Kieu- Chapter 2 and 3
Chapter 2
The two important points I understood from this chapter were that children should: a) love to read and b) read different genres. I think we, teachers and future teachers alike, often take the fun out of reading for children. We stress the importance of being able to read well and we tell them just how well or poorly they read by offering labels such as ME, MP, N, or U. For the child who always receives the ME grade, would that not impede him from wanting to continue to read and to develop? Then for that child who just cannot read on the same grade level as his peers, are we not discouraging him from reading more? Not to mention the fact that many classes read the same book. The students have no control over what they read, so reading becomes associated with meaningless tasks. In order for students to widen their range of reading genres, they first must want to pick up a book to read. Only then can we encourage them to try new kinds of books.
Chapter 3
Mrs. Taberski refers to her classroom as the place she and her students live from 8:40 to 3:00. This is true. Children spend half of their waking lives in the classroom, so making it as comfortable as possible is important. I used to work as an A+ leader and of course, study hall time was my favorite part of the afternoon because I had the chance to work with my kids academically. Each group was assigned a classroom that we could use, complete with desks and all that great stuff. But I found that the students were able to work better when they sat outside on the patio or in the grass. Personally, I need a desk to work, but they loved sitting on the floor. Everyday, they would beg to stay outside. Tradition tells us to use chairs and desks because it is believed to be the best setting for students to learn, but I think not. Desks can often be restraining and just plain uncomfortable.
The two important points I understood from this chapter were that children should: a) love to read and b) read different genres. I think we, teachers and future teachers alike, often take the fun out of reading for children. We stress the importance of being able to read well and we tell them just how well or poorly they read by offering labels such as ME, MP, N, or U. For the child who always receives the ME grade, would that not impede him from wanting to continue to read and to develop? Then for that child who just cannot read on the same grade level as his peers, are we not discouraging him from reading more? Not to mention the fact that many classes read the same book. The students have no control over what they read, so reading becomes associated with meaningless tasks. In order for students to widen their range of reading genres, they first must want to pick up a book to read. Only then can we encourage them to try new kinds of books.
Chapter 3
Mrs. Taberski refers to her classroom as the place she and her students live from 8:40 to 3:00. This is true. Children spend half of their waking lives in the classroom, so making it as comfortable as possible is important. I used to work as an A+ leader and of course, study hall time was my favorite part of the afternoon because I had the chance to work with my kids academically. Each group was assigned a classroom that we could use, complete with desks and all that great stuff. But I found that the students were able to work better when they sat outside on the patio or in the grass. Personally, I need a desk to work, but they loved sitting on the floor. Everyday, they would beg to stay outside. Tradition tells us to use chairs and desks because it is believed to be the best setting for students to learn, but I think not. Desks can often be restraining and just plain uncomfortable.
posted by kieu | 12:24 AM
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