A Little Background....

I think it is appropriate for you to know a little more about my teaching experiences.

As we read the past few articles, I reflected on my beginning teaching experiences. I was that young twenty-something fresh out of college taking her first teaching position in an inner-city elementary school in Miami, FL. who never had much urban experiences in her field course work in undergraduate courses. I was an over protected kid with over bearing parents who hated for me to drive on express ways until well... um... I took this teaching position over 20 miles from home straight up US-1 then I-95, etc. and hated it even worse! As a matter of fact, my father drove me to the interview (stop laughing!) and told me you can't work THERE!!!

Well, I took that job. It struck me odd that the Principal asked me, "How do you teach Black children?" I was thinking what kind of question is this? Is she trying to see if I am a racist since I am white and blonde. My response was simply, "Like any other child with love, respect, taking them from where they are to where they need to be." Little did I know. How green. College never prepared me for what I was about to step into, the culture, the needs of the children, all the takes place before you can even open a text book; I had no clue. Luckily, I was a Title I teacher, so I was able to learn from trial and error with small groups of students on a whole different level. I did that for a couple of years then became a fifth classroom teacher.

Those years teaching in the inner-city taught me so much. It was not easy!!! I saw many teachers ran off by students. I have cried out of frustration and wanted to run off as well many times, but I did not. Students counted on me. They knew I was REAL. I was there for them. I cared. I have taken children grocery shopping before. Called HRS when abuse was happening in their home. Created a safe haven and unique lessons that involved service grants to better the community or clean up a beach. Learning was fun! The year I left to teach closer to home, since I moved further south in Miami my students scored so high on their district test scores they had to re-test them.

STAR teachers do exist!

Cartledge & Lo ... Chapter 2 STOP the FCAT BAND-AID FIX

Hi there! I know we did not have to read Chapter 2, but I really wanted to see what our authors had to say about reading instruction since that's what I do for a living. So as I was sitting at the salon getting my hair done, I read through chapter 2 and saw that they were congruent with what NCLB and reading first believe. So... since we did not have to read this, I thought I would share a strong salient point from this chapter that every educator in America should hear!!!!

Here are the following quotes/passages that stood out to me found on page 23.

"The importance of intervention at the earliest sign of problems in reading is cannot be overstated. Some have advised that screenings and interventions begin as early as preschool, and certainly no later than kindergarten."

"Undiagnosed early reading reading difficulties rapidly metastasize into academic deficits and disruptive and self-destructive behaviors that special education is powerless to cure."

"There may be a critical period for children to learn to read, probably within the period of four to eight years of age."

"... impoverished urban learners need preschool, kindergarten, and first-grade experiences to make up for this loss. They need explicit and systematic instruction in the key elements that are universally accepted as being important for reading acquisition."

SO... all of the energies that are being placed currently in the annual Winter FCAT drill and kill only is the temporary band-aid fix. Cartledge & Lo have brought to light what other researchers in reading have been saying. Put your resources in K-3; catch them before they fall!!!!

Teaching Urban Learners...Cartledge & Lo

What an amazing text!!! Each week I look forward to reading the next chapter. Cartledge & Lo are right on target with urban learners. As the Director of Reading First Professional Development (a federally funded grant that stems from NCLB), our targeted population is to support the lowest performing schools across Florida of which many are urban. So, as I read the text I am constantly making connections to what we have been suggesting to our reading coaches and teachers through our professional development services.

Again to recap the components of effective instruction both seen by Cartledge & Lo as well as myself and our organization (RFPD):

• Clear Academic Focus & Specific Learning Goals
• High Rates for Overt Active Responding
• Teach for Fluency/Automaticity /Accuracy
• Constantly Provide Ongoing Progress Monitoring
• Establish & Maintain High Expecations
• Build on Student Success
• Promote High Order Thinking
• Make Reading Activities Meaningful

Embracing Diversity

Teaching in this day and age means that we are faced with a diverse student population. The teaching profession must embrace that diversity and seek to meet the needs of the students that are sitting in the classrooms. No longer can we rest of what we knew about students and learning from ten, fifteen, twenty years ago. We must be willing to learn about students today, embrace their diversity and shift our approach to teaching to meet the needs of students. The only change we can facilitate is the change within us as an educator.