My Research on Ability Grouping in Reading Classrooms

I'm putting the final touches on some ethnographic research I've been conducting this semester in conjunction with a doctoral class. The study was about the effects of ability grouping in reading on students self-perception and teacher curricular choice. The study has been very interesting and eye opening.

Of course I went into the study with pre-conceived notions about homogeneous groupings for reading. I currently teach a "high" reading group, while there is also a "medium" and "low" group. I am not a fan of the format, but because that's the way it is at my school, I of course go with the flow and make the best of it.

My study has taught me quite about about how fully aware of levels the students how, how they view themselves, and how they are either more or less motivated depending on where they are and if they think they can do something to move up a level (for those in the lower levels).

Also, as part of this study, I took a look at teacher curricular choices depending upon group level taught. Again I've learned quite a bit. It's obvious that the "high" groups in many cases feel more freedom in terms of what books they choose (for example in my own experience, I've read books this year such as The Lightning Thief, The House of the Scorpion, and The Little Prince, among others), how they approach the work load and how students are motivated from a teacher perspective.

I will be submitting my final paper next week, not for publishing but for grading (welcome to grad school). I will hopefully be posting it here on the blog shortly thereafter to great fanfare!

Caring Teachers and Zero Tolerance in Schools

Teachers care, let's just start with that statement. People enter the teaching profession for many diverse reasons, some have a passion for a certain content area, others want to make a difference in the lives of children, while still others like the vacations. Once people enter the field, they either become a statistic and leave within a few years, or they stick around. For those who stick around, something invariably happens, they begin to care very deeply about the students they work with.

Caring for others and having a positive impact on their lives is the very essence of humanity.

“The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.” ~Elie Wiesel

For teachers, all it involves is looking at students as more than just numbers and scores, or labels of proficient and not proficient. Once you pull back the veil and begin to appreciate students for who they are as individuals, the job of being a teacher becomes a part of who you are, a part of your identity.

That's why when I hear stories of "zero tolerance," or idiots cracking down on students for no reason other than the fact that their job of teaching or being an administrator is nothing more than that, a job, it not only makes the rest of us look bad, but more importantly, it has the potential to destroy the education for many children.

This morning I came across a story on CNN.com titled Girl's Arrest For Doodling Raises Concerns About Zero Tolerance. Reading about the extreme level of reaction to a girl doodling, in marker, on her desk, is a cause for concern. The article discusses the fact that police are being asked to step into schools at younger and younger ages and more and more often. What is the reason for this? Have schools become this bad?

If you listen to a lot of what you read about in the media, yes, schools have become that bad. If you're actually in the schools, you know this isn't the case, especially in middle schools, which is where the above story happened. It's one thing to teach children about the difference between right and wrong, and to discipline a child for writing on a desk when it is forbidden, because part of being human is knowing the difference between right or wrong, but when we enact these zero tolerance policies, whose good does it serve?

When children are handcuffed, or expelled, the chances of them getting arrested or dropping out of school increase dramatically. In a society that seems so driven on punishment without rehabilitation, we can't afford to go down this path. Children make mistakes, children do stupid things, it's part of being a child. Responsible, caring adults take the initiative and educate them, that's the very essence of education. It's not all about literacy and mathematics. This is just a thought to ponder at this point.

Do Schools Kill Creativity?

I show this video to a content area literacy course that I teach at the university each semester. I think it's important to hear what Sir Ken Robinson (a leading researcher from England on Drama and Theater in Education) has to say about creativity in education and how the hierarchy of the educational system globally crushes creativity. 

Battle of the Books

I originally put this link up for my own Battle of the Books students to be able to practice author names and book titles, which is a part of the "battles" that are coming up.

Anyone else who is doing New Mexico Battle of the Books for Elementary students can follow this link and use the Quizlet I made up to practice. My students have enjoyed using the flash cards and games to learn authors and will continue to use it in the following weeks leading up to the first practice battle that's on February 27th.

