Week One Reading Response

1.     1.  The quote I chose on the Common Core Standards is “A survey conducted by the Center for Education  Policy found that of the 38 states responding, the majority felt the CCSS are more rigorous than their previous standards and will require substantial changes in curriculum and instruction. These states are in the process of aligning curriculum, conducting professional development for teachers, and informing stakeholders. Nearly all states indicated concern about having sufficient financial and technological resources for implementation.” I am only a first year Kindergarten teacher so I have not had much experience with Common Core and have not seen a problem with it like many have, but I do agree that it is much more rigorous; however, that does not mean it is a bad thing. We implemented the Early Learning Recording System this year which was at first a real pain. I teamed up with the other Kindergarten teachers for hours going over data for these reports cards. In the end, it may have taken hours, but I felt as if I had a better understanding of what skills my students did and did not have at the time.

The only reason I chose this quote was because I can understand the concern of lack of finances and technological resources. I am the third Kindergarten teacher at my school who received the job two weeks before school started. I did not have many resources coming into the job nor finances to buy any so I have dealt with what I have. For the first three months, I had to share teacher’s manuals with the other teachers because they did not have any for me at the time. Our school lacks technological resources in general so we do what we can. We are expected to use Common Core Standards, but our teacher’s manuals and other resources do not teach to those standards yet. It can be frustrating at times, but the bright side of being a new teacher is that we can start fresh and not have a huge shift in our teaching ways. We can adapt better to these standards than those who had been teaching the same way for years. I think this change will be good in some ways, but there are always problems with a new system at first.

1.     2.  “The Myths and Facts section of the CCSS asserts that “The best understanding of what works in the classroom comes from the teachers who are in them.” This is the quote I chose because I believe it to be true. Teachers spend about 40 hours a week with the students in their classrooms. I take time to talk with my students and hear their interests. I work one on one with them daily to assess skills and work on skills that they may need the extra help with. I feel as if I know my students pretty well. Not all instruction will work for every classroom or every student the same way. This is why I believe that teachers know what works best for their students. I believe between the parents and the teachers they can decide on the concept of censorship within the classroom. Each class is different so certain books or concept may need to be avoided or not avoided. As far as censorship and banned book/websites, it can be a real damper when you want to show the students a great video clip and it is blocked because someone decided to use a swear word in a comment on the video. I understand we are trying to keep the students safe from all the dangers of the world, but sometimes it is just too far. I think 12^th graders can make up their own minds if they are allowed to read the word “rape” in a book or not. These censorships can ruin it for those who choose to read the book over those who oppose of it. I agree that it censors students’ right to think for themselves and express themselves through their interests.

1.      3. “Both the qualitative dimensions and the reader-text variables depend upon the professional judgment of teachers, especially the reader-text variables, because only teachers know students well enough to help them find the best text for the purpose at hand, something “leveling” systems cannot do.” I wish this statement would have included “because only teachers and parent know students well enough to help them….” because although sometimes parents do not know what they are talking about when it comes to education, other times they can be a big help so I would have included them within that statement as well. I do agree that when it comes to reading, I have struggled with the “leveled” reading groups. I have heard that they are both helpful and harmful. When I do my leveled reading groups, I always read a book with my lower group that I know they will be able to read first. The second day I will introduce them to the other books so that they become familiar with the words. If they aren’t exposed to the words, then how are they supposed to learn them? The best approach that I always use when reading, or with an instruction, is to relate what we are learning to what the students are interested in or their previous knowledge.  “When teachers have identified students who struggle to remain engaged as they read complex texts, they can assess students’ interests in order to provide texts that are more likely to foster student engagement.” Over the past few months as a first year teacher, I have made up more silly songs and sayings to help my students with reading and learning that I can count. The thing is that they love it! Not only do they love it, but they remember it! This is one strategy that has worked well for me.