Too Much Knowledge Can Be a Bad Thing

Overwhelmed. If there was one word to describe myself in terms of planning for instruction that would be it. When I first began teaching in 1996, I was six years out of my teacher education program and four years post-masters. In between I subbed and waited tables. Pretty far removed from where I thought I would be. In fact, when I got the call to come teach, I was living 13 hours away waiting tables at a Cajun restaurant. It was what I had been waiting for, so I packed my car and drove back to Florida--and started teaching. My teaching toolbox at that time was pretty small. I think I did a good job, but I only had so many good strategies to pull from. Now, nearly two decades and a PhD later, my toolbox is essentially the size of a garage. I have TONS of really, really good tools from a ton of really, really smart folks (Jago, Beers, Blau, Probst, Smagorinsky, Milner, etc.). It is almost crippling because I want to use ALL of what I know, and that is simply impossible. Every day a war wages in my mind about whose ideas to use. In thinking too much and too long maybe I am just missing out on the obvious. My fear is that this back and forth and indecision is hindering rather than helping my students . . .

Some Very Tardy Musings on Professional Development

I should have posted this long ago, but--frankly--I am still thinking about it. Professional Development. In particular, mandated professional development. I was a classroom teacher before, during, and after the insanity of NCLB (and that insanity started long before 2002 here in Florida due to Jeb Bush being Georgie Porgie's brother). Before NCLB, there were very high-quality professional development offerings that I attended, some of which had stipends. I remember CRISS training and Discipline with Dignity. I took part in action research regarding vocabulary and I spent the summer with other teachers working on creating a Differentiating Instruction manual for our peers. These were wonderful experiences--and I still use the materials from them. However, a lot has changed. First, it was all about the FCAT and beating the test. These types of strategies only work for the test; they don't carry over into real-life. Now, with CCSS, it is all about text-dependent questions. I am SO over taking (already poorly written) questions in the textbook and (simply) turning them into text-dependent questions by adding, "according to the text" or "the text says." That is NOT high-quality nor higher-order questioning.

The Adventure Begins Shortly! In less than one week the movers pack me up and move my things back to my my hometown of Fort Myers, Florida, where I will become a high school teacher again. At the moment I am jobless, but I have had several interviews and know of openings. I just have to be patient until the jobs are posted so I can apply. I am retooling this blog so that I can chronicle my experiences as a classroom teacher. After ten years at the university level, I am sure it will be a big adjustment (my bladder will have to adjust, that's for sure). I spent 2004 and 2010 teaching or co-teaching full-time and part-time, so I am not worried about knowing "reality." What I do wonder about is my ability to connect with kids. Going back at my age I really hope so. I hope my colleagues in English education, former students, and other teachers will weigh in as I "get schooled."

Hate Your Job?

Hate your job? That is the question I have been asking myself for the past week. I have no idea where it came from, and it's quite disturbing. For the past ten years I have been slaving away at this job, a job I thought I loved, and then suddenly, POOF, I wake up one day hating it. All. Of. It. It's quite disconcerting. I feel like I could shut the door, walk away, and never come back and all would be right in the world. I am not sure what to make of this sudden revelation . . .

New Year, New Person?

All around me, whether on Facebook, in the halls, on TV, or at yoga, I hear people talking about New Year's resolutions. I've never had much luck at making or keeping them. However, as I am going through some sort of mid-life/mid-career crisis, I have made a few "changes" that I hope to keep up not only in 2013 but for a long time. 1. Slow down. I usually wake up, rush to feed the cat, get dressed, and head to the gym at 5:30 am. I am trying to wake up earlier, take 5-10 minutes to relax and meditate on life, then feed the cat, read, get ready, and go to the gym (it didn't work out that way today, but I am sick and feel that is a valid excuse). 2. Downsize. Holy hell, how did I wind up with SO MUCH stuff??!! Seriously. I am getting rid of tons of clothes, books, papers, crap. 3. Let go. I am done giving my life to this job. I am going to be very selective about what I take on in terms of research/writing and let the rest go. 4. Travel. Last week I had my first non-work/non-duty (e.g., wedding, graduation) trip in 17 years. Pathetic. I am going to travel more. 5. Read and reflect. I am going to take time to read and reflect--for myself--each and every day.

Via Teach.com and USC Rossier Online

Standards Standards Everywhere . . . and Lots of Places to (Re)Think

I met today with a reading person at our state DOE office to talk about the new standards (reading and general teacher preparation) that we are having to implement in our courses and programs. There are TONS of them, and we have to document how we are meeting each one in terms of both formative and summative assessments. I went into the meeting quite scared because where I used to live, when they (the State) brought us (teachers and teacher educators) in to write new standards, we soon found out they really didn't want us writing new standards (they sort of knew what they wanted but I guess including us was part of the process).

I came out of the meeting today quite excited about putting these new standards into our courses. Now, I would be lying if I said I wouldn't prefer just leaving it to us (teacher educators) to create and teach courses without being told what standards had to be in there, but given the fact that the standards are not going away and we have to address them, at least I found there to be much more freedom than what I had originally thought. Given that it is my job to prepare teachers across all content areas to help students read and comprehend I think what the state is asking of inservice teachers (see list below) is pretty much what I do in my courses.

1. Rather than emphasizing more general strategies and questions, reinforce focus on the text and cultivate independence.
2. A significant percentage of questions/tasks should be text-dependent.
3. High quality sequences of text-dependent questions elicit a sustained attention to the specifics of the text and their impact.
4. Questions and tasks should require the use of textual evidence, including supporting logical inferences from the text.
5. Questions and tasks should require careful comprehension of the text before asking for further connections, evaluation, or interpretation.

We've also asked them to implement the following:

1. Make close reading and rereading of texts central to lessons.
2. Provide scaffolding that does not preempt or replace text.
3. Ask text dependent questions from a range of question types.
4. Emphasize students supporting answers based upon evidence from the text.
5. Provide extensive research and writing opportunities (claims and evidence)
6. Offer regular opportunities for students to share ideas, evidence, and research.
7. Offer systematic instruction in vocabulary.
8. Ensure wide reading from complex texts that vary in length.
9. Cultivate students' independence.