The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
February 4, 2012
Acronymia
Ours is the age of substitutes. Instead of language, we have jargon; instead of principles, slogans; and instead of genuine ideas, bright ideas.
Eric Bentley
One of the few things I dislike in education is the abundance of
acronyms. MCAT, CSAP, ETRs, and SAT-9 are just four of hundreds. Most
education acronyms are not real words, and when people use them in
conversations they sound stuffy, bureaucratic, and insular. Acronyms
can also fuel insecurity among teachers. Because if you don't know what
an ETR or the SAT-9 is, you're definitely deficient in your
professional knowledge, right? I avoid education acronyms in my writing
and speaking whenever possible, never assuming that readers and
listeners know what those strange words signify. If I had to come up
with an acronym to express my feelings, it would be ACRONYM: Annoying,
Convoluted, and Ridiculously Odd Nonwords Yahoos Memorize.
Because of my aversion to most acronyms, I was surprised and delighted
at a recent writing retreat to learn three new ones over the course of
the weekend that I find myself using regularly now. Each of these
acronyms is a real word, and a quick way to monitor my behavior in ways
that help me grow.
WAIT represents Why Am I Talking? I have a goal of talking less and
listening more in conversations. WAIT helps me figure out if I am
rambling on because I am nervous or afraid of silence. Mostly the word
encourages me to close my mouth and think, if only for a moment.
HALT is a good one if you are on a quest for a healthier lifestyle.
Never allow yourself to get too Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired -- all
of which lead to overeating.
My favorite new acronym for teachers and literacy leaders is SHAME,
which represents Should Have Already Mastered Everything. Isn't this
exactly the trap so many of us find ourselves in, embarrassed that we
haven't mastered everything there is to know about teaching and
learning, including that massive number of acronyms so many folks sling
around in conversations?
Many thanks to Ellie Gilbert for sharing WAIT, HALT, and SHAME with me.
Ellie would be the first to tell you she didn't create these acronyms
-- they were passed along through others, who probably learned them
from others too. I am just grateful all three finally found their
way to me.
This week we're featuring a slew of resources to help you make some
tweaks to your classroom design, plus more as always. Enjoy!
Brenda Power
Founder, Choice Literacy
Free for All
[For sneak peeks at our upcoming features, quotes and extra
links, follow Choice Literacy on Twitter: @ChoiceLiteracy or
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Choice-Literacy/214577521953773]
From the Teach Well Now blog, a fascinating post with loads of
furniture and design options for classrooms. This photo essay
will definitely move you beyond traditional conceptions of furniture
for classrooms. In the quiet days of winter here in the Northern
Hemisphere, it's fun to dream about design possibilities:
http://teachwellnow.blogspot.com/2012/01/classroom-design.html
From the Choice Literacy archives, Barbara
Coleman explains how classroom tours among colleagues can be a
wonderful activity for sparking conversations about curriculum:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/402.cfm
Last week during visits to a half dozen classrooms in the Pacific
Northwest we marveled at the clever anchor charts and displays on so
many walls. The visits inspired the February theme for the Choice
Literacy Facebook page. "Off the Walls" features photos of inspiring
anchor charts, bulletin boards, and displays of student work from
classrooms around the country. We will post one or two images with
explanations each day throughout the month:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Choice-Literacy/214577521953773
The number of apps available for teachers and school leaders can be as
bewildering as it is exciting. Here are two blog posts to help
you analyze which apps might be most helpful in your work with
colleagues and students, if you are using a tablet or smartphone more
in your professional work.
Mary Lee Hahn at A Year of
Reading wrote a grant recently and received an iPad for her class. she
is chronicling what apps she uses and how they are organized on the
device:
http://bit.ly/wbH9Wf
The I Touch the Future blog features a similar post on the "must-have"
apps for school leaders:
http://bit.ly/wvxAiO
The Choice Literacy 2012 Summer Workshops are now posted, and featured
presenters are Jennifer Allen, Aimee
Buckner, Katie DiCesare, Clare Landrigan, Tammy Mulligan, Heather
Rader, Franki Sibberson, and Karen
Terlecky. Many presentations have strong connections to
the Common Core. For more information, including fees, dates, and
locations, click on this link:
http://workshops.choiceliteracy.com/
For Members Only
Do you want to write, but find you have little time? In Write
Today, Ruth Ayres describes
her own experiences as an author, blogger, and teacher. She shows how
possible and essential writing is for even the busiest educators.
We read this essay last week at the close of our Choice Literacy
writing retreat, and everyone found that it renewed their commitment to
writing and the profession in unexpected ways:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1784.cfm
What young learner doesn't love Junie B. Jones? In a new booklist, Franki Sibberson shares great texts
to recommend for readers who adore Junie and might be looking for
similar characters and plots:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1785.cfm
This week's video is new work from Aimee
Buckner. In this lesson, Aimee teaches fifth graders about
narrative nonfiction, and leads them in a note-taking activity during a
read aloud. This is the first video in a two-part series:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1780.cfm
We've posted the third installment of Heather
Rader's Spelling Rules! series. This week, Heather
tackles best practices in spelling instruction. This essay would be an
excellent pick for launching discussions about spelling in a staff or
grade-level team meeting:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1792.cfm
Choice Literacy's Poet Laureate Shirley
McPhillips has written a "cento" -- a collection of lines
written by other poets compiled into a new poem. This was a new form
for us, though it has been around for a long time. It turns out poets
were sampling other creative works centuries before rappers made the
practice so popular today. Shirl's poem and essay Same Old Love
Song will get you thinking about the possibilities for centos in
classrooms:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1778.cfm
We've posted a bonus video this week of a literacy team meeting. The
topic under discussion is spelling instruction across the elementary
grades:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1782.cfm
Coming Next Week: The second
installment of Aimee Buckner's video series on narrative
nonfiction, Suzy Kaback on fresh books for age-old skills, Diane
Sweeney on looking at student work, and much more.
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About
Jennifer Allen