New Mexico Elementary School Battle of the Books author and book practice. 
(the above link will take you to a Quizlet that I made up for this. Quizlet is a free to use site that you can set up for vocabulary practice, and is something that I use frequently with my reading class)

Expert Teachers, the #1 Reason Kids Succeed

Recently I've been reading some research that pertains to the effects on student achievement of pre-packaged programs and curriculum designs that are being sold to schools across the world. Program A claims to raise student achievement higher and faster than ever before, while Program B makes the same claims. Sometimes these programs do make positive gains on achievement (usually measured by standardized and/or norm referenced tests).

The first few years of my doctoral studies have been focused on looking deeper at the negative aspects of business models in schools, of pre-packaged programs (Success For All and DNG to name a few), and of what actually has the most profound impact on student learning in the long term. It's a hard thing to study, because as a teacher-researcher I've decried standardized testing as inherently unequal and inaccurate. Of course the current studies, some of the best I've ever read, agree with this, but go a few steps further.

To put it quite simply, these articles, that I won't name here yet, because that's not the point of my discussion here, claim that the single biggest factor on student learning is quality teaching. Of course, quality teaching is almost impossible to define because it means different things to different students.

This is something I've tried to keep in mind every day when I enter the classroom. There's 28 young kids in my classroom, and what works for him may not work for her and so on. In the current era of test reform, rigorous political factors, and money being put at a higher level of importance than kids, it's hard for teachers to ever reach the level of teaching students, they're so focused on teaching content and teaching tests that they are afraid that actually *gasp* teaching to their students needs will be seen as subversive. I can confirm this, in my short five-year career, I've focused on teaching students and have been considered quite the rebel because of this.

I hope to continue looking at and pegging down indicators of great teaching, and hopefully researching it more in depth some day. If we can define it, if we can prove that it serves the best interests of children and scores them proficient on those ridiculous standardized tests, there might be a compromise out there that actually hands the reins of education to teachers while keeping the politicians at bay.

The Lightning Thief in the Elementary Classroom: Some Ideas and Resources

Last year I read The Lightning Thief with my 5th grade classroom, and they enjoyed the entire experience so much that I am currently about half way done reading it aloud to my 4th graders. Literacy instruction in my building is taught using a guided reading format, with time for read aloud, guided reading, and silent time. My guided reading centers have been based around activities based either on the events of The Lightning Thief or on Greek Mythology.

My class has been enjoying this book immensely, and I have literally seen dozens of students move on to the other books in the series after reading this first one, which is full of monsters, epic quests, and modern twists on Greek myths.

I have thrown in a few items of interest for those of you out there thinking about reading this book. I am having great success reading this to a fairly advanced group of 4th graders, and found it to be a comfortable read aloud for 5th graders. I don't honestly think I would suggest it for 3rd grade, but I'm sure many teachers have read it, I just think some of the more challenging aspects of the book will be lost on that age group. I would recommend it for second semester 4th grade up through maybe 7th or 8th grade, but for read aloud up through 6th.

The links I am specifically including here are a great teacher's guide (this will open as a Word document) that I have pulled from and a link to Rick Riordan's (the author of the series) personal website that includes great teacher resources.

Also, check out this Wordle of The Lightning Thief. This was created using the entire text of the book, which I found on wattpad and pasted into the Wordle site.

The Evolution of Storytelling: Spoken, Written, Movies, Video Games?

Sometimes the pages of this blog serve as a repository for ideas that I come across. In all honesty, I know that this next idea is in no way a new one, in fact I've encountered many studies on this very topic, and not even just in academic journals, but in major mass media publications.

I just completed the game Assassin's Creed 2 on Xbox 360 a few minutes ago, and felt compelled to sit down and discuss the finer aspects of a story that drew me in and took up so much of my free time these past few weeks.

This game, from its graphics, accurate architectural and character based history, compelling and original fiction, DaVinci Code style puzzles and intrigue, and a musical score to match that of any big budget movie, was more than a game to me, it was a literary, movie like experience. I just had to play more, and to uncover more of the puzzles and hidden story lines. It wasn't for the sake of gaming, it was for the sake of story telling.

