Jaime's Reflection-Graves (Ch.4& 5)

In Chapter Four of Donald Graves’ book, he introduces us to Mr. Bangs. He is a teacher who was willing to change his teaching methods in order to become a better teacher and to have a classroom with responsible and independent learners. I think it’s great of Mr. Bangs to realize that his teaching style was not good for the kids. I think all teachers need to evaluate their teaching methods. Teachers need to take into consideration that maybe the students shouldn’t always be blamed for not knowing how to do something. It could be because the teacher is not doing a good job at teaching the lesson.

In Chapter 5, Donald Graves states that children need to see their teachers write in front of them. Modeling in front of the students helps teachers understand their own writing and it also changes the teachers’ relationships with a class. Up until this semester, I’ve never had a teacher write in front of me. I assumed the teacher always knew what they were going to write. I’ve never seen a teacher contemplate what to write or even make errors in grammar. Everything always seemed perfect. My perception was that a good writer never struggled with their thoughts. I find comfort in knowing that all writers struggle with their thoughts.