What do I know right now about reading?

What did I get from the readings in terms of thinking about reading and literacy?

My love for reading began with my parents. When I was to young to read myself my dad would read books to me. I was glad to read the article about the importance of illustrations in children's books. To this day I remember what the pictures looked like in the books that my dad read to me. Illustrations engage children and get them excited about the story they are hearing. Illustrations also help children to begin to visualize characters and settings in stories. I feel that this is important because as children grow older and their books do not contain illustrations they are able to create their own internal pictures to go along with the story, which can strengthen comprehension.

It was very interesting to read about literacy throughout history. Especially how it was used to control people. I also had no idea that in some religions literacy is an viewed as a personal obligation.


What are some of the key issues that stick out to me?

Foremost in my mind NCLB, and letting teachers teach. Good teachers know their students and effective ways to reach out to them. When teachers are forced to follow lesson plans, created by an outside source, and allowing for no deviation, the students are losing. What about "teachable moments"? Sometimes a teacher finds that the students are really interested in something, and by working that into a lesson plan the students can be a part of a lesson, will be engaged, and learn more. When a teacher has a script to read day after day the students are not going to be interested in what they are learning. In addition, Ms. Jaeger's students were mainly non-native English speaking students and the lessons that she was forced to teach did not take this into account. Her student's needs were not being met because of the lessons she was forced to implement.

What am I wondering most about?

Is NCLB here to stay? Is it going to be revised or reconsidered? Why is the government in charge of what and how children are learning? Do policymakers have any training in teaching or do they think that because they were once students they know how schools should be run?

I feel that there is a lot of corruption in the government and I worry that our children's education is suffering. American children are behind children in other countires with regard to education, and this bothers me.

HI

Hey everyone! I am going for my Initial Teaching Certification, P-3. I am a nerd and I love to read.