Chapter Four: Laura Smith

My own experience has taught me that it really is difficult to find that "sweet spot" of instruction. While I do subscribe to the beliefs that "less is more" and "depth instead of breadth," I agree with Kelly Gallagher that underteaching is as damaging as overteaching. Not providing enough background, not activating prior knowledge, not building excitement for a text (or the learning experience itself) is just as damaging as overkill. If we assume (and maybe we should, sometimes) that we are the only experience a student may have with a text/subject, then we as teachers are obligated to "get it right."

I also agree that teaching a text because students like it - and that being the sole reason for teaching a text - is the wrong approach. Paradoxically, I also believe that teaching a text merely because it's part of an English canon is the wrong approach as well. I agree with Gallagher that while it certainly helps if kids like a text and are naturally interested/curious about a text (simply because that increases the likelihood that they will engage in the learning process), the most important thing for me as a teacher is that the text be meaningful, have something worthwhile or timely to say to my students. For me, I try not to lose sight of the fact that English is a humanities discipline; few of my students will go on to become English teachers, but all of them are humans, grappling on a day to day basis with a variety of life issues. I'm lucky enough that my content area allows the opportunity for discussion and learning about life.

Based on my own experiences as a teacher, I agree with Gallagher regarding several key instructional choices a teacher makes: framing the sequence of instruction, the value of re-reading and close examination of a text, and teacher modeling/think-alouds. While I realize it's tempting to oversimplify/synthesize everything in this one chapter down to three essentials for effective instruction and finding that "sweet spot," those are the basics. If they're well-planned and there's a follow-through with the delivery (of instruction in the classroom), it's part of a recipe for successful learning and growth.