Chapter Five: Ellen Harrison

I have 1 question: If we know how to prevent a readicide then why do we keep teaching this way? I think if I were in Kelly Gallagher’s classroom as a high school student I would have been more successful in school.

As an arts teacher this book made sense to me. In chapter 5 Gallagher refers to Yong Zhao’s report that supports creative and critical thinking. The report states that America is a superpower due to our, “creative, risk-taking, can-do spirit.” Zhao also adds that this creative spirit “is not normally measured in standardized test or compared in international studies.” Some of the authors he quotes and refers to (e.g., Eric Jenson), are authors that we in the arts community look to. Eric Jensen, author of Arts with the Brian in Mind also states, “The fact is, many important things are not measured-for a good reason. Just because something is important, that doesn’t mean you have to measure it or that there is a sensible way to measure it. In real life, arts get reviewed or appreciated, not measured.” In a foreword to Reinvesting in Arts Education written by our US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, states, “Education in the Arts is more important than ever. To succeed today and in the future, American’s children will need to be inventive, resourceful, and imaginative. The best way to foster that creativity is through arts education.” A well rounded education in the arts includes: creative writing, dance, music, theatre and visual art, all of which include literacy components.

Now having said all of that, how does a book about reading relate to the arts? One of his beliefs is that students should have exposure to an abundance of information and awareness while reading whether it is required or recreational. One thing I think we do well in the arts is providing students with a wealth of knowledge before they are encouraged to create. Many times we are delving into subject areas that are not traditional to the arts in order to supplement and inform our students in order for them to have a better understanding of our subject matter.

This book came to us (dance department) at the right time. We are looking at restructuring our dance curriculum and the way that we teach each. We are planning on moving from a linear to more global curriculum. We plan on incorporating his idea of an “Article of the Week” in order to teach anatomy, choreography, dance history, nutrition, etc.

CHAPTER 4 READICIDE

THE INTERACTION OF READERS AND THE TEXT THEY ARE READING IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE.
WITHOUT A BASE TO ESTABLISH MEANING OR RELEVANCE WITH A STUDENT HAS LITTLE EMOTIONAL AND INTELLECTUAL STIMULATION. IT MEANS MORE THE MORE THE STUDENT INVOLVES HIMSELF IN THE PROCESS AND PROGRESSION OF THE BOOK. IF A STUDENT DOES NOT HAVE THIS BASE THEN THE TEACHER CAN INITIATE MUCH OF THE INTERACTION BEFORE READING, DURING AND AFTER THE READING.
A TEACHER CAN MODEL FOR THE STUDENT HOW TO THINK ABOUT THE TEXT, AND WHAT QUESTIONS THEY MAY WANT TO ASK THEMSELVES. SCHEMA ACTIVATION AND METACOGNITION ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE COMPREHENSION PROCESS.

Chapter 1: Kurt Stiglbauer

One nugget I got from this chapter is that kids should be allowed to choose the readings that they do so that they will have a true interest in it. I assign my students to read a book each quarter in my class, but I give them a list of fourteen different books, each with a different type of assessment. That way they choose their interest in books, but also their learning style. Some take a multiple choice test, some make a board game or a poster. The creative batch has the option of making a third-grade version of the same book with pictures and only three sentences per page. I have a Dr. Suess assessment, four-page essay, true/false test, matching test, traveling version of the book, oral exam, and many other assessments for other kinds of students . . .

Chpater Four: Keely Hitchings

What is the over/under
Sweet spot
Effective teaching does not equal experience or highly qualified
Developing their recreational reading will help them find their reading flow
How should we mentor the handling of difficult texts?
Shared cultural literacy
Classics cannon- trying not to make them dirty words
If they seem awful it is due to the way they are taught/ could the same not be said for all the other books in the world…seems a little underwhelming
Frame the text
Draft reading
Big chunk/small chunk
Close reading

In this chapter of Readicide Gallagher discuss how educators, specifically English teachers, need to find a way to helps student access difficult texts without falling prey to over or under teaching. I connect to various parts of this book and chapter. I was lucky enough in school to be one of the 1 in 14 who had a “consistently rich, supportive, elementary school experience.” Unfortunately I know many people who were not; smart, thoughtful people who had to rediscover their love of reading because school had killed it. I strive to create a classroom environment that finds a balance between reading for school and reading for pleasure. If kids do not have any positive associations with reading they will never possess the flow or skills to read things for school.

