One
statistic that stood out to me, and made me stop reading for a second was on
page 6 where the book says 90% of students who are below grade level by 4th
grade, will never catch up to their grade level. I thought this statistic shows
how important it is to be able to teaching literacy to our students at an early
age. We as future educators for young students have a lot of
responsibility to make sure we are properly teaching our students. This chapter
gives you information on different theorists and how they feel is the best way
to learn.
I
really was drawn to John Dewy’s methods. The idea of curriculum being built
around the interest of the child was something I really agreed with. I know
personally when I am learning, if I am not interested in what I am learning, it
is harder for me to focus. Especially with children, making the curriculum fun
and interesting will help them to keep concentrated on the materials. The
openness of the classroom would also make school fun, and learning fun for
students. This method of teaching however would require a lot of planning and
time to figure out the materials around the classroom. I do believe this method
would have to be very planned out and precise. If you don’t have the right
materials for the students to learn, it could be a disaster. I really like this
idea but if it wasn’t slightly structured, and contained the right materials, I
feel it could not work at all. If you combined his central ideas with Maria
Montessori’s idea of students needing order it would be very effective.
Whole-
language instruction was also spoken of in this chapter and I found that to be
interesting. I really like the idea that the students are learning without a
lot of instruction. I think when learning language it is not only important to
be able to read or write, but speak properly and listen. The fact that they
allow the students to talk to each other, or read to each other is a great
idea. The students are being able to practice their language, and possibly
learn something new about grammar with the person they are speaking to, without
even realizing it. Sometimes it is hard to remember that being able to speak
and listen are just as important as being able to write and read.
Cierra,
ReplyDeleteI also love Dewey's theory a bit more than the others, but I hadn't thought about the need for structure before reading your post. I think young children simply need structure in their lives, and I am a big supporter of it. I think Dewey's method, although focused on free and creative play, should incorporate some rules. Since we are responsible for many students all in one room, certain rules need to be set in stone. I don't think that is taking away from Dewey's purpose though. I also like what you said about the importance of listening. I think our society is very competitive, and sometimes people feel the need to outshine others by always making "the better comment." This can take away from actually listening to people speak, because the focus is more on what you can say next. In the classroom, I believe active listening is an underrated, crucial skill to learn.
That stat scares me. I believe reading is probably the most important skill that we as future teachers need to succeed at. Once a child can read and read fluently, it opens up many different worlds. It also increases their vocabulary and if they read "quality" books versus "twaddle", they will be more articulate and better spoken. I see this with our daughter. She reads ("eats") books at about the rate of 5-6 novels a month. She reads mostly classics and it shows in her writing, thinking, and the way she speaks. She does read more current books and she critically analyzes them. This is a good thing that will come in useful not only in college, but for the rest of her life. This is what we, as teachers, want our children/students to be able to.
ReplyDeleteThe statistic you mentioned about 4th graders being below grade level stood out to me as well. I had no idea this was a statistic. You are right; we have a major responsibility to help children become productive and successful readers at a young age. This is a huge obligation and it is a little terrifying to me to think if I cannot help my student become a successful reader then her/she will never be able to catch up.
ReplyDeleteCombining Dewy and Montessori is an interesting approach. Dewy and Montessori have such different views. Dewy believes in learning through play and with little adult intervention, as to where Montessori believes in adult modeling and play is taking away from learning and achieving. I am curious to know how you would combine these approaches?
I very much agree with your statement about the importance of speaking and listening. I find this as a struggle myself. I feel like I can write and read all day but if you ask me to listen then to speak, I struggle. This is something I need to work on to become a successful teacher. I do believe it is important for students to collaborate and share ideas. Students retain information at a higher level when it is their responsibility to teach or explain a topic or idea.
Hello Cierra! I completely agree with how that statistic in chapter 1 stood out. I have heard many statistics about teaching through out the years but this one was very interesting to me. I believe that more teachers and future teachers should have that information. This is probably just one of many statistics that prove how important it is to teach literacy. I think that another aspect of literacy that was pointed out in the book was that parents are a big part of students being able to learn to read. I do not really agree with your idea about combining John Dewy’s methods with Maria Montessori’s idea of students needing order. I feel that these two methods are very similar in the materials and planning aspect. I do however agree with the whole- language instruction. I think that the idea of child centered learning and having literacy activities incorporated into all subject areas. And making reading relevant by relating it to a child’s life experiences can help promote reading and writing in the early ages because any time that you can draw connections to a child’s life learning is going to be more relevant and meaningful to them.
ReplyDeleteDear Cierra,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your first blog post. That statistic made me stop and think as well. The last sentence in that segment was daunting- “Therefore the early childhood teacher has a tremendous responsibility.” I worry everyday that I will not be able to get through to a child or that they will not be able to read properly after going through my class. I think it will take lots of hard work on our end, but the students end as well. Together, we can make success happen if we work hard and believe in ourselves as teachers and in the student’s ability to read. I agree with you about being drawn to John Dewey’s methods. I also feel the same way about learning- if I am not interested in it, it will be harder for me to focus on it. That method would take a lot of work, but I think the end result would be well worth it. The students would have a variety of interest to work with and learn something from. I had never thought about putting Dewey’s and Montessori’s methods together until I read your post. I am glad you brought that up! Now that I think about it, that would work very well because the children could have that fun, interactive time, but they could still have that structured, disciplined time as well. When I read about whole-language instruction, I did not like it as much. I think there definitely should be instruction, but there should also be student-to-student learning as well. The balance needs to be there. I also agreed with you when you said that “sometimes it is hard to remember that being able to speak and listen are just as important as being able to write and read.” Speaking and listening are overlooked in comparison to the spotlight being put on reading and writing. Thank you for an enjoyable blog post.