Readings 3/22/2012 - Loyola University School of Education -Gorski Lecture.

 Title of Lecture: 'Good Intentions aren't Enough: Education for Equity and Social Justice"

The Loyola School of Education welcomed  Paul C. Gorski, Ph.D., founder of EdChange and assistant professor of integrative studies at George Mason University, for a lecture on Thursday, March 22, at 6:30 – 8 p.m. in the school's McGuire Hall.

The lecture was based on why movements for educational justice often seem to be stalled by what the lecturer refers to as “well-intentioned do-gooders more concerned with celebrating diversity than with crafting an equitable and just educational system,” and what alternatives are needed for a truly transformative approach to education for equity and social justice.

Dr. Gorski opened the lecture by expressing his views about the need to accept the fact that the idea of diversity is being approached in the wrong way. That it is not diversity that we should be addressing but rather diversity. 

He then expresses that practicing authentic equity requires shifts in consciousness which inform shifts in practice and that many common equity practices result in more inequity, however he points out that there is something we can do about it.

The lecture was interesting and thought provoking, but no way eyeopening. The great inequities that exist in our society and our school, - gender, race were discussed as well as the

fictions 'culture of poverty' - difference between people at the top and those at the bottom that exist within our schools. He expressed tho sin terms of the fact that people with the most power frame problems in terms of human relations which does not solve the problem at all.

He then went to discuss what we can do as teachers:

What can we do? - be more authentic

• As teachers- being a champion of justice in our own sphere of influence
• No set of values thatbeveryonenwho is poor shares- based on research
• Cultural competence/ proficiency- culture is not the issue- inequity is
• Competence is a pretty low bar.
• Research shows how learning styles are inconsistent and non-existent
• Research shows that teaching to a specific learning style is not effective

I totally get the gap  and the problem and I think I have a fair understanding of some of the solutions. The lecture discussed most of what I already know and a few things that I was not aware of. A lot of what was said I agreed with and there was other ideas that was put forth that I did not agree with. 

I agree that the problems we have in schools related to segregation is more related to diversity rather than equity and that we need t address the, however I do not agree with the lack of need for cultural competency. We live in a society where diversity is an issue and if I as a teacher cannot understand my students as individuals as well as within the cultural context with which they identify themselves then I will have problems reaching them. As someone who identifies greatly with trying to preserve a cultural identity I know what it's like to be lumped, but greatly appreciate when someone can relate to who I am and my upbringing on even a general level. We will not be able to solve the equity issue if we are not culturally aware. We need to celebrate cultures and we need to have cultural awareness and competencies as teachers and educational leaders. We just need to do it on a deeper level.

Another point made by Dr. Gorski with which I disagree was the point he made about parents getting to conferences, and as teachers we fail to realize what percentage of our parents do not have cars. Its not that they don't care. They just can't afford to be there. We get it as teachers, we just want to see some effort. The problem is not the teachers, like he blatantly said, it's also the parents, collectively.

I work at a school where we have conferences form 7 am to 7pm so parents can make it, we meet parents anywhere within reason of their home or jobs and parents still show no interest in their children's education.  That is not a reflection of me or of any other teacher, it is a reflection of that parent and their lack of interest. 

We all want a world where equity is a non-issue, but we all live in a world where it is an issue. With this in mind, our role as educators is to deal with this in the best way we know how, while learning the most authentic ways to. We also need to teach our students to survive in this world until it changes.

Readings 3/15/2012 - Effective Writing

Readings: Beers et al Chapter 13
                 Gallagher 2
                 Edelesky "Theory, Politics, Hope and Action"

‘Talking is a hydrant in the yard and writing is a faucet upstairs in the house. Opening the first takes the pressure off the second’ Robert Frost

    As I read the assigned chapters for this weeks readings I found that there were many similarities in theories ad strategies that were presented by the different authors as well as those presented by the NCTE.

