April’s Teaching Blog

I actually re-read my blogs from time to time.  I am a reflective learner, and I thrive on new ideas and constructive criticism.  All of my blogs have had really nice comments and positive feedback, and that makes me feel successful in this endeavor.  In the beginning, I was like blog?  Skiiiiiiiiiiiiirt (brakes).  I’m not on facebook, I don’t frequent blogs, and part of me thinks its weird and stalkerish for people to write about their lives for all to read.  When I was little, I had a diary.  The diary had locks, and no one was allowed to read about who I had a crush on.  This seemed a little counter-intuitive for me, but you know what?  I really liked it.  It really gave me a way to thoughtfully reflect on my reading, and I really like writing, so it worked.  I also really liked reading what people had to say about my blog, it made me feel happy.  I liked that people were reading what I had written, and although I don’t think that my blog was super-insightful, I’d like to think it was slightly enjoyable to read.  The blog helped me to remember what I had read, and it was also nice to read other people’s takes on the same readings.

I hate that I’m not teaching this year because this class has really given me a new lease on literacy teaching.  Last year I felt like I was a pretty good literacy teacher, especially for a first year teacher.  I had lots of engaging activities, and all my kids grew.  They liked reading, they liked writing, and they rarely complained about anything that we did.  God bless those little souls.  One of my favorite parts about this class was reading the research.  I’ve never had a class that required the readings of recent research, and I have to say that it is really interesting.  The Kidwatching Project was a great way for me to get back into the classroom, and the inquiry project gave me great ideas about creating a Family Literacy Night, but my favorite part by far was reading and blogging, which at the beginning of this course, I thought would be my least favorite.  I love being surrounded by teachers who love to learn, who have opinions, and who care as much about teaching their kids as much as I do. 

It would be hard on here to wirte each and every thing that I have learned over the course of this semester, but the most important things that I will take away are:

1.  DO NOT USE DEFICIT THINKING.  It helps no one, and it really has caused me to reflect on every child that I encounter, even some adults. 

2.  Vocabulary is key.  Encouraging the development of a rich vocabulary in children gives them a wonderful foundation for all literacy activity they will do in their life.

3.  My fellow teachers have lots of valuable opinions that I take to heart.  I listen to what people have to say in class, I read what they say on their blogs, and I reflect on these.  I am a moderate, though, and I see all sides of an argument.  It is really hardly ever black and white for me, and I’m sticking to that.  BUT, what everyone has said in class has instigated reflection and even changed my opinion on subjects.

Literacy is for lovers.