nature to us. Sometimes when you hit a difficult piece of reading, you are more aware of the active processes that you undergo here.
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