    The theory and strategy that resonated with me was based on the concept of viewing writing as thinking as well as the fact that there was no one process that defined the way all writers write. These resonated with me because I view writing in regards to purpose and so thought that all writing required thinking. I also find that I generally developed a rubric for writing based on the traits of writing and tried to find ways to make it fit.

    Some of the specific theories and strategies that the authors recommended included the theory that people learn to write by writing as well as the fact that students have to do a lot of writing to accomplish the best writing. Some of the theories/strategies that I found that I could relate to were the ones that stated that students should write for real reasons and real audiences, that writers, need, choice, time and models of good writing as well as constructive feedback and most important that writers needed places to collect ideas, an example of which was writing portfolios.

 I related to the latter strategies and theories mentioned because I have tried them and find that they do work.

    The NCTE Beliefs about Teaching Writing support most of these theories and strategies in that they state, as do the authors in the both texts that everyone has the capacity to write if they are thought how to do so. It is also stated across all three texts that people learn to write by writing. It is also stated that that writing is a tool for thinking that should grow out of many different purposes.

    Writing is a process and teachers need to understand that to be able to teach it effectively. We can work with teachers to implement these ideas in their classrooms by teaching them the process, letting them have the experiences that the students will be expected to have and evaluate the effectiveness of such experiences for themselves as well as how they think their students would respond to those experiences.

    We can also work with teachers to implement this process by having them evaluate the effectiveness of the writing they teach as well as providing the tools with witch to effectively implement a writing program in their classrooms. We can also do this by providing access to research about the validity of writing based programs that work, as well as have teachers observe other teachers who effectively implement writing programs in their classrooms.

It is also important to note that teachers who are expected to teach writing, like teachers who are expected to teach any content area must be taught the content first. We need to provide adequate teacher training programs that teach pre-service teachers the skills we expect them to teach our kids.

Readings 3/8/2012 - Writing to Read = Reading to Write?

    Readings:   Gallagher Ch 1

                     Writing Next Report                                  
                     Writing to Read Report


'Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers.  My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them.  There's many a bestseller that could have been prevented by a good teacher.'  ~Flannery O'Connor

This weeks reading were very interesting as the were all connected and focused on the role of teachers in writing instruction. The readings also discussed the challenges of teaching writing and gave suggestions on how to overcome these. 


I summarized this weeks readings in the form of a mind map (my latest fancy) and thought it would be interesting to share the mind map instead of re-writing my thoughts into paragraph format. Click on image to enlarge.

The readings had a bit in common and some missed some essential points that the others pointed out. As I read I began to understand that writing is not a natural process as I had previously thought, but the best practices of the art actually come about through explicit instruction. 

Article Review - 3/1/2012

Article: Moje E.B., Moore D.W., Readence J.E., Young J.P., (2000). Reinventing adolescent literacy for new times: Perennial and millennial issues. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 43, 400-410

I wanted to share this article because I felt like it was a summary of so much of what we have discussed in class so far. 

      The article was written in response to the proposed need to reinvent adolescent literacy for new times. According to the article, based on a quote from Moore, Bean, Birdyshaw, and Rycik (1999), adolescents entering the adult world in the 21^st century will read and write more than at any other time in human history. They will need advanced levels of literacy to perform their jobs, run their households, act as citizens, and conduct their personal lives.

The aspects of adolescent literacy addressed by research and put forth in this article include the need for a renewed focus on the literacy learning of adolescents and the issues brought forth by reduced funding for middle and high school reading programs. The article was centered around four major questions, what does adolescent literacy signal that content reading and secondary reading do not?  What constitutes best practices in adolescent literacy? How can we meet the needs of marginalized readers in new times? and should critical literacy be part of our classrooms? The authors used these questions as a guide to discuss and analyze the thoughts and ideas of educators surrounding the instructional, policies, and research issues dealing with the ineffectiveness of adolescent literacy instruction in meeting 21^st century literacy demands. The overall goal of the article was to offer insights into reinventing adolescent literacy for new times. The authors used the article as a means to express their advocating for a challenging, responsive literacy curriculum that puts adolescents first, yet one that pushes them to learn new things, to have new experiences, and to read their worlds in new ways.