With that in mind, I have to take a compelling look at the evolution of video games to where they are today. I know that calling Assassin's Creed 2 a crowning achievement in video gaming would be hotly debated among those with greater knowledge of such things than myself, but to a casual gamer who occasionally delves into deeper game, I have no other way to describe this game than as a beautiful work of art. When I am online seeking out more of the story, downloading the musical score, and antsy to play the next installment, you know something has been done right.

So for you scholars out there, here's an idea. Let's take a closer look at where video games are today. They're no longer the story of a plumber jumping in pipes looking for princesses. These are stories that are nearly equal to some of the best fiction out there today, their cinematic merits are rivaling those of the best movies, and their music is stunning.

It's just food for thought. Video games, the next frontier of the great story?

Glogster: More Technology Fun

A friend recommended Glogster.com to me, and I have found it to be a neat resource to use in the classroom. The great thing about this is students can create "posters" without having to sign up for an account, or as a teacher you can sign up for a classroom account and add your students to it. Best of all, this is all completely free. Here is a small example of what can be done with Glogster.

Click on the image to be taken to the full poster.

Using Goodreads.com Part 2: How To Review Books and Set Up Your Shelves

For the second part of my how to use Goodreads.com in your classroom series, I will show you how to add books to your shelf, make multiples shelves, and how to rate and review books.

1. Once you are logged in to Goodreads, on the main page, you can search for a book to add by typing the name of the book in the search box.

2. When you have found the book you want to add, move the arrow over "Add to my books" and click on the appropriate button.

3. Now the book is on your shelf. In the view that comes up, you can give the book stars based upon how much you liked the book (if it's something you previously read), you can also type in your review of the book in this box that comes up, and there are advanced setting if you would like to enter when you read the book and other information.

Now, that is how you review a book. You will, by default, have three shelves to add books to. The primary shelves to add your books to are "read" (books you have already completed), "currently-reading," and "to-read" (a good option for books that you want to read later). Now, in the options at the top of the page, if you click on the MY BOOKS link, your shelf view will come up. The image here is what my shelf view looks like. If you click edit, then go to the bottom, you can add shelves. What I suggest here is adding shelves that you can then sort your books by. You can add books into multiple shelves, and if you have your students using this option, they can have different categories, which helps in terms of organization.

So this is a basic beginners guide on starting off with Goodreads. By following the two posts I where I have outlined the Goodreads experience, you should be a pro in no time. Good luck!

Setting Up A Goodreads.com Classroom: A How To Guide

In the past I have discussed the merits of the social networking site Goodreads.com for use in the classroom. I am currently teaching 4th grade and am using the site with my class. The goodreads environment is easy to monitor even with young students, and provides a social (web 2.0) place for sharing book reviews and book shelves. It is a good site for students to build a library of read books and books they would like to read, and using the classroom environment gives the students many options to expand on what is being read. So here is how to get started:

1. Your students need e-mail addresses. Some districts give these out for students, and if so you can use those (you don't need to log in to the e-mail accounts, they're just needed to sign up). If your district does not give accounts, you can either have students use their own e-mail accounts (appropriate more in the upper grade levels), or you can go to Epals.com and create monitored accounts for all of your students. If you need to go to epals, just do the following:

SIGNING UP FOR AN E-PALS CLASSROOM ACCOUNT: Head off to Epals and click on the join now button. When you have finished filling out the information, sign up and then log in. You can then go to monitored accounts and create e-mails for your students. What I did was I gave the same beginning to each students address (in my case it was the abbreviation for my school), then I put each students name, first and last, into the form box. Epals then makes their addresses automatically, so once you've filled it all out, you're set.

Once your students have e-mail addresses, you're ready to go to Goodreads. If you haven't registered for your own account, do that first by clicking the register button at the top of the page.

Once you're registered, log in. From the options at the top of the page, start by clicking on GROUPS.

