1. How do you see the guiding principles play out in the classroom literacy programs?
If the 6 guiding principles mentioned in this book will be utilized in every classroom, I believe that we will see a tremendous growth in students' classroom performance as well as success for almost all students. Principle 1 in itself has not really been practiced widely yet. There are still classrooms that utilize literacy practices that are not socially and culturally constructed. No matter how diverse the population is in today's classroom, we still see a lot of teachers using "one-way or one-set" of activities because as some would say, "I have used it before and it worked! I have been teaching for a long time, and I don't really want to change my ways!!!" Principle 6 states that literacy practices should include everyday texts and use multi-modal texts but in so many classrooms that I have been in and have observed, this principle has also not been accepted and used still. In the book it was mentioned that a lot of our students nowadays seem to be so good in reading "pokemon cards" but do not exhibit the same skills when reading their textbooks. This section of the book is actually an eye-opener for me because I see it too in my students. They are so motivated and animated when we talk about these different cartoon shows that they watch but when I shift my lesson to the story we have read, there is silence. I did not use that interest as a tool for my teaching my lesson.
2. What tensions do you see between the guiding principles and literacy instruction in an industrial model?
I think the biggest tension between these principles and literacy instruction in an industrial model is the element of time and money. For you to take into consideration these principles, it demands time for the teacher, meaning a lot of planning and research, as well as money, to create a classroom that will foster to the diversity of the students. In terms of the state, these guiding principles when implemented, will create classrooms that will be harder to monitor, thus, making it more difficult to determine accountability.
However, having said those things, I still believe that using these principles as a guiding framework in addressing literacy in the twenty-first century classroom is the best way in moving education forward. These principles are ideal and beneficial to the 21st century student.
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Hi Paulette,
You stated that children are able to read the Pokemon cards but when it comes to reading the text for the lesson they are silent. This is a good example of how material that students cannot relate to or understand will make them shut down on learning it. We do have to remember that now the children utilize print and visual text for a means of communication and so these would be good tools to incorporate into the lessons in helping them learn to read and write.
Your experience as a teacher can offer insight into what may be good methods and what may not work in the classroom. For example with the guiding principles and the traditional model of teaching, you look at the reality of what's going on in the school system and see the reasons why things may not change so quickly to ways we think are better. Do you think the industrial model can still work somtimes? I do favor the guiding principles' guidelines because of the different ways a teacher can try and relate to the wholeness of each student and how each student relates to others.
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