 The research reported in the article is relevant for classroom teachers and literacy professionals in a number of ways. The authors set out to shed light on answers to the questions posed to provoke thinking on the part of educators, as well as, address ways in which we can reach our students. The authors explained that educators are limited in how they think about students and their literacy needs because of the labels and notions that words and phrases carry in regards to students and the groups with which they are identified. The paper also outlines different aspects of literacy practices geared towards adolescents and outlined pedagogical practices that educators can employ to meet the needs of their students, especially those who are considered to be marginalized readers. The report also mentioned the misconceptions surrounding content reading, where the authors explained that content teachers, although required to teach literacy, are not literacy teachers and as such the content methods or materials do not necessarily match the literacy needs of adolescents in the classroom. The article also incites thinking on the part of educators as it challenges them to utilize an approach to teaching adolescents literacy that goes beyond student-centered approaches. It challenges educators to use approaches that urge adolescents to stretch their thinking beyond their immediate backgrounds and experiences, while honoring those backgrounds and experiences, which I believe is one of the goals for 21^st century citizens. Cultural competence.

Another key point in the report was the expansion on different aspects of literacy that educators do not take into consideration when trying to teach literacy, but which can be a tremendous help if considered. Such pedagogical practices or ideas included using students day to day experiences to engage them in literacy, being open to the idea of multiply literacies, as well as the use of multiple texts along with extended notions to engage students. It was also suggested that educators observe students in different contexts outside the classroom and integrate students’ interests and outside accomplishments into their teaching through interdisciplinary, project-based pedagogies that support literacy development. The article also expressed the concept of critical literacy, which is a very valuable 21^st century skill as our students become engaged in different types of literacies inside and outside the classroom.

Literacy professionals as well as general education teachers can use this research as a base for understanding different pedagogies surrounding literacies that appeal to adolescent. This article can also be considered relevant to educators as it outlines practices that are pertinent to adolescents now and in the future. The authors not only took the time to highlight the deficits but to offer feasible solutions as well.

 Throughout the article, the authors mentioned different research methods that they drew upon to validate their postulations, as well as a number of different studies. The main one of which was of a yearlong study of a student who appeared disinterested in school and what was going on in literacy, but upon further shadowing proved to be an excellent African drummer. Upon the acquisition of this piece of knowledge it was suggested that this particular student be motivated through literacies, which include African drumming/music, as that was of great interest to him and he also had some background knowledge about the subject that should help in boosting his confidence in class as well as his interest.

The article provided a great summary of some of the issues being faced by educators teaching adolescents literacy within a literacy setting or other content areas. The authors had valid arguments that highlighted the limitations of educators in their quest to teach literacy skills to adolescents as well as some solutions that educators could utilize to help reduce the generation gap. As I pursued the information presented I realized that most of the ideas presented were suitable to the needs of educators today. The idea of teaching students 21^st century literacy skills through the use of their backgrounds and integration of literacies they encounter outside the classroom, as well as how to critically assess and utilize these literacies for their own personal development is, I would hope, the aspiration of every educator no matter their content area. The article expressed these ideas and pedagogies in which educators could actually engage to bring these concepts to their classrooms.  The most resonating content in the article was the discussion around the use of the standards. The authors suggested educators not view standards as limiting but rather to use them as guides for instruction and not for assessment. This article had a number of valid points that left me feeling great about the scope of consciousness about the need for 21^st century literacy skills to be taught in the classroom. The article also left me thinking of how to educate educators who are not currently in a literacy program and do not consider themselves literacy teachers about the great need to teach literacy, especially 21^st century skills to our students. I also wonder about the goals of educational institutions and the role they play as an entity in meeting the changing needs of our students in preparing them for what is to be.  My greatest wonder/question as I reflect on this article is, Can we as a country or even a state, effectively meet the needs of the 21^st century global citizen we want to produce one classroom at a time, or does it need to be a school wide effort and if so, how do we get our administrators involved and what should their roles?  Where does the work for such a venture live so that we can accurately measure our results for effectiveness? Should it be through teacher-training programs, continued professional development, or school culture? Maybe all of the above?   

