Response to Haas

This article was one of the more interesting ones that we have read and I think that I feel that way because there was a journey to be followed as we watched Eliza's skills grow. This caught my eye because I saw a little bit of my own growth in the area of the motives for reading or how I would read texts for school. I used to approach it the wrong way as well where I would read certain things all the way through highlighting almost everything and then I would not even remember what I had read after I was done.
Anyway, back to the article. Eliza's growth seemed very gradual and steady. If this was not a study that was executed over a long period of time and we just got a snapshot of Eliza's reading skills, the picture from her freshman year and senior year would be completely different and there would be no appreciation or acknowledgment of Eliza's journey and how much she had grown throughout her four years. Her reading became more "sophisticated" and she was able to take useful notes and highlight good chunks of information instead of highlighting everything simply because she did not understand it well enough to discern what was important. It seemed that the turningpoint in Eliza's learning process was when she was mentored by Shelly and was able to obtain one-on-one guidance when she needed it. At the end of the article it even lists that "Instructional Support" was one of the four factors that most likely contributed to Eliza's growth.

Response to Coles

This piece was very interesting in the sense that it was easy to read but also addressed a lot of the issues that are surrounding what is called "The Great Debate" over issues of literacy. I think there is a lot to be said about Coles' introduction about changing the terms of the debate because it would seem that people are focusing their attentions and efforts on the wrong parts of the issue. There are no standardized ways to measure whether a child or anyone for that matter is "literate" because there is still a developing definition of that term. There is no way to measure in a standardized way if all the children of a certain age understand a concept to the appropriate degree because they are all different and have different learning styles so it would be hard to instill those concepts in their minds in the first place. It is silly to argue over the methods that should be used to teach children. It does not have to be one or the other. Educators need to be equipped in such a way that they are able to meet children at different levels and styles of learning and if they better understand those differences, they will be able to reach that child with a technique that is suited to promote that particular child's literacy. It may sound like a lot of work and a very idealistic view of eduaction but it is important for people to know how to read. More and more it becomes the way that you relate to the world. If you can't drive down the street and read a sign or a menu or a short story in a magazine, that is a very isolated existence. Basically, the idea I got from the exerpts is that there really is no right or wrong answer... There are many possible ways of teaching and making children "literate" and it will take them all to succeed.

I lied... I didn't create a new one

I think maybe NOW I have it figured out

I think I night have it figured out now

I had to create a new blog because my other one got messed up... Sorry. I think this one will work now. :)