I love the idea of a shared cultural literacy but I am not in agreement with his idea that a classic cannon is in any way important. I think the argument he uses for the cannon can be used to support the teaching of any novel. And I certainly don’t think every classic has an essential truth that is interesting or relevant to me. If I cannot get past the decoding of the novel the essential truth it may or may not represent is moot.

I really think this chapter offers some practical ways to reach that “sweet spot” with reading and reminds us that there is more than one way to skin a cat and we should be diligent in our self-reflection and metacognition so that we are not inadvertently committing readicide.

Chapter Four: Kelly Sandbrink

Much to my surprise, I enjoyed reading this portion of the text, and often found myself nodding along to Gallagher's statements. In my own experiences, most teachers were "overteaching" the texts we were required to read in school. The summer before my senior year of high school, one of the books I was required to read was Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms." I fell in love with the book; Hemingway's storytelling and his attention to details captured my attention like few novels up to that point had.

On the first day of school, my English teacher began discussing Hemingway, and introduced "The Old Man and the Sea" as our next assigned reading. As we explored the novel, my teacher killed any enjoyment I originally had in reading. X represented Y, which really represented Z, and it all added up to A. It all was jibberish to me, and I just wanted to read and enjoy the story. Because I tend to research things I don't fully understand, I started doing my own research on Hemingway. I found an interview a newspaper editor had had with Hemingway, in which he stated that he was only trying to tell a story he saw in his mind, and all the analyzing he heard people doing with "The Old Man and the Sea" was shit. That quote is verbatim now, of course, but it proved to me that we often misconstrue things, and lose the intended meaning, because we're so worried about looking for a deeper meaning. When I presented this to my English teacher, he told me that quote was "shit being spewed from a drunkard's mouth," and that it all meant something. At that point, a discussion ensued, and it wasn't pretty.

Regardless, I didn't pick up a book to read for enjoyment for years after that. What was the point? Over-analyzing has done nothing for me but beat a dead horse, whether I'm in a class, or re-teaching one of my students' English assignment. I think that we, as teachers, need to focus on the thinking skills, and the others will follow. We'll create a society of young people who can critically think for themselves, who can make connections to texts, and see the relationships.

Chapter 3 - Melissa Gilbert

This chapter raises a lot of relevant issues, but I think it only focuses on one type of reader: the type that has a natural ability and a desire to read. I am not naturally drawn to any type of language arts material. When I was in high school, I certainly needed a novel broken down if I was to fully comprehend what was going on. I think this strategy is also beneficial for students that have low comprehension skills. Students have to grow in their ability to read and comprehend a text before their "reading flow" can be developed. Having said that, I agree with the alternatives that the author provides in lieu of the break-down strategy. I think the material presented to students has to have a real-life relevance, be interesting to the students, and have a real purpose/benefit to the students. I believe the break-down strategy can be beneficial tool until the students have cultivated their comprehension skills and expanded their vocabulary.

Chapter 4: Michelle Goings

Ever since I was little, I have been a huge fan of reading, I can't seem to get enough of it but in high school I HATED to read the material that was assigned to us. It was material that no one would really explain and often written in a way that I didn't fully understand. If it wasn't for the teacher giving us direct hints on what they wanted our essays to look like, I don't know if I would have made it through! Kelly Gallagher discusses that we should be taught and therefore teach our students "in the sweet spot", but that is often unheard of in the school system. Teachers are required to teach so much in such a small amount of time that it is hard to disect all the material in order for the students to gain a full understanding of the material. As a student, I know I skimmed a lot of my reading assignments and just looked for the main points that I though I was going to be tested on without really comprehending what I was actually reading. I completely understand that ideally Gallagher would like us to find the sweet spot and teach reading in chunks so that it is more easily understood, but in today's class schedule and teaching to the tests and standards, where is the time to do that?