Readings 2/23/2012 - Merging Worlds - What are my limitations?

Readings: Beers et al. Chapter 14

                 Hull and Schultz "Literacy and learning out of school"
                Phalen et al " Adolescent Words: Donna and Ryan"


“Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself. You bring to a novel, anything you read, all your experience of the world. You bring your history and you read it in your own terms.”  Angela Carter

As I skimmed each of this week's readings I began to feel overwhelmed. I derived motivation to actually begin reading the first by explaining to myself that the best way to teach about reading is to actually have students read. :)

The readings were in no way difficult to comprehend, but I got a sense that the articles were more substantial in breath than in depth. I felt as if I had read the same things before and that it was a waste of my time to be reading them again. However, as I actually read and began to make connections and synthesize the information I realized that I also began to derive new meanings from what I thought was the same ideas or concepts. Interesting food for thought.

The readings were all different but the theme of using students out of school literacy experiences to get a sense of where they are was apparent in all four pieces.

The Hull and Schultz article focused mainly on the concept of literacy and learning out of school and the implications of this 'educational experience' on a child's 'schooling'. It emphasizes that the focus should be on out of school and in school movement from one context to the other, where learned out of school literacies should not be ignored when students are in school but used as a spring board for teaching literacies in school. The authors also noted how accomplishments outside of school contrasted with poor school based performances. This concept was also brought up in the Beers chapter the author stated that there was value in knowing how kids engage in the use of technology outside of school. The author states that there is value in finding out how students engage with technology that may enhance reading and find a way to merge that with out teaching to make learning more meaningful.

The Ryan and Donna article were studies about students whose engagement in school was based on their cultural backgrounds as well as the value they and their families placed on education. It was postulated that students were highly likely to live up to expectations if these expectations were meaningful and realistic. Ryan and Donna were from different backgrounds and had different experiences but had a lot in common in respect to education - they both wanted to be successful and both oriented towards friends who shared their backgrounds and sociocultural components.

In really constructing meaning from the readings I would be inclined to say that the Beers Chapter stood out to me the most. I am aware of most of the technology tools that can be used in a classroom to enhance literacy instruction as well as the ones students access outside of school and how to integrate those into the classroom so students experiences merge at some point. I have tried a couple of these and some were easier to access than others. Working in a school system, that in my opinion, has little knowledge of how effective technology can be in enhancing instruction if teachers are trained to use them appropriately and the resources are available is a constant pain.

Most websites and software that students would access outside of school are block in school, hence not only restricting our ability to use them to enhance instruction but to teach students to use them appropriately. Students want to have experiences that matter and as an educator I want to be able to provide those experiences, but with little or no support because of the litigious nature of our society is very de-motivating.


Iffeisha

Readings 2/16/2012 - Validation for what I do?

Assignments: Beers et al Chapters 5, 6 and 10       

"Teaching reading IS rocket science."   

— Louisa Moats

As I read through the assigned chapters realized that the main focus was on getting students to work hard using text that interests them and focusing on the skills needed for the ‘flat’ world. There are many teaching models and concepts that exist today that support this such as workshop model, expeditionary learning model, and six plus 1 traits among others.

I gained much insight form all three chapters, but chapter 5 resonated with me more than the other two. 

Chapter five talks about the use of the workshop model to facilitate instruction. The author explains that the workshop model has demonstrated its effectiveness in eliciting hard work from students on both their reading and writing. I agree with the author wholeheartedly because I work in a school where we actually use the workshop model and I have seen how effective the model can be in getting students to actually do work. Students develop accountability and learn over time to take ownership of their learning and as a result I have had moments (rarely of course) where I can sit back and let the students manage and monitor their own progress independent of me. I also do a lot of dialogue and sharing of work as a par of our expeditionary learning model, so my students have no choice but to speak and learn to present their work. I find this to be one of the easiest parts of my class to monitor, as my students love to share their knowledge and their work. I suspect this is because of their self-centeredness due to their developmental stage. J

Of course getting them to this point took a lot of hard work and debriefing of challenging moments, but students enjoy sharing things that interests them and knowledge they have.

