Here is the link to NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) and what they have to say about Adolescent Literacy.
http://www.ncte.org/adlit
What do you think? How will you incorporate some of these tenets even if you teach another content area?
Proactive Pathways for Engagement
20 hours ago
Oh boy, here we go again!
ReplyDeleteOh the age old question of standardized testing. Should kids be held accountable to certain requirements as in the NCLB policy? Should they only fund schools with students who pass these tests? Does it encourage teachers to 'teach to the test' or do teachers teach more effectively with the pressure of knowing their students have to pass? Questions!!!!!!
Well, it's a complicated subject, I have some qualms with it and feel this is the proper area to share them in.
First there is the economic pot hole that is inevitable. Schools in lower income areas have less funding and resources, therefore they have less support to pass these standards and therefore a stronger chance in failing. When they do fail, they do not get any funding......and the cycle begins! Next year students have even less of a chance and fall deeper and deeper into the problem of no resources, no support, no passing.
Secondly, teachers are definitely teaching to the test. Yes, students should have to know specific information to pass a grade, but are we simply to feed them information to memorize for a week and then have them forget once the test is over? Where is the value in this? I want my students to remember and learn, now spew out information to make the government happy!
Finally, why does the military government get their personal contact information in the NCLB act? Are they going to assess the students scores and then pick the vulnerable ones to be goalies in the next war? As a peace studies student this just does not add up to me....
I have tons of questions on this subject, and more to learn on the act. For now, these are just my beginning thoughts.
In today's modern classroom, it is wise to understand the differences between what you learned as literacy and what needs to be taught as literacy to create students that are effective in the service economy we have now. We are no longer training manufacturing plant workers you know. One main point to focus on is that way in which students develop multiple literacies.
ReplyDeleteIn the NTCE's position statement, they make a point to address these multiple literacies. They argue that it is no longer just books that the students get their information upon which they build their understanding of the universe around them. In our digital age it is much more diverse. They highlight "their texts range from clothing logos to music to specialty magazines to websites and finally to popular and classical literature." This concept is going to be a key in challenging our past plans on how to teach literacy. It is my strong belief that only in a fully interactive classroom wills students be able to grasp this new literacy. Teachers have to make a leap towards trying to incorporate devices of the digital age to spark student's enthusiasm and interest and thus motivate them to want to learn literacy in the particular subject. They next address the testing of reading comprehension in an attempt to start a conversation about how we are evaluating and assessing the students in standardized tests. The NCTE identifies the flaws in "Limited "one right answer" or "main idea" models of reading" and how they "run counter to current research findings". They point to the subject matter the students have to read about in these tests. They assure that if these reading texts were to be of a subject that is more familiar or interesting to the student there would be a stark improvement in comprehension. This statement runs true for me because of course if the material is more interesting you will be able to focus and understand it better and thus comprehension will rise.
I believe there are a great number of ways to include developmental literacy into a classroom.
ReplyDeleteOne of the keys will be sparking their curiousity. For some this will be understanding the working application of a concept. Others will want to know how the concept impacts the world. Some will want to explore this on their own. Others will prefer to dialogue about it with others.
As a teacher, it is my job to offer the stimulus for all these students. Will it be a class discussion on the use of pesticides? Will it be a web search? Will it be an essay?
These are the critical questions to answer as we begin to understand our students and how they learn.
Overall, this article touched upon a variety of aspects of literacy that were covered in the content area literacy class. One important concept that is essential to student success is activating their prior knowledge. Assessment can be informal. As the article stated, different contents require different reading techniques. Each student needs to be stimulated. As future teachers, we must recognize and value multiple literacy resources. Students today use untraditional literacy resources such as the internet, iPods, instant messaging, as well as text messaging. This is still literacy.
ReplyDeleteOverall, the article emphasized the notion of calling upon real life examples. Throughout my observation hours and educational classes real life examples allows the student to connect with the information at hand. I believe that it shows the student that the content is around us everywhere.
I feel as though this article brings an important message to us as upcoming, future teachers. We must remember to be aware of literacy experiences students will be bringing to the classroom as mentioned in the article. We have to be able to build on their prior knowledge while keeping the content interesting. As teacher's it is important to learn new strategies and to research background areas of helping to imporve literacy.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading NCTE's position on adolescent literacy it became quite apparent that the issue of illiterate students is a very prominent problem in today's society. 8 million students between grades 4-12 are reading below their grade level? This number is not only astonishing, its sad and shows to us, as future teachers, that something needs to be done to address this issue. Literacy is something that we involve in our daily lives in absolutely everything we do. It is more than just something we do, literacy is imbedded into everything that makes us up as a species. I am very impressed with NCTE and the website they have put together as it shows that yes, this is an issue that does need to be addressed and hopefully one day solved. It is a sad thing to know that so many students out there are unable to read to their highest ability. As teachers, we have to help each student learn to read to the best of their abilities. To be literate is to live life where the wealth of knowledge is neverending
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