| I remember a lot of teachers just sitting on their asses while we did worksheets, or read in class, when I was a student. I never sit. 8-2 (my last class) I'm on my feet. Walking the room, going from desk to desk giving help on writing or tasks, leading discussions, reading to my class, drawing graphic organizers on the board, explaining vocabulary, working through research, googling things. I can't imagine sitting. How boring. And how much less my students would get out of their time with me. It's a workout. But the growth! And many of these kids don't read, when I first meet them- and I turn a lot of them in to readers by the force of my personality and enthusiasm. I push books better than any drug dealer in Oakland can push drugs. I get a lot of notes from parents about the "miracle" I worked with their kids. It's not miracle- I just pay attention, listen, and then give them a book that fits their interests. It's sad when parents call that miracle, isn't it? My parents knew what I liked to read, and gave me books all the time. It breaks my heart these kids have been raised without books. Many of them were never read to. They don't know nursery rhymes and have never heard many of them. And yet, people blame the schools. It's nuts. It really is. |