Teaching...can be likened to a conversation in which you listen to the speaker carefully before you reply.
Marie Clay

Iffeisha

Readings 2/09/12 - Conscious Reflections

Assignments: Beers et al Chapters 2 - 4          


The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called "truth."  ~Dan Rather

As I read the readings from this week I was thrown into a mindset of conscious reflections.  All three chapters had sections that as I read I thought to myself, I know that. Other sections led me to think about where I am as a teacher and how I relate to my students, especially my goals for them.

Chapter two, the title of which was 'flying blind' was the chapter that made me reflect the most. As an educator I enter the classroom on a daily basis and subconsciously think about how I feel and what I want to achieve and assume that my students want the same things. I am conscious of some of my students situations but rarely stop to focus on how those  situations impact their learning on a given day.

After reading this chapter I had a conversation/confrontation with one of my students who bluntly told me how different my life was from hers that that I could never understand what she goes through on a daily basis outside of school and then I expect her to come to school and smile and act like everything is ok when in reality it wasn't. That conversation gave me pause and made to reflect on the chapter two to the point of coming to the realization that like myself many educations were flying blind.

The other chapters, three and four also had sections that made me reflect. I reflected on how do I 'reduce my blindness' in a situation where encounter five different groups of students in a given day without turning my classroom into a counseling center?

I concluded that I could be more meaningful in my teaching, instead of thinking about what I enjoy teaching and or learning I could think about what interested my students more, sometimes not even content, but rather engaging activities through which to learn that content.  I realized that I did try to utilize engaging activities in my classroom presently, but they were mostly activities that I found engaging, topics that I was passionate about.

As that one student's voice resonated in my mind, expression that I could not expect her to pretend everything was ok because I wanted it to be ok I realized that I couldn't make it ok and I really could never understand. However what I could do was to try and let go some and begin to let my students guide my teaching more. Look inward a bit more and let my students understand that I might be flying blind but that I am open to seeing.

I know it is going to be a struggle letting go and allowing my students more say in what and how I teach them. But more powerful is the idea that if hey aren't interested they aren't learning so I'm wasting my time anyway.

I end my conscious reflection with the thought that I will change, at least I will try to be more conscious of my students and their situations and needs, I need to not only teach but like a partial quote from Chapter 4 states.... teach with my heart as well as my mind.


Iffeisha

Readings 2/02/12 - Enlightenment

Assignments: Hooks "Engaged Pedagogy"
                      Moje (2008) "Complex World of Adolescent Literacy",

                      Gee "Literacy and Linguistics"                                

“It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give them something worth reading. Something that will stretch their imaginations--something that will help them make sense of their own lives and encourage them to reach out toward people whose lives are quite different from their own.” Katherine Patterson

This week's readings were very enlightening. All three articles focused on some of the influences of critical and social perspectives on adolescent literacy. The authors used their writings as a medium in which to express their justifiable beliefs in how one or more aspects of literacy are shaped by both formal and informal education.

The articles were quite stimulating, the authors called for deep thinking and great analysis of the foundations and influences on literacy throughout different life stages as well as how different perspectives helped shaped one's literary thinking. The Hooks article focused a lot on the feminist perspective and also mindfulness in learning, while the Moje article was written from a blended perspective point of view and finally the Gee article was written from the point of view supporting the concept of discourse.

As I read all three and highlighted different sections and made my 'mind- map', the similarities as well as the differences among them became clear and my mind began to imagine the difference a literacy teacher could make by being aware of the different perspectives and how they shape the literary journey of the students we try to teach.

