Often, when I’m out visiting with teachers and consulting, I make the positive presupposition (Thank you Kathryn Kee! ) that teachers are having their students read a text of their choice everyday.  I might make such comments as, “This would be an easy strategy to integrate into students’ independent response time during their free reading time in class.”  Or, “When you book-talk to your students, you might frame it in terms of genre…”

Sometimes I receive polite head-nods and sometimes I receive eye-rolling.  Independent reading time in a high school English classroom?  (And unicorns poop rainbows.)

Every now and then, I’m greatful for the honest and inquisitive participant who timidly raises her hand to ask, “What exactly do you mean by ‘independent reading’?”  She is usually within her first 5 years of teaching,  graduated from a stellar English literature/ composition program, and is the dark horse of the English department who spends her time reading things like  English Journal or following Jim Burke on Twitter.

When these gems come my way, I leap at the opportunity to unravel some perpetuative myths that exist in high school English departments and their most faithful faculty regarding independent reading.  These conversations allow me . . . → Read More: Myths Surrounding Independent Reading in High School {Teach}

Dear Will,

Here we are suddenly at the last Newberry (I reserve the right to skip around chronologically).  We started at the first, Story of Mankind, which I appreciated for its scope and history of our species.  I wrote to you about the importance of understanidng history to know where you came from and where you are headed. 

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos urges us to consider our history so we do not repeat the same mistakes. 

Miss Volker, the spicy old woman who delievers countless life lessons to young Jack as she dictates the dying town’s most recent obituary, is a curator of history.  For each new death, she’s able to find connection and make meaning by attaching a historical significance not only to the person’s life, but to our collective history.  Through this, she reminds me that we are all inter-connected in a myriad of ways.

Jack undergoes a series of adventures from his dad’s rebuild of a WWII fighter plane to a death threat from a menacing Hell’s Angel who rides into town. Over the course of one summer, Jack learns, “The reason you remind . . . → Read More: {Read} Dear Will: Dead End in Norvelt (2012)

I know. I know. I’m late, but I just got around to watching the video, and yes, I am very impressed with Cain. What creativity! What entrepeneurship!

Caine’s Arcade from Nirvan Mullick on Vimeo.

It surprises me that Cain’s Arcade was once a joke in the neighborhood. It’s just a reminder of how we must support those who are continuing to create and innovate because we never know not only what efforts they made but also what it may become. Bravo, Cain!

This morning in CILT, I was asked to deliver a proposal to host a financial aid workshop for our students on behalf of our lead counselor. My urban high school has been very fortunate to have counselors as well as other partners like Education is Freedom and the Go Center to help our students to get financial assistance to gain more access to a post-secondary education. Unfortunately, many students have not taken advantage of these services.

Then, I happened upon this TED Talk where slam poet Carvens Lissaint challenges the notion of Financial Aid of achieving its purpose. This is an empassioned call to reform the post-secondary system, specifically rising tuition costs. Lissaint’s performance forces us to reconsider financial aid and all of its ramiifications. Does financial aid help students to attend a post-secondary institution but also leave recipients in a degraded financial state? How can these resources be used more effectively? How can students, especially those historically less represented in colleges and universities, gain more access to post-secondary institutions?

Take a moment. Watch it. The desperation makes me further reflect upon the apathy of some my own school’s students. Do they know something that I . . . → Read More: Financial “Aid”: Response to Carvens Lissaint’s TED Talk

(Response to Romance in the Classroom: Inviting Discourse on Gender and Power

by Diane Waff)

I could not agree more with the need for discussing and responding to gender dynamics in the classroom. I’ve known for a long time about the disproportionate amount of time spent on male students due to classroom management issues. I understand how in this respect female students are losing out on attention from the teacher. This may lead to female students feeling less invested in school.

I also understand how the language and actions of teenage boys can make females feel harassed, inferior, objectified. I appreciated the journal-writing approach coupled with literature to open up discussion.

In my own classroom, we read House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. The Red Clowns vignette is particularly powerful. Some students do not even catch . . . → Read More: Deprogramming: How can I encourage change and reflection on gender issues in my classroom?