Now, follow these steps to make a group for your classroom:

1. On the page that comes up, in small letters, you will find a "create a group" link. Click it.

2. Fill out the form that comes up, giving your group a name and short description. You don't have to put rules in unless you want to. For topic, I suggest student groups / academic groups. Also, select the group type according to your needs and the level of privacy you would like to have. The group for my class is set to private. Once it's all filled out, click the create button at the bottom.

3. Once you're in the page that you created for your class, the basic items of interest are the discussion board, currently reading list, and the bookshelves for upcoming reads and books we've read. It's easy to add books to these lists. Simply click on the list you would like to add a book to, click add a book, search for it, and then make sure you give it a starting date you will begin reading it. To set a new discussion board topic, simply click the appropriate link and type in the information as you would like to see it.

FINALLY, you need to invite your students or have them request entry into the group. As an elementary school teacher, I invite the students in. This is a little more time consuming, because they need Goodreads accounts. What I suggest is having students each click the register button, type in the information as you give it to them (the e-mail addresses, either their own or the one you gave them). Once they're registered, they can fix their information, add a picture, and search for you as a friend.

Once each student has added you as a friend, you can go to the invite people link under the home page for the group, and add them through the friends link. Do this after you have confirmed your entire class as friends, then all you have to do is check them off in your friends list to add them. From here, you will have a group page set up, and each student will have access. Now from there, you need to show them how to do book reviews and discussion postings, and that will be the topic of my next post. Sorry if this was a little confusing, but with some basic internet skills, you can figure it out.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, By Ishmael Beah

When my dad was in school, Vietnam was the conflict that had many people the world over calling for attention to the abuse of human rights. This was around the same time that many previously uncovered (in the United States media) events in Africa began boiling over, including the conflict in Sierra Leone. Of course, right now, the world conflicts that are garnering attention from human rights groups throughout post-industrial nations include what's happening in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the Darfur region of Sudan, and the civil war in Sierra Leone, among many others.

There are many books out there now in ya and children's literature circles about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the catalog of books is ever increasing. Darfur has moved to the forefront for many who decry what is happening throughout Sudan. A great book that discusses and showcases the human side of the events in Sudan (not necessarily Darfur) is called What is the What, written by Dave Eggers telling the true story of Valentino Achak Deng, a Sudanese refugee. Of course, this book is clearly written for adults, it is quite dense, and would be very cumbersome to read in a high school classroom, so I wouldn't recommend it.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, written by and about Ishmael Beah, a boy soldier from Sierra Leone, is a book that is sized just right for the young adult audience. Content wise, this book is gritty and disturbing, as Beah takes us through his horrible experience of fleeing the rebels after the presumed death of his family, and hiding alone, as a child, in the jungles of Sierra Leone. He is eventually found and turned into a boy soldier, capable of ruthless genocide.

This story disturbed many adults in my reading group to the point that they could not finish the book, yet I was looking at this text as a resource to be used in an 11th or 12th grade literature class. As a non-fiction story (which we don't use often enough), a clear picture is painted here of genocide in our time. This isn't reading about the Holocaust and saying "wow, we must learn from those mistakes," because these things in Africa are happening right now.

First of all, this book is bloody, it is gritty, it is disturbing. It was written for the ya audience, and it is not any less appropriate for them than reading Maus (Art Spiegelman) or showing videos about the Darfur crisis. It's not a long book, which makes it a good two or three week long read, and the discussion that will surely take place upon completion of the book will go in many different directions, including morality, regaining humanity, and the place of an American in this crisis.

Where Are the Wild Things.... Or, Wait... Where the Wild Things Are... There

If you've spent a little time with my posts, you know that I usually post about young adult or at least adolescent aged literature, usually things stay above the 4th or 5th grade level. Well, I'd like to start branching out a little bit into the world of children's lit as well. Now by children's literature, I'm meaning early children's literature, because I do review and discuss elementary literacy quite often, because I am currently a 4th grade teacher and have taught 5th in the past.

