When I think about how lost some students must feel when it comes to reading, I recall John F. Kennedy’s quote “A child miseducated is a child lost”.  As a prospective reading specialist, I am inspired by this quote to strive to learn all that I can so that I can reach the students who find themselves lost when it comes to reading.   

Image:  google.images

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose." Dr. Seuss..

Dr. Seuss said it so perfectly, We have the opportunity to choose the path that we lead and the direction we want to go. I want to head into the direction that leads to becoming a dedicated "Reading Professional." I am looking foward to be able to apply all the strategies, skills and content that I am learning in the Language and Literacy Program as soon as I pass my Praxis II and graduate from the University of Guam.

Perseverance gets you everywhere!

Learn as much as you can while you are young, since life becomes too busy later. ~Dana Stewart Scott

Life's a balancing act for so many of us--what with work, school, and families. I'm glad that the readings provide us with an achievable goal, a light at the end of the tunnel. Even though sometimes life gets too full of hassles, I'm glad that we're all here together and in it to win it as future Reading Specialists! Happy Monday!

Reality Check

"It's not what you achieve in life that counts, it's what you overcome."-author unknown

This is the start of my 7th year in teaching, and it's been a surreal experience! Sometimes I ask myself if it's worth the hardships and fustrations. The constant search for knowledge, continuing education, meeting the demands of GDOE, and administration. I look at my past and realize I've been through tougher times, and so, I will overcome.

google image

In the Same Boat

"We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now." Martin Luther King Jr.

I'm sorry if it seems that I'm harping so much on the lack of cooperation sometimes observed between content area teachers and language arts teachers, but the readings, especially the article on standards for middle and high school reading specialists/coaches really spoke to me. As a school, JFKHS is trying to do a lot to address our failings with regards to literacy instruction (as directed by our SAT10 scores). We hold monthly faculty meetings where the focus is on disseminating strategies that will 1) address literacy and 2) more than likely work in your classroom. It sounds great on paper, but it can be difficult to carry out, especially when we have to think of how literacy is used in math or PE classes. It's doable. It might not be easy for all teachers to try all of our strategies, but we're aiming for a good percentage--critical mass is a good term. I think what would tip the boat in our favor is for all teachers to realize that literacy is a vital part of all classes and that all teachers have a responsibility to help their students. WASC accreditation (or denial) and improved (or stagnated) literacy skills help (or hurt) everyone.

Chapter 6: Adolescent Literacy

How did you feel about the metaphor? The reading brought back some memories of being a high school teacher back in the day when teachers were teachers and administrators were leaders. Innovative strategies that met student needs were not looked upon with favor by the the narrow thinking of some school principals. It was either their way or the highway. Unfortunately I encountered such narrow thinking which resulted in the "institutional practices working against the teacher." In those days, I saw a lot of really good teachers leave the system out of frustration. Teachers today are more fortunate because they are encouraged to be more creative and to use strategies they know will work with their students. These days what counts is that the students learn. I have seen so many really good teachers at the elementary and secondary levels who use innovative but effective strategies and I've seen the students' reactions to such strategies. One high school health teacher I know uses music to teach his ESL students health concepts . For many island students, music is a way of communicating their thoughts and feelings. He also uses a lot of video technology to help students become more effective communicators. He is a great example of teaching reading literacy in the content area . Another teacher I know, uses student created visuals to motivate students to relate to the content. She then posts these visuals in the classroom to showcase student work and this gives students the motivation to want to learn more and do more. I say, "if it works, use it!" There are so many good teachers but they need the support of administrators who understand that some teachers need to use out- of- the- box strategies and to encourage them rather than frustrate them with narrow thinking. Because good and sound leadership is critical to an effective adolescent literacy program, I believe that many of our new administrators (who have little experience with effective literacy programs) need some professional development in leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills and they need to be able to model these skills effectively so that their specialist teachers would want to assume leadership roles themselves. For those who are stuck in a "my way or the highway" rut, (and we still have those in our current system) they need to be professionally redeveloped as well.

My quote for today is from a reader of GUIDEPOSTS, Laverne Hart: If you aim at nothing, more than likely you'll hit it. How hard is this target to miss? On the other hand, if you aim at something, more than likely you'll hit is as well. So the moral is if you're aiming, aim for something because it is better than nothing.''

Image by google image search: Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Emergency Meeting

After a long day of professional development, the federally funded employees were called to an emergency meeting by Dr. Nerissa Underwood. We were told that there was still no word from US DOE and the federal funds and because of this we may not have a job come Monday. This dealt a big blow to the moral of the teachers, coordinators, and teaching assistants who were present during the meeting. It brought concerns to the principals and rendered most, speechless to the thought of not having a job. Except for the few who were brave to question the Superintendent, it was quiet and somber. I braved the crowd and remained optimistic and put my trust in a system that hopefully will take care of the educators who still remain even after many had left. For those who worry about their next paycheck, I pray that our leaders will make the right decision, if not for the federally funded educators, at least for the students of GDOE.