The Hooks article was the one I found most interesting because of the introduction of the concept of 'wholeness' in teaching, where the author stresses the importance of seeing education as the practice of freedom, where the mind is not the only focus, but the body and spirit as well. The author mentions Buddhist Monk Tich Nhat Han, whose work I've read before for personal growth, but never from the perspective of a teacher. In reference to this 'teacher' the author states that Tich Nhat Han cites the teacher as not just an educator but a 'healer' as well, managing a classroom where the banking system of education was challenged and students were seen as and became active participants instead of passive consumers. This author discussed the feminist perspective through the introduction of the female teacher as the 'better educator', from the perspective that  feminist classrooms were the ones that allowed students to be able to share and participate. She also discussed the concept of engaged pedagogy as that which values student expression. The Moje article supported this concept/belief in that they express the fact that reading and writing for adolescents occur in a wide range of literary text outside of school and that young people are so diverse that it is challenging not to take this into account as we prepare to teach these students. Although the Moje's article supports the Hook article to some extent, whereas the Hook article is focused more on a feminist perspective, Moje believes that literacy is and should be defined form multiple perspectives as the definition of literacy based on research put forth by him states that the 'definition of literacy varies widely based on different belief system and experiences even among people who are thought to be alike'.

All three articles in my opinion focused on the fact that students should be taught how to live in the world through critical thinking. As educators, if this is our goal then we need to understand the 'whole' child when we attempt to teach students as well as teach them the different contexts in which literacy defines who they are and what they do.

According to research it is basic human need to be part of a community or group and the Moje article highlights this through stating that having access to socially constructed and conventionalized code is central to being part of a community and means having access to certain kinds of power. The Gee article also touches on this when the author explains that acquisition of discourse often occurs from being with a group as well as the fact that literacy should be taught in many different social contexts as they occur as such. The author cites examples of being at a bar and the language she would use that would be socially acceptable although the  grammar is incorrect as to the other way around.  It is interesting that as a teacher I never considered teaching my kids from this perspective. I always assumed that they came with their 'street/bar' language and also that is wasn't my job to teach them that, but to teach them 'proper language'. The thought just never crossed my mind, although I would often say it to them, to actually teach them when and where certain types of language, as in speaking and/or diction is relevant or acceptable and others are not.

Through reading these articles and actually paying attention (they were interesting) I learned that so much of what our students learn and so much of the way they learn are based on social and cultural practices, that if as educators we do not find a way way to combine the two there will always be a divide that will go way beyond just being digital. Gee discusses this from her discourse(way of being in the world) in literacy point of view, where she states that what is important is not language but saying (writing), doing, being, valuing and believing combinations. She believes that language should be taught in a socially acceptable context. She believes students learn through practice, and that discourse in her opinion is acquired through interaction with people who have already mastered discourse. She also believes, and I agree that discourse changes our outlook as our experiences does. I believe that it changes it as well as shapes it. Moje points out in her article that even though young people are different/diverse that they still share patterns of at least one group's literacy practices. This in my opinion implies that our students learn so much more from their peers and group relationships than they learn from us as educators in an academic setting.

My greatest take-away from this week's readings would be based on the fact that although we know how different or should I say how diverse our students are as individuals and as learners, as educators our teaching styles do not reflect that. There are so many studies about how to teach and how to reach our students that it is hard to keep up with them, but we still have students graduating high school who can't read and write 'well'. With the materialization of this thought many questions arise in my mind, is reading and writing 'well' overrated? Or is it based on the the perspective of merely academics? Are our failing students succeeding in a more social or cultural context? Are we actually measuring the 'whole' individual or just one aspect? From which perspective REALLY is our education system based, and is it the best one for such a diverse system?

As I try to think of ways in which I can utilize my new scope of enlightenment in my own daily practices, I think of our culture as an education system. One in which inclusion is fought for, and wonder if in embracing the diversity of our learners and accepting or just merely acknowledging the concept of diversity in learning and knowledge that our kids bring as well as their cultural and social experiences, if inclusion is the best practice. Our learners have their own belief systems that serve them and their own social 'circles' in which they thrive and are comfortable. Is it our responsibilitiy as educators to try and change that to teach them what we see as the norm or what we consider to be acceptable values, or is it our responsibility to teach them how to continue to be accepted and survive in the context which they know, plan to remain in, and from which perspectives their value systems are based?

