The Work Ahead of Us

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"One never notices what has been done; one only sees what remains to be done"-Marie Curie

I am looking forward to working with my ED646 colleagues, we both have a vibrant group and professor!

Literacy and Reading

I really enjoyed discussing the articles and the chapters we read. There is so much to learn about being an effective reading specialist and the reading assignments provided a lot of information that is so useful. I enjoyed reading them because I was able to relate and interact with the text - shades of LRosenblatt!

My quote for tonight is Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence. Abigail Adams

This is something I need to always remember and think upon in my endeavor to get my degree and become a certified reading specialist. It makes all the hard work worth it all.

Reading Specialist

Today in class we discussed the chapter readings on chapter 1 and 2. We also reviewed the activities on the Paraprofessional Mentoring Project and the Evaluation of a Reading Program. I am looking foward to working on the Reading Program Project. I will be evaluating Success For All. I am looking foward to learning more about this popular reading program.

"Good teaching is more a giving of right questions than a giving of right answers." Josef Albers

I think that I will be questioning more of the activities as we move along in the course calendar. This quote also makes me reflect on my own teaching in my classroom. Whenever my students are having difficulty with an assignment, I question them more, to help them reach the right answer rather than just giving them the answer so they can move along. Providing them with the answers will never help them learn.

Sustaining Students' Joy and Wonder

Part of the reason I chose to become a teacher is that I wanted others to share in my joy of reading and writing. Of the different inspirational quotes, the following by Rachel Carlson is the one that caught my attention the most:

"If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, the excitement, and the mystery of the world we live in."

Quite a few of my students seem to have a jaded point of view--and, for a few, with good reason. But literacy is something that is necessary to life and may serve them well as an escape from their less-than-perfect realities, an escape through more marketable skills. Carlson's quote emphasizes the necessity of sustaining and developing students' enthusiasm. Motivation is the key to learning, and we can use students' sense of wonder and joy to fuel their drive to learn.

What Did I Get Myself Into?

And I thought ED 644 was going to be tough! It appears that ED 646 is going to be as just as tough, if not worse. But if we stick together and hold each up to stay focused, we shall overcome the mountain of assignments for this course.

My quote for today is: A single arrow is easily broken, but not ten in a bundle. (Japanese proverb) Each of us is an arrow (flying to the target) and we're tough so, together, we cannot be easily broken.
(image by google)

Welcome to ED646!

Dear ED646 Students,

Welcome to ED646! Prepare yourselves for a semester of evaluating and organizing reading programs, and so much more! You will undoubtedly be immersed in the world of facts pertaining to the role of a reading specialist/coordinator. Good luck!

Best regards,
Dr. Rivera