Reflection on Last Night's Class
Last night's class seemed different to me- I can't really put a name on what the feeling was, but it was kind of exciting. To see everyone so excited to show their projects, to start new projects, and to develop ideas for projects was really neat- and it's also a PRIME example of organic, meaningful, and relevant education. I'm so excited to give my future students a chance to replicate the exitement of last night's class.
On another note, I'd like to answer Dr. Stearns' question: What made us read in school?
I was a HUGE reader growing up. In 6th grade, my best friend Nathan and I started a book club for fans of R.L. Stine's Goosebumps and Fear Street series. (It only consisted of two other people, but still, the effort was there...) My 7th and 8th grade teacher, Ms. Mikoda, followed the teachings of Nancie Atwell's Reading /Writing Workshop. Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays consisted of creative writing projects, and Thursdays and Fridays were reading days. Ms. Mikoda hand HUNDREDS of books in her classroom to choose from, and she frequently brought books from the library for us to check out. Each night our homework was to read for 30 minutes and log this progress on a reading checklist which was required a parents' signature. My mom knew that I read for over an hour every night, so she just signed a stack of the slips and allowed me to be accountable on my own. The point of this story is that I read probably 30 or 40 books each school year. The only pitfall was that Ms. Mikoda never required us to write or think critically about what we read; we read just for the sake of reading.
Here is the webiste for the school that she founded in Edgecomb, Maine: The Center for Teaching and Learning. This place is beautiful.
23 comments:
Hi Meg,
Thank you for sharing this post with us! I can definitly relate to what you are saying. Growing up, I was always reading. I loved reading and still do. Dr. Stearns posted an artivle about the reading scores from 2005 and they are disgraceful. Seriously, why aren't students reading more and why are the test scores so horrific?
I was on the phone with my sister in law the other night and she was saying how my niece just started walking. My niece will be one this month and I recommended that my sister in law start reading to her. She kind of laughed and said "there's no point, she's just a baby." But this is the time to start. The colors from books and the pictures are stimulating and it is the beginning of a great habbit.
Check out my blog to see more about how I felt about this topic. :)
I find everyone's answer to what made them an avid reader interesting. Now it's my turn - because I never was an avid reader in high school. Maybe it was a different sort of animal in my day and age, but I can't honestly remember reading half of the books today's high school students have to read.
I think YA Literature class made me an avid reader. Don't misunderstand - I liked to read before that class and did a modest amount. However, since YA Literature I want to read everything in sight. I read Jennifer Donnelly's TEA ROSE over the summer - pick it up sometime. It's a great book and it's one of a three part series (the next book is supposed to come out in the US in 2008). I read magazines, and I love to read cookbooks.
All that being said, I understand reading is more than just picking up a novel. It is anyting we read that interests us. And we can use those interests to spark the interest of our students and direct them in different directions until they, too, become avid readers. I am living proof it is never too late to become an avid reader. So, we need to remember to never give up on our reluctant students. We can still inspire them and maybe one day they also will go everywhere with a book in their hand.
Megan, thanks for sharing the Atwell school site. I've never looked at it--surprisingly--and I was glad to browse through it.
You were fortunate to have Carol Mikoda as your teacher--I didn't realize you are going to return to a classroom teacher you had once upon a time.
That's neat.
I am discouraged by what I see in ELA classrooms--where there is little excitement about reading. I truly think we can change that but we have to model an engaged reading life and make boks available to kids.
We need to be constantly extending the invitation to read.
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