If you were to ask teachers to list their priorities in the classroom, the teaching of reading would most likely be near the top of that list. Developing good readers is what we do. This would be closely followed by the teaching of writing. Reading and writing are the foundations upon which our instruction lie.
Most teachers that I know are passionate readers. There are not many, however, who are also writers. Up until the start of this blog, I would have had to include myself in that category, which is odd because as I child, I loved writing. Creative writing was one of my favourite times of the school day.
Before starting this blog I would also have categorized myself as someone who understood the reading process. I've run reading programs for years and I've regularly witnessed progress in my classroom.
One idea that I thought I understood before beginning this blog is that readers create meaning as they read, that the text has no inherent meaning except that created by the reader. Intellectually it made sense and I taught with that in mind.
It is in the experience of developing a global audience for my blog that I've gained new insight into this and have developed a much deeper understanding of what happens during the reading process. When you have a global audience, even a small one as I have, you begin to receive commentary and feedback. What is interesting is how readers interpret my blog. Readers see meaning, intent and ideas that were not necessarily my meaning nor intent nor ideas as I was writing. Readers interpret my words in ways that are meaningful to them. They create the meaning, my words are simply a conduit for their thoughts. I get this now in a way that I didn't before.
This is why I think teaching blogging is so important. Blogging provides an authentic audience for students. It allows them to see how others think in relation to their own ideas. By seeing how readers interpret their work, I suspect that students will develop a better understanding of the reading process just as I have.
Most teachers that I know are passionate readers. There are not many, however, who are also writers. Up until the start of this blog, I would have had to include myself in that category, which is odd because as I child, I loved writing. Creative writing was one of my favourite times of the school day.
Before starting this blog I would also have categorized myself as someone who understood the reading process. I've run reading programs for years and I've regularly witnessed progress in my classroom.
One idea that I thought I understood before beginning this blog is that readers create meaning as they read, that the text has no inherent meaning except that created by the reader. Intellectually it made sense and I taught with that in mind.
It is in the experience of developing a global audience for my blog that I've gained new insight into this and have developed a much deeper understanding of what happens during the reading process. When you have a global audience, even a small one as I have, you begin to receive commentary and feedback. What is interesting is how readers interpret my blog. Readers see meaning, intent and ideas that were not necessarily my meaning nor intent nor ideas as I was writing. Readers interpret my words in ways that are meaningful to them. They create the meaning, my words are simply a conduit for their thoughts. I get this now in a way that I didn't before.
This is why I think teaching blogging is so important. Blogging provides an authentic audience for students. It allows them to see how others think in relation to their own ideas. By seeing how readers interpret their work, I suspect that students will develop a better understanding of the reading process just as I have.
Heidi,
ReplyDeleteYou make an awesome connection between blogging and authentic writing, based on The Reading Process! How very cool!!
When I was still a FT reading teacher, I wasn't blogging yet, so this connection didn't happen for me/my students, though we explored authentic writing & reading in other ways (pre-web 2.0). And I'm really not THAT old.... LOL. Example: my students learned to read book reviews online, evaluate them while deciding to choose the book or not, then eventually learned to write their own reviews, using the others as models. Good stuff! I never thought to keep the links back then. Darn!
Interestingly, your opening statements in this post caught my attention. It seems our experiences with colleagues and reading have been different (sadly): Most whom I've met (outside english/reading/elementary classrooms) have told me straight out: "I'm not a reading teacher, and don't want to teach it." Alas, I've spent my entire career teaching colleagues about the value of the reading process in THEIR content areas, as I continue to do via consulting & freelance PD work.
Sadly, most are not readers either.....even fewer embrace writing, as you mentioned. As a literacy educator, I scratch my head in disbelief (regularly). Really? We expect our students to read and write, but we aren't willing? Is there something a little off there, or is it just me???? Just sayin'...... Maybe I need to hang out with Canadian teachers! :-)
I really appreciate your perspective and look forward to sharing it with fellow teachers. May I link to this post on my blog?
Just recently, a tech center instructor told me she'd like to start a class blog for her HS students, part of the reason I'm pushing for Blogger to rethink their business plan. :) I'd love for her to read your thoughts (I'm introducing veteran teachers to web 2.0 tools).
Take care!
robin
Hi Robin,
ReplyDeleteI think elementary teachers are readers because books are so much a part of our daily life in the classroom. Please feel free to share the link. Web 2.0 allows us to learn from each other. I wish it would have existed when I was a beginning teacher. To all teachers I say, "Get blogging!" Students love communicating. For teachers it means reflective practice. It is a wonderful way to help clarify our understanding of what it means to be a teacher.
Hi Heidi,
ReplyDeleteAgreed... on all points! :-) Thanks so much for permission to share link over at RobinLK.com. Writing post today.