Chapter 5: Improving Reading Achievement in Elementary Schools

All of us do not have equal talent, but all of us should have an equal opportunity to develop our talent. (John F. Kennedy) I presented on Equality and Equity today at a Professional Development for Chamorro Teachers. So I thought that this quote was very timely and a good reminder for all of us as educators. Not all our students have equal talents but it is our responsibility to ensure that they equally receive the opportunities to develop.
Today's reading assignment was, at first pretty dry, until I read the statement about literacy curricula not being the same as literacy programs. For the last five years, the argument was that the reform program being implemented was a curriculum. It is not! It is the set of materials and resources that should have been used by teachers to support the curriculum. Can this explain why our students are still not improving? Have we done this all backwards? The reading also stated that in order for an effective improvement plan to be sustained, a strong infrastructure must be built? Again, this could explain why there has been little progress student achievement. Just like Marife felt about last week's reading, this reading was very informative but left me feeling very frustrated. For all the new things I am learning, I am also feeling helpless.

Happy Professional Development Day!

"If you want to be incrementally better: Be competitive. If you want to be exponentially better: Be cooperative." --unknown

At our school's Professional Development Day, er, festivities, I kept coming back to one of this chapter's points about the necessity of teacher buy-in and ownership. As mentioned before, JFKHS is trying its best to implement standards- and researched-based best practices among all its teachers. Granted, it's a lot of work to 1) sit through regular meetings to learn about different literacy-aimed learning activities, 2) try them out with your students, and 3) reflect and report on the efficacy of a chosen lesson. I think our biggest obstacle has been maintaining teacher participation. It's one thing to support the improvement of the literacy skills of all students, but, as this quote explains, it starts with all teachers working together.

Article 3

This following quote is  in reference to Article 3:  Teaching All Children to Read:  The Roles of the Reading Specialist, A Position Statement of the International Reading Assoication.

If our legislators could back up and support the IRAs’ position statement on Article 3, reading specialists could take great strides to partake of Thornton Wilders inspirational quote; which is to “Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day”.


Image:  image.google.com

Well, I just realized that I was suppose to attend class today. It only dawned on me now because as I was reading everyone's post, I got the impression that there was class, when I went to check my calendar of events, it was there in black and white, a scheduled class session and I was thinking that we had a moodle session today. My mistake, I got my dates confused. My apologies to everyone.



"To teach is to learn twice" Joseph Joubert, Pensees, 1842

I like to think that every day as I teach, I learn something new. My students constantly teach me new ways that I can improve how I deliver a lesson, how to make the lesson more engaging and how I can keep them focused. Everyday is a lesson learned.

Experience your surroundings!

google image

"We should not teach children the sciences but give them a taste for them"- Jean Jacques Rousseau

Don't only teach your students, romance them invite them to get out of their comfort zone, take them out and discover their surroundings and taste, smell, feel, and see what the world has to offer!

Read More, Ponder More

"It is better to read a little and ponder a lot than to read a lot and ponder a little." --Denis Parsons Burkitt

As (reading) teachers and Reading Specialists, we should help students delve deeper into whatever they read. We should encourage students to read for understanding and to internalize what they read. As per the articles and discussions, properly trained Reading Specialists can be the KEY to help motivate readers to be lifelong learners!

Speaking Out!

Tonight's session discussion on the role of reading specialists in the schools was quite passionate as we all felt that the research and the knowledge of respected experts is not being used by those in the field of education here on Guam. We were able to express our thoughts and feelings, and frustrations because what is actually happening in the schools often contradicts what we are learning from the experts. We should all be advocates for the children and stand up for what is right. We can follow Darlene's example by sending our articles on what effective reading programs should be, what the standards for professional development should involve and the benefits of having a reading specialist in the schools to our legislators and other leaders.

My quote tonight is:

Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere. ~Chinese Proverb

As my mother used to tell me, what you learn will always be with you and no one can take your education away from you.

I appreciated all the thoughts shared this class meeting. As tired as we might be from earlier in the day and our various responsibilities, I think we all find energy in sharing our thoughts on the different interesting topics. I especially liked the conversation we had about how literacy must be addressed throughout the content areas. I chose George Santayana's quote that "A child educated only at school is an uneducated child" to reinforce the related notion (from our own experiences and from the readings) that (literacy) education is a group-effort and cannot end at school, in the English teacher's classroom.

Reading Programs

It was a great first day for me.  Just like Faye, I too enjoyed the reads and discussions and found it to be informative as well as useful for this second year teacher and language and literacy student. 

This brings to mind a Latin Proverb that best represents my experiences from the reads and discussions. “By learning you will teach; by teaching you will understand”.  This quote is the epitome of my inspiration for the day as I will continue to learn, teach and understand.

Image:  images.google.com