Today I took my own children to see Where the Wild Things Are, the Spike Jonze adaptation of the Maurice Sendak classic picture book. I went into this movie not really knowing what to expect other than spectacular cinematography. My expectations, or lack thereof, were blown to pieces (or not, depending upon the philosophy of having no expectations) by a movie that was engrossing to young children yet appropriate for adults at the same time.

First of all, it was nothing like the book, which is undoubtedly a classic in pre-K and kindergarten classrooms across the world. The book is great whether told with your own voice, or using the classic narration that has influenced countless tellings of this book. The movie puts a human face on Max, one that many parents and teachers alike can relate to, that of the outcasted Oppositionally Defiant child. His tantrums lead him to the world of wild things, where the story really comes to life. Spike Jonze nailed this movie, it was a true masterpiece.

I'm writing about this because the book has become such a force in early literacy, and then along comes this movie that is, in my mind, Oscar worthy, it is a movie that adults will laugh and cry along with their enchanted children, seeing one of their favorite books come to life on the screen. Go out there and see this movie, and then read the book again.

Departmentalizing (Blocking) Reading: Caution

This year, I moved to a new grade level in my building (a change that has been pleasantly nice), and we made the switch to departmentalizing reading across grades 3-5. If you're not familiar with the concept, to departmentalize in this case means that the grades involved share a common time for the subject, and students are put into ability groups, meaning that the majority will not be with their "homeroom teacher." This is also known as "blocking" in some circles, depending upon the jargon that is used where you teach. For the previous three years, the school I work in did self-contained reading groups (with the exception of some pull out special education students), and I was met with great success, because I was responsible for my students, and they performed up to the level that I demanded of them.

Now with this move to departmentalization, something I had previously dealt with four years ago, I have been forced to advocate for what I believe is best, both in my own experience and from what the research says.

I will first discuss my own opinions apart from the research:

I believe that self-containing classrooms in an elementary setting have many great advantages, ESPECIALLY in the area of literacy. We teach pre-service teachers that reading should be cross curriculur, that students need consistency, they need to reflect on their reading all day, and that they should have a classroom where they are able to revisit their readings and branch out into the other disciplines with their new knowledge.

My school has blocked reading from 3rd grade through 5th grade, and it basically looks like this:

Highest Group (taught by a 5th grade teacher)
2nd Highest (taught by 5th grade teacher)
Next (taught by 4th grade teacher)
So on and so forth, moving down the line to 3rd grade.

Now, for the highest groups, these teachers keep their high 5th graders, and are given the highly advanced 4th graders and off the chart high 3rd graders. So the highest 4th grade group is not truly the highest 4th grade group, because the highest 4th graders move up, while lower 5th graders move down. So basically, all but the top two groups become remedial in nature. Students, whether we want to admit it or not as teachers, are keenly aware of what group they are in. They know if they are "high" or "low," and this has detrimental effects on the motivation of all but the highest students.

Putting these facts aside, let's look at the effect of splitting the classes up for reading block. I love to teach literacy thematically, and let it flow over into social studies, math, and writing. With my students spread all over the building, I can no longer do this. To sum this up, everything that WORKS in the classroom is fundamentally impossible to do in a blocked environment.

The research in this area in the past has been mostly qualitative in nature, and has focused on standardized test scores, as well as student input, mostly in the form of narrative or question responses. For every study that opposes blocking, I can easily find one that is in favor of it, both in theory and in data. As with most issues in reading, there are opposing camps, and if this had been definitively proven one way or the other, it doesn't necessarily mean that we wouldn't be here anyways (because a shockingly low number of teachers actually read and understand current research). I am currently performing some doctoral level research on this very subject, and hope to have some beginning level results in by Thanksgiving.

Obviously I am opposed to the departmentalization of reading. I would like to continue this discussion. Maybe some of you have success stories, and that's great. But personally, I do not see the value, have not seen the value, and continue to not see the value.

Red Glass, by Laura Resau

Red Glass, by Laura Resau, is a great "coming of age" story. Sophie is an outcast (much of it born out of lack of self esteem and other internal conflicts) living in Tucson, when a young boy, Pedro, enters the lives of