Final reflection

Training was interesting, and I especially learned a lot from the faculty members who came to speak with us. I'm looking forward to working the children on Monday.

Day 11

Dr. Hruska spoke with us today about children whose first language is not English. I have been eagerly awaiting her talk because this is an area in which I have little knowledge or experience. I found the strategies she shared to be very helpful. It was also comforting for me to see that many of the strategies she suggested are effective teaching strategies for most children. However, I think the implications for instruction become more complex and more difficult to deliver when children learning English are older. If they are in the beginning stages of their literacy development in first grade, they are in the same general stage as many children in their classroom. However, if they do not acquire those foundation skills at the same pace as the other children in their class, then they become the "older kids" who don't want to read "baby books" but are still at developing levels in their literacy knowledge. I imagine that is where much of the Reading Buddies work will come in. I look forward to the challenge of helping these bright, young students develop the confidence they need to undertake the daunting task of navigating their learning of English and in English. I especially admire children who learn in a language other than their native language because I had such a difficult time learning a foreign language in school. I can only imagine what a daunting task it is for some children, and I want to help them recognize their own fortitude and hard work so they can be proud of themselves.

Day 10

Today Joe built more extensively on what he talked about yesterday and introduced us to methods of assessment. I have especially learned a lot from the examples he has gave us over the past two days. One thing I learned in my first year of teaching after college is that actually teaching is a whole lot different than talking about teaching. I understand the concepts behind what Joe has taught us, however I know that it will take some practice for me to actually use his strategies effectively with my buddies. I'm thinking about when I watch figure skating on TV, and the elite athletes make it look so easy. Those TV segments do not show you how much work and practice got the athletes to that performance point. Similarly, Joe is such an expert, and so well practiced in the teaching of reading, that his work with the children looked so effortless and natural in the video clips- but I need to remember that it's not going to feel that way at first for me!

Day 9

Joe Yukish presented so much valuable information today. I was excited about how much of what he talked about we did in the school where I taught for four years. A great example of research actually informing practice!

Since we focused on the lower level books today, I was really able to get a more concrete sense of what teaching first graders looks like since most of my reading experience has been with third and fourth graders. I am hoping to have the challenge in this program of working with a different grade level than I have in the past. Joe gave us so many valuable tips today, and in a way that I really felt I learned new teaching strategies, not just heard them. He took the time to explain the rationale behind each strategy. I especially liked his principle of "in the ear and out the mouth." What a terrific way to ensure our buddies will be active learners! Above all, I admired the clear and consistent teacher language that Joe modeled for us today. I wrote down as many phrases as I could capture. I can see how Joe's methods can empower children to be readers; he had the same effect on me as a teacher!

Day 8

Today Lisa Blackwell came to speak to us about learning as the development of the brain over time rather than intelligence being a fixed notion. I absolutely agreed with everything she spoke about, and found her initial exercise with us to be especially helpful. We had to think back to our earliest memories of learning how to read so as to begin thinking again about what it’s like to be a child in a classroom. Even more than thinking back on my own experiences, I enjoyed the sharing and discussion of others’ experiences. Every time another member of the faculty comes to speak with us, I get a new perspective and new ideas about learning and teaching that integrate into what I already know or have experienced.

These faculty speaker experiences are both stimulating as a learner and valuable as a teacher. As with the other speakers I’ve heard, I feel like I need to go back and reflect on my notes from this session before I begin teaching, as well as every now and again as a refresher while I’m working with the reading buddies. It’s so easy to get stuck in our own ways of doing things, but these children need all of the approaches and knowledge that we can provide for them. I really feel that these speakers are indirectly enriching the students’ experience by providing us with such valuable information, which I’m sure is the idea!

Day 7

I really liked the exercise we did in training today with digraphs (sh, ch, and th). We went around the room telling a story using words that have those sounds. That was an activity I’d like to use with my students because it’s a fun twist on just brainstorming words with a certain sound, and it allows the child to use the words in context to produce more meaning for them. I might also try writing words that the child can read or that we are working on a board, and we could use them in a story. I’ll write the story down as we make it up, and the child can read it back to practice reading the target words.

In addition to instructional phonic strategies, I began to make a list of skills/attitudes that I want to informally assess in the students at the beginning of our time together. I’m really getting excited about getting started. I think I’ll use our time off Friday and Monday mornings to start creating these materials so that I’m ready when we start going into school.

Day 6
Today we talked more about reading with children, specifically the importance of putting a book into context. It’s also important not to assume what a child may or may not know. We do not know all of the experiences a child comes to us with, or what kinds of gaps in learning may have occurred. For example, a child may never have been to a beach and never seen waves, but might know a lot about riding on a train. As teachers, we have to learn what kinds of background knowledge a child has and approach a book accordingly. Similarly, a child might not know the letter sounds with automaticity, but may recognize some sight words. That is why we need to assess, even in an informal way, what a child knows and doesn’t know rather than assume anything.

Day 5

Today was the child abuse training mandated by New York state. I found the presenter to be informative and knowledgeable. However, it was a long morning because the subject matter pulled at my heartstrings, and I had to think back to being disciplined as a child. Also, the material in the presentation opened up a big debate within the Reading Buddies group. The morning seemed to leave everyone fraught with their own emotions as we were certainly dealing with emotionally-charged issues. I was exhausted by the end of the session.

Day 4

Today Dr. Rosa and Dr. Peverly came to speak to us. I got a lot out of training today, as both presenters were tremendous speakers and had a lot of valuable knowledge to share with us. I plan to reread my notes from their presentation before I go into the school on the first day because I want to be sure I keep in mind all of the information I learned from them about reading and about working in a culturally diverse setting.

Day 3

Today we began discussing more about reading. I feel like I have a good understanding of teaching reading based on my last five years of teaching in elementary schools, and from my training as an undergraduate. I am looking forward to honing those skills and acquiring new ones so that I can best help the students I'll be working with. There will be new challenges that I have not encountered before, such as teaching children for who English is a second language. There are so many knowledgeable people here from whom I can learn; I'm looking forward to taking advantage of these new learning experiences to enrich myself, and hopefully the lives of my reading buddies.