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?