The Science of Reading
I am a fan of new technology and new teaching methods! However, I will say that with any new methods of teaching reading, my radar is on high-alert. I've told many colleagues that teaching reading is teaching reading...that's if it's done in a responsible, thoughtful, and planned way using assessment to help prepare new lessons.
Publishers make a lot of money. They hire researchers and do a lot of work; no doubt. The research changes every 5-10 years so once we all get a belly-full of Orton-Gillingham, Fundations, and other techniques touted by the Science of Reading there will be other researchers and publishers out there who will have yet a better way. And why not? We all want to get those reading scores on I-Ready to shoot to the stars.
I'm a realist in that way and have taken so many PDs and classes on how to teach reading that I can't even remember how many at this point. I've gleaned so much from each of them and now have a proverbial "bag of tricks" in my teaching arsenal that I can pull from to teach students. What I retreat from are those who will only use what the current research says to do. I use it all. I use all the techniques that I have ever been taught and I can get away with it since I do not teach a homeroom and since I'm about to retire!
So many districts are becoming unreasonable about using only district approved resources. That really puts a crimp in a teacher's creativity. Oh, I get it. We and the admins are all looking for results and hoping to pad our evaluations with accolades about how we are using district resources.
My first thoughts are how I began teaching 40 years ago when all I was given was a piece of paper with a few sentences describing student's course of study. That forced me to become creative. It forced me to think outside and inside the box and to work diligently with the students I had. It made me create all kinds of interventions that would work specifically for my students. And I collected data. All my students could see that data posted on the bulletin board and it made them hungry to achieve. There was no shame involved. We celebrated everyone regardless of what the data showed. There was no computer program where I could click on a link that would take me to a district-approved intervention. I WAS IT!
Now it seems like many of the newest teachers (bless their hearts) wouldn't know how to create interventions outside of a district platform or the time to do so unless their lives depended upon it. My heart goes out to these newbies. I cannot in all truth say that I would recommend elementary teaching to anyone unless they are so set on doing it that they could do nothing else.
I have watched my colleagues work through so many changes to curriculum and I have seen the lack of support by so many admins. That's not to say that teaching is without its wonderful points. I have had students come to me later in their lives and tell me I changed their lives....that's what it's about. It's not about what is the latest research or how to teach digraphs. It's not even about making the admins happy. It's about little people and working to provide lessons that work for those people. I don't care how good the research is. It will not fully cover every student out there. Ok rant over!
When I retire this year, I will be standing by with baited breath to see what new reading research will say. Will I stop being with kids? No way! I have several goals. I want to assist my ESL department in some way. I'm planning to become more involved with Lifewise Academy. A passion of mine has been to support Samaritan's Purse and it's on my bucket list to help them, too! I also am looking into publishing a children's book...wish me luck! Of course, I will still be doing TPT and Boom Cards. I can't help myself! I as of yet have no grandchildren so I'm free to wander, and wander I will.
