Readicide

“Overemphasis on testing is playing a major part in killing off readers in America’s classrooms” (7).

I wanted to begin my blog post with a reflection of one of the first quotes in Readicide. We are overemphasizing the importance of student performance on exams. But, why does the test determine how smart someone is? I can completely relate to this issue. As mentioned I’m a math minor, and being a math minor I still do not score as well as I’d like on exams. This does not though determine how much I have learned from the class. Actually, I think I tend to score worse in math than I do in English because I have a lot of pressure on myself to do well in math. There is either a right or wrong answer, where as in English it is more about your argument for your logic.

I agree with Gallagher when she said, “Authentic interest is generated when students are given the opportunity to delve deeply into an interesting idea” (10). If we can provide students with the opportunity to stumble upon literature they like, then we will be able to teach with an authentic interest. One way I plan to generate authentic interest in my students is by giving them options to the literature. For example, literature circles are one way to give students options. I observed several classes at Mechanicsburg Middle School like this. The teacher gave the students the option of which book they wanted to read, but all of the focuses centered around culturally diverse literature. Some of the books were focused towards boys too, which would help to create authentic interest. I found that the students were very intrigued with the books they were reading and I was able to listen to some of their "findings" in each group.

Next, I wanted to mention the Michael Phelps anecdote. (Side note- I was surprised to find his name in this book haha). It said, "We put [students] in the 'race' (in this case, high-stakes tests) and ask them to perform well. However, there is a big problem: these student have not been in the 'pool' very much" (30). I believe this statement. Students are pushed to train for these high-stake tests, but because of the pressure many of them are still lacking development. Also, when asked any other information it seems they do not know anything about it. I think if students can discover things through our guidance as teachers they can teach themselves something on their own. Then with our help, students will be able to construct answer to difficult problems they encounter even if we have no specifically showed them the circumstance. 

Lastly, Gallagher says "it always amazes (and depresses) me that grown, educated adults can sit in a room and argue endlessly over whether a student's pants are too baggy or whether a student should be marked tardy if he or she is not yet seated when the bell rings"(31). After reading this quote I felt the same way. I can't believe teachers are arguing at faulty meeting about such small details. Why aren't they discussing the more important topics? To answer this I'd say...maybe sometimes teachers lose their direction. They forget why they began a teacher and need reminded. This is one reason student teachers are a good thing. They are fresh students straight from college with the desire that some teachers lose over years of teaching. Honestly, teachers should be embarrassed to fight about dress code for an entire faculty meeting...especially if student teachers are observing. I would like to attend a faculty meeting in the future and report my findings on my blog to see how they compare to what Gallagher said about them.