The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
June 20, 2009
Always Under Construction
All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.
Ellen
Glasgow
A few weeks ago I was on the freeway heading south, when I
noticed the exit I needed was closed - under construction for a couple
months. I took the miles-long detour, and vowed the next trip I would
try an alternate route.
The following day, I veered north on an earlier exit, only to find the
alternate route was also under construction. No worries -
I've lived here 20 years, so I know all the roads. On my next
trip, I drove right through town, avoiding the freeway
altogether. You know the rest of this story - major
construction on the biggest bridge through town, traffic backed up for
blocks. I live in rural Maine, and massive highway
construction projects aren't the norm. I was left wondering
who planned (or didn't plan) the roadwork so that all routes south
would be blocked and congested at the same time.
I was thinking about construction this week as I was browsing responses
to our member survey, with teachers and literacy leaders sharing their
lives and needs. I was impressed again at how
positive, upbeat. . .and utterly weary so many of you are
right now. It's a different mood that's emerged, going far
beyond the normal end-of-the-school-year fatigue.
Consider the poor teacher who wrote about how their district moved to a
literature-based reading curriculum in 2005. Two years ago a
new curriculum coordinator came in and purchased a reading program,
requiring everyone to use the program anthologies and ditch the
literature-based workshops. And now (you guessed it) yet
another new district mandate requires a move back to the
literature-based curriculum. Teachers aren't even allowed to
use the anthology as a supplement in their literacy workshops, even
though some have built many lessons around the readings and are
comfortable with the selections.
Forget the debate about the best way to teach reading. Whether you
advocate literature-based reading workshops or are sold on the value of
a standard reading program for all, I think you'd agree it's no picnic
to be in the shoes of the teachers in this district. I also
read about the district that is curtailing study groups, because the
teachers have been so successful in their self-directed learning that
they don't have much energy for mandates from administration.
And let's not even start on the districts that have adopted a new
assessment system yet again, trying out the third or fourth model
already in this decade.
All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward. I'm
trying to imagine how it would feel to put up with weeks of
construction on multiple roads I travel every day, only to have the new
roads emerge full of potholes. Or to realize after a few
months or years that the construction was Never. Going. To. End.
Too often we equate disruption with change in schools. We know change
that endures takes time, but that knowledge often goes out the window
when someone in authority becomes enamored with a new program or
assessment or professional development scheme. Continual
disruption, with little choice on the part of the people involved,
can't possibly be a good thing.
I remember visiting Cris Tovani's high school classroom in Denver years
ago, where she works with struggling adolescent readers who have failed
for years at developing the literacy stamina and skills they will need
to survive. "I want you to be a selfish reader! Ask
yourself, 'What's in this for me?'" she exhorted her
students. The teens were quiet and respectful, with the
subdued demeanor of kids who aren't comfortable in classrooms, yet well
aware they are valued by the teacher in front of them. They
perked up at the plea to be selfish - it clearly wasn't something they
had heard before from a teacher.
You may have a new program or scheme or curriculum idea you
adore at the moment - that's a given for literacy leaders who are
always learning and love their craft. But if your colleagues
are as weary as you are with disruption, maybe the best thing you can
do is encourage the teachers you lead to be selfish learners, at least
for awhile. It's not easy for most teachers to be
selfish and share what they are really passionate about when it comes
to teaching, especially if they have become accustomed to ignoring
their interests as they are whipsawed from one mandate to the
next. Yet it is those passions that fuel change and
commitment to teaching that endure.
Summer is a great time to reconnect informally with colleagues, and ask
that surprising question, "What do you want to learn about this year
that isn't related in any way to district mandates?" The
answers to that question hold the key to change that is all about
moving forward.
This week, we've got yet more on summer renewal and reorganizing
classrooms. We're headed into our annual two-week summer
break. We'll be running classic editions of the newsletter
(also known as reruns) for a couple weeks, with new content returning
on July 11th. I'm looking forward to meeting many of you soon
at our summer workshops!
Brenda Power
Editor, Choice Literacy
Free for All
Understanding how to teach reading (and rediscovering the pleasures of
reading) always begins with our own reading. Franki Sibberson
takes Regie Routman's advice to track her reading over a short period
of time. She discovers how much her nonfiction habits have
changed, and what important implications there are for teaching
nonfiction in classrooms:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/916.cfm
If your writing curriculum could use a refresh, the National Writing
Project has 30 Ideas for Teaching Writing culled from their journal
archives, with links to the original articles:
http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/922#One
Reader's Theater is a fun activity for summer reading programs (and for
building reading fluency all year long). The Reading Lady has
dozens of free reader's theater scripts posted and available for
download at this link:
http://tinyurl.com/askvfs
Teri Lesesne earns her nickname of "The Goddess of YA
Literature" with her remarkable blog. I confess I enjoy her
humorous asides on raising the teen girls in her household as much as
her wonderful insights and passion for young adult literature:
http://professornana.livejournal.com/
A hearty welcome to our newest site license members from Northbrook,
Illinois; Allen & San Antonio, Texas; Rosetown,
Saskatchewan (Canada); Waterboro, Maine; Charlottesville, Virginia;
Hampton, Georgia; Starr, South Carolina; Nyack, New York; and
our renewing site licensees in Delaware, Ohio and Port Chester, New
York. You can read more about our affordable site license
program and download a registration form at this link:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/department63.cfm
For Members
Only
This week we're beginning a new series with periodic updates all year
long. How do you create a culture in schools where reading is
prized? What do we even mean when we talk about a "reading
culture"? Ellen McEvoy considers the role she can play leading a PTO
committee with the task of building a reading culture in one elementary
school. You can read her first installment in the series here:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/917.cfm
We're closing out our Spring Clean-Up and Reorganizing Video Series
with a peek at some bookrooms from the Choice Literacy
Archives. "The Sisters" (Joan Moser and Gail Boushey) present
design ideas for three different bookrooms, including an intermediate
bookroom which is not leveled:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/436.cfm
If you're reorganizing your bookroom as a mixed-use space for teacher
and student materials, as well as meetings, you'll enjoy Josie Stewart
and Jessie Ardelea's tour of their bookroom makeover in the midst:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/837.cfm
Thanks to all members who have responded so far to our
survey. We are getting lots of very helpful responses
as we begin a major reorganization of the website which will continue
through the fall. if you haven't responded yet, take the survey and
you've got a chance at winning some of the $10,000 worth of DVDs we are
giving away:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/913.cfm
New Search Feature: The biggest frustration noted in the
surveys so far is the limits of the search engine at the
site. We've purchased and installed a Choice Literacy Custom
Google Search Engine this week which is much more robust than what was
available previously. It's just in time for summer meandering
through the archives, and you can give it a whirl at this link:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/department72.cfm
That's all for this week!
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Jennifer Allen