As a teacher in a city school I believe it is my responsibility to, like the Moje article stated, support my students in developing sophisticated academic, community and workplace literacy skills. But who decides what students REALLY need which skills, and if differentiation in this instance is not discrimination?

I guess my lingering thoughts leave me with the knowledge that a teacher's role and responsibilities are undefined and differ based on different perspectives. Therefore each learning experience for the teacher and the students he or she teachers occur within the context of which perspective has shaped that teacher's experiences and more so the experiences she chooses to share with her students.

Learning is as complex as teaching.

“It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin, barefoot irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but to question it.”

- Jacob Bronowski

Iffeisha

Readings 1/26 - The Beginning

Assignments: Beers et al Ch 1,
                      Baker, Pearson, and Rozendal 'Chapter 1'
                      Cohen "Zine Project: Writing"                  

The Beers et al Chapter started with a quote " In the future, how we educate our children may prove to be more important than how much we educate them" Thomas Friedman, The World is Flat"

As I began reading the first text, I thought to myself that this was a lot of reading and that I was not sure applying for this course was the best decision I made to start the year off with, but as I read and highlighted I realized that I found the content quite fascinating.

The most fascinating thing about the texts were their connections the basis of which lies in the above mentioned quote. All the authors wanted to stress that teaching should be changing because learning was changing as well as the fact that students were bombarded with many more issues than we could see or even conceptualize within a classroom setting.

All three readings highlighted that fact that literacy learning and instruction was based on, and should be based on the different perspectives that students as well as teachers bring to the classroom. The thought of meeting students individual needs being paramount to effectively educating them was of great significance. With which I agree. I however believe that educators are faced with the task of performing anywhere from three to five roles within a given classroom on a given day along with the role of educator and it all at times  can be a bit overwhelming.

Many authors write books from research taken place within staged settings, which often do not reflect the real life challenges. We all want to live in an ideal world but as we can all see, we don't. The ideas and concepts behind teaching children as individuals with their own ideas and different perspectives take a lot of man power, dedication and resources that have to all come together to make education effective. There is so much that can be done but lack of time and resources, make it challenging, not impossible, but challenging, and as teachers and human beings in general we often tend to focus on what the 'acceptable required' outcome is. In one of the treading the author(s) mentioned the decision of a well respected literacy advocate to focus on academic literacy as that was what he thought was the focus of the masses in education, which the author(s) found disappointing, of course that is reality. Schools need to educate students so as to meet Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) or they will loose funding and eventually the school itself.

As I reflect on these readings I began at one point to think that this is a no win situation, if schools focus on the students and their progress as individuals then students make progress but the school does not meet AYP. The schools loose valuable funding that they need to help these students to continue making progress, which in turn staggers or stops the progress these students are making which leads to the schools being closed, which means students now have to find other schools to attend which are sometimes out of their districts and deters them from actually attending school. How do we as educators prevent the snowballing effect without punishing our students?

I am by no means implying that this is an impossible feat. I am inquiring of myself as well as my readers, how as we study 21st literacy and research the different perspectives that affect literacy education, do we implement this into a whole school, whole district setting and not just individual classrooms of the teachers who are trained as Literacy Specialist and see the benefits of this? Or is this the answer - one classroom at a time? I can guarantee that most teachers in Literacy Programs will return to their schools or do so as they learn, and implement  programs as they teach, we will think about our students and the different perspectives they bring, their learning styles and how we can effectively meet their needs as we plan and implement daily lessons, but we are only about five percent or less (I am open to being corrected) of the teaching population, and probably don't even teach the students who need this the most.

I get it, but wonder how do we move from Me to We in a society that needs a total make-over of the education system to effectively meet the needs of all its students?

Iffeisha