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.
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