Please join me in contacting our elected officials and request that they sign either a Senate or House “Dear Colleague” letter that has been sponsored by Senators Cornyn (TX), Landrieu (LA), and Mikulski (MD) and Representatives Van Hollen (MD) and Miller (CA).  These letters can be found at NWP Connect.

Texas residents, follow this link for contact information for our representatives.

Kathy Dixon’s Website: http://useyourvoiceteachers.weebly.com/

I have a deeply routed fear.  It’s been there now, deep in my psyche and weighing on my heart for about a year.  When I least expect, it creeps up like a serpnt from the base of my big toe and wraps itself around my heart.  Air rushes from my lungs and tears fill my eyes.

I’ve become a magnet.  A magnet to stories, blogs, novels, anything regarding parents and children, especially mothers and their sons.  It feels like there’s been an explosion on Facebook of blogs reposted by friends of families who have experienced the loss of a child or a parent.  Their stories lead me to my knees, humbled in the face of my fear.

My fear is two-fold:

1) That I will lose my son.

2) That my son will lose me.

The truth of the matter is- unless a freak and tragic accident takes us both at the same time (God forbid)- one of us will lose the other in our lifetime.  And this is the thought that wakes me up at night and that draws me to stories of loss.

Today, a friend reposted a blog of a mother whose toddler son died from a . . . → Read More: [Fear] Calls {Read}

Although there is some repetition from previous books, as other reviewers have pointed out, sometimes repetition is necessary to get the point across.  I believe he did this purposely.  His argument remains the same across his books- that the American school system needs to establish some common curriculum content and sequencing in order to allow students to gradually acquire knowledge. That said, the main points of the book are different than his others. 

In this book, Hirsch explains how our current education system rides on the beliefs of Romanticism, that learning naturally unfolds.  If this were true, then there would be no need for formal education, nor explicit instruction.  It is true that some learning happens through implicit instruction.  Hirsch explains how vocabulary develops through exposure to rich content and communication. 

When considering how reading develops, he positions himself in a moderate position, recognizing the need for phonics instruction and grammar while still considering situated meaning and rich material.  For Hirsch, one thing that can be removed from school instruction is the endless string of skill-based strategies, because he believes reading isn’t about a skill, but rather it is about comprehension.  We need to focus on developing . . . → Read More: A Response to Hirsch’s The Knowledge Deficit

Although there is some repetition from previous books, as other reviewers have pointed out, sometimes repetition is necessary to get the point across.  I believe he did this purposely.  His argument remains the same across his books- that the American school system needs to establish some common curriculum content and sequencing in order to allow students to gradually acquire knowledge. That said, the main points of the book are different than his others. 

In this book, Hirsch explains how our current education system rides on the beliefs of Romanticism, that learning naturally unfolds.  If this were true, then there would be no need for formal education, nor explicit instruction.  It is true that some learning happens through implicit instruction.  Hirsch explains how vocabulary develops through exposure to rich content and communication. 

When considering how reading develops, he positions himself in a moderate position, recognizing the need for phonics instruction and grammar while still considering situated meaning and rich material.  For Hirsch, one thing that can be removed from school instruction is the endless string of skill-based strategies, because he believes reading isn’t about a skill, but rather it is about comprehension.  We need to focus on developing . . . → Read More: A Response to Hirsch’s The Knowledge Deficit

This article teaches us that there is no magic formula to successfully serving our Black and Latino male students. In some cases, separating by ethnicity and gender worked. In some cases, it did not. There are arguments for and against any type of school.

The difficulty arises when considering all the elements that need to exist in a school that is effective with these populations, as well as all other populations. These schools focus on community, culture, individual learning networks, mentoring, relevant curriculum, rigor, character, ethics, and a respect for learning. That’s a tall order.

The situation becomes even more complicated when attempting to transform a campus. My campus received a $6 million TTIPS grant to transform our campus. We are focusing on creating academies to make education more relevant and responsive to student interests. Along with that since we are an urban campus with many who are considered “at-risk” students, there comes the charge of keeping students engaged—many of our students aren’t aware of their interests in an educational setting. And if they are aware, they have had little to no occasion to speak or act on these interests. We are needing to create . . . → Read More: Poised for Much Needed Transformation:A Response to Saving Black and Latino Boys by Pedro Noguera | NWP Connect