Readicide (and this class) has made me more aware of the need for every teacher to inspire kids to read. For years, we've all been told to incorporate reading and writing into our lessons. And I honestly thought that I was incorporating these parts but I now see that I was just incorporating pieces of writing and selections of text. I wasn't helping the kids to get what I really want them to get. Of course there are always the few that get it right off the bat. These are usually the gifted students or those that are really bright. Well, they are not the "target audience"...the reluctant readers are the target. I plan to dig deeper with those students. They are the ones that are falling through the cracks and perhaps one little old art teacher can help them find their way out of that. Who knows? It certainly can't hurt.
On page 114 Gallagher quotes Yong Zhao from "Are We Fixing the Wrong Things?" as stating that the United States' "secret weapon" is our "creative, risk-taking, can-do spirit". He goes on to say that other countries note that our attention is on "chasing" after the test scores. We need to chase after strong teaching methods, help our students become problem solvers, and inspire our students to delve deep and create! We need to move away from the factory-like quality that Gallagher (page 116) cites from Lisa Gamerman's comparison of American and Finnish schools. Teachers should be entrepreneurs! Look at all of the Americans that have pioneered great thinking in our history. How did they learn to think ahead of their time? I'd be willing to bet that it wasn't from a multiple choice test and answer sheet.
We do need to "find our way again" as Gallagher states on page 117-118. The 50/50 approach to ending Readicide is a great prescription. We can't throw the baby out with the bathwater. We must inspire learning, not instill fear in our students. The standardized tests have been so built up that the students are fearful of them. The threat of being held back in their current grade level creates this fear. Performance anxiety can be overcome by teaching the students that what they truly need is confidence, problem-solving skills, and a fertile mind. Informal assessments should be made throughout the day, each and every day. I love the clipboard with flip cards (page 194 of Improving Adolescent Literacy) for making notes about student performance and needs. In art, I keep student portfolios for the year. It is a great tool for reflecting on the work of the year. We review our lessons at the end and the students can see their progress. It is always pleasing to me when the ones that were struggling with a concept make a statement that shows their new-found understanding. Exploration is the only way for many students to get to that point. A simple shallow lesson just won't do it. I have faith in our teachers. I plan to share my wonderful books with my colleagues and as we embark on a new mission of school improvement, we will have these great new tools to help us on our journey. The process of analyzing test data and making curriculum improvements is not fun or easy but it is necessary. It will make us more focused teachers and help our students grow in the right directions. What is even better? With our help...they will learn to love learning!