#1- “Reading, writing and discussion—these three –are the foundation for a well-equipped mind: the key to equity, access, and economic opportunity” (72). Assuming the role the Principal of an inner-city high school, this quote would be fundamental to not only the level of instruction but also the direction that the curriculum itself will take. Reading, writing and discussing is not only the job of the English department but every department within the school. Recognizing that each discipline has its own language/terms and structure, all should be reinforced on a daily basis.
Lab reports, literary essays, research based reports incorporating MLA and APA format, along with required rubrics, are all crucial to the student reaching his or her comfort level in terms of building the above mentioned foundation.
In an effort to develop cross-content literacy effort and incorporate “higher order literacy demands,” thematic writing will be introduced and mandated within our haven of learning. This will include a specific theme for every month throughout the school. Responses can be conveyed through open-ended responses, response to pieces of literature (article, short story, etc…) as well as a discussion to follow: “…face to face dialogue(Lasch, 1995, p. 172). During this time, each discipline will have an assigned day of the week to write and discuss about the indicated theme. Across the curriculum, reading, writing and discussion will flourish. For instance, if the theme for the month of December is “poverty” every class should be able to touch on this topic in some shape, form or fashion. On Mondays: English, Tuesdays: Science, Wednesdays: Math, Thursdays: Health and Fridays: History. Every month a new theme will begin.
In addition, every class will keep a journal. Students must write for a substantiated amount of time whether it be on the lesson from the previous class, a posted quote, or even the student’s overall feeling about a topic occurring within society. Students must be able to express themselves, in a written context, as well as, discuss and debate their views with their peers.
The implementation of argumentative literacy will also be crucial. This will “nourish the critical capacities as it gives kids a chance to try on test their ideas and viewpoints. And it is fun” (67). Written and oral discussions incorporating facts and opinions, addressing controversial issues that require students to take stands on PROS or CONS, will support students not only on state-mandated tests but on standardized tests such as SAT’S that require students to compose an essay arguing a debatable subject. Once again, this will be a school-wide practice and a cross content literacy effort. History, science, math, health and English will incorporate this practice immediately.
To ensure that this school-wide practice is occurring there will be announced and unannounced walk-through, pre-evaluation and post-evaluation conferences and indicated within their teacher-evaluations, documented proof via data, sample essays and sample journals. Within weekly Professional Learning Communities, discussion of success/improvements and failures will be discussed and compared. PLC’s will be attended by an administrator (principal, vice-principal or department chairperson) to assess the progress of this newly implemented mandate.
The results will be positive. Students will begin to gain an level of comfort and fluency within their writing that will not only be the sole responsibility of the English teacher. With this, the foundation of a well equipped mind will emerge into society.
#2- “Instruction improves when teachers in teams, teach each other the practice of teaching …. Teachers learn best not from outsiders but from one another” (118). As a new teacher returning to teach in the high school that I graduated from, I was surprised to see some of my former teachers still thriving and continuing to flourish their love for education on countless numbers of students. However, I must say that the most jubilant experience came when one of the most highly regarded English teachers, as well as, my former teacher, came to ask my opinion and ideas in terms of teaching a specific novel. Although a bit reluctant at first because of my lack of experience, I began to share with Mrs. S. my views, thoughts and approaches in terms of instruction. She listened attentively, even taking notes a times. From that day forth we now plan our lessons, develop unit plans, exams and many more student centered activities together. That was three years ago. Now to my surprise, I am regarded with as much respect as Mrs. S. Among other academic achievements, students are successfully passing state-mandated exams, writing has improved significantly, and AYP has been met. What contributed to this sudden rise? Collaboration. Team work. With this said, as a department chairperson/ supervisor, this practice will be suggested among instructors to ensure positive results we are striving for. The department and ultimately, the school will be reorient themselves to the school improvement toward “internal expertise.” Although this will not be required, adhering to this practice will indicate a level of professionalism that will reflect in teacher evaluations, as well as, academic achievement amongst students. “ At some point, teamwork should be established as the new norm, just as it is in other professions” (Peters, 1987; Wagner, 2004; Wise, 2004).
#3- “Isolation ensures that highly unprofessional practices are tolerated and thus proliferate in the name of…professionalism” (24). As a principal of a secondary school, practices that facilitate teacher learning, which will ultimately lead to student achievement, will be put into place. Since isolation can be regarded as an unprofessional practice, measures will be taken to reduce and ultimately eliminate this act. A major way to reduce isolation and gain interaction between peers, will motivate the initiation of Professional Learning Communities (PLC’s). PLC’s will be staff directed learning efforts towards improving student education that will meet once a week for 30 minutes. These meetings will count as professional development and will be mandated within teacher’s contracts. It is through PLC’S that teacher isolation will begin to be indirectly addressed. The ultimate goal is to identify and solve problems as they arise and create places of action, test ideas that seem to have potential for improving student achievement. For instance, if an identified problem is student writing then a goal of the PLC would be improve student writing across all disciplines. Teachers would then brainstorm ways in which to combat this problem and apply them within their classrooms. As indicated within the text, if “one teacher taught 28 times as much…as a teacher down the hall, and no one in the school knew this until the researchers went in…” (37), this indicates an “overwhelming evidence of inconsistency.” These ideas should be shared and implemented within classrooms with the outcome discussed within these meetings.
Lab reports, literary essays, research based reports incorporating MLA and APA format, along with required rubrics, are all crucial to the student reaching his or her comfort level in terms of building the above mentioned foundation.
In an effort to develop cross-content literacy effort and incorporate “higher order literacy demands,” thematic writing will be introduced and mandated within our haven of learning. This will include a specific theme for every month throughout the school. Responses can be conveyed through open-ended responses, response to pieces of literature (article, short story, etc…) as well as a discussion to follow: “…face to face dialogue(Lasch, 1995, p. 172). During this time, each discipline will have an assigned day of the week to write and discuss about the indicated theme. Across the curriculum, reading, writing and discussion will flourish. For instance, if the theme for the month of December is “poverty” every class should be able to touch on this topic in some shape, form or fashion. On Mondays: English, Tuesdays: Science, Wednesdays: Math, Thursdays: Health and Fridays: History. Every month a new theme will begin.
In addition, every class will keep a journal. Students must write for a substantiated amount of time whether it be on the lesson from the previous class, a posted quote, or even the student’s overall feeling about a topic occurring within society. Students must be able to express themselves, in a written context, as well as, discuss and debate their views with their peers.
The implementation of argumentative literacy will also be crucial. This will “nourish the critical capacities as it gives kids a chance to try on test their ideas and viewpoints. And it is fun” (67). Written and oral discussions incorporating facts and opinions, addressing controversial issues that require students to take stands on PROS or CONS, will support students not only on state-mandated tests but on standardized tests such as SAT’S that require students to compose an essay arguing a debatable subject. Once again, this will be a school-wide practice and a cross content literacy effort. History, science, math, health and English will incorporate this practice immediately.
To ensure that this school-wide practice is occurring there will be announced and unannounced walk-through, pre-evaluation and post-evaluation conferences and indicated within their teacher-evaluations, documented proof via data, sample essays and sample journals. Within weekly Professional Learning Communities, discussion of success/improvements and failures will be discussed and compared. PLC’s will be attended by an administrator (principal, vice-principal or department chairperson) to assess the progress of this newly implemented mandate.
The results will be positive. Students will begin to gain an level of comfort and fluency within their writing that will not only be the sole responsibility of the English teacher. With this, the foundation of a well equipped mind will emerge into society.
#2- “Instruction improves when teachers in teams, teach each other the practice of teaching …. Teachers learn best not from outsiders but from one another” (118). As a new teacher returning to teach in the high school that I graduated from, I was surprised to see some of my former teachers still thriving and continuing to flourish their love for education on countless numbers of students. However, I must say that the most jubilant experience came when one of the most highly regarded English teachers, as well as, my former teacher, came to ask my opinion and ideas in terms of teaching a specific novel. Although a bit reluctant at first because of my lack of experience, I began to share with Mrs. S. my views, thoughts and approaches in terms of instruction. She listened attentively, even taking notes a times. From that day forth we now plan our lessons, develop unit plans, exams and many more student centered activities together. That was three years ago. Now to my surprise, I am regarded with as much respect as Mrs. S. Among other academic achievements, students are successfully passing state-mandated exams, writing has improved significantly, and AYP has been met. What contributed to this sudden rise? Collaboration. Team work. With this said, as a department chairperson/ supervisor, this practice will be suggested among instructors to ensure positive results we are striving for. The department and ultimately, the school will be reorient themselves to the school improvement toward “internal expertise.” Although this will not be required, adhering to this practice will indicate a level of professionalism that will reflect in teacher evaluations, as well as, academic achievement amongst students. “ At some point, teamwork should be established as the new norm, just as it is in other professions” (Peters, 1987; Wagner, 2004; Wise, 2004).
#3- “Isolation ensures that highly unprofessional practices are tolerated and thus proliferate in the name of…professionalism” (24). As a principal of a secondary school, practices that facilitate teacher learning, which will ultimately lead to student achievement, will be put into place. Since isolation can be regarded as an unprofessional practice, measures will be taken to reduce and ultimately eliminate this act. A major way to reduce isolation and gain interaction between peers, will motivate the initiation of Professional Learning Communities (PLC’s). PLC’s will be staff directed learning efforts towards improving student education that will meet once a week for 30 minutes. These meetings will count as professional development and will be mandated within teacher’s contracts. It is through PLC’S that teacher isolation will begin to be indirectly addressed. The ultimate goal is to identify and solve problems as they arise and create places of action, test ideas that seem to have potential for improving student achievement. For instance, if an identified problem is student writing then a goal of the PLC would be improve student writing across all disciplines. Teachers would then brainstorm ways in which to combat this problem and apply them within their classrooms. As indicated within the text, if “one teacher taught 28 times as much…as a teacher down the hall, and no one in the school knew this until the researchers went in…” (37), this indicates an “overwhelming evidence of inconsistency.” These ideas should be shared and implemented within classrooms with the outcome discussed within these meetings.
6 comments:
I like your idea of daily journal writing as well as themes. If we can have kids write more and see connections to the world around them through themes, school becomes a place for future training nd connections.
Regina,
You are so right. Reading, writing and discussion is something that needs to be developed in all classrooms no matter the subject. In high schools, we tend to leave the reading and the writing up to the English teachers. If we teach students to look at what they are learning from a broader scoop then they are able to make meaningful connections that will enable them to transfer the skills and content they have learned.
That connection that you were able to make with your form English teacher is phenomenal. It demonstrates how not all veteran teachers are rigid. There are many open to change and to working together. We can learn from them and they can learn from us. Collaberation is key!
Another asset to teaching in teams is that some teachers may feel the need to "outdo" the other teacher and therefore strive to teach to the best ability possible. This is probably not the goal, but a good perk of team teaching.
I like the idea of having school wide themes, also. But mostly I want to comment on the story you told in the second situation: I was really impressed by Mrs. S because of the fact that she was so open to ideas and asked you for yours. You don't see that very often, a veteran teacher, and a former teacher of yours, no less, asking a new teacher for ideas and even advice. That indicates that she is truly is a life-long learner, and a person who does not let ego get in her way of learning from others, even if the others have less experience. It also, of course, says a lot about you, that she respected you and your mind that she made you an equal collaborator. You are both fortunate.
I couldn't agree more that reading, writing, and discussion should be incorporated in all subject areas on a regular basis. They are all such important, fundamental skills that they should be reinforced across the curriculum.
It is a shame that so many people play the "blame game" with English teachers when it comes to literacy test scores, since everyone should be contributing to students' communication skills.
Team teaching is a great way to affect change in a school system. It changes the entire dynamic of the classroom experience as well as impacting the way the students engage with the teachers. I wonder how more of an impact it would have if those teams were then to collaborate within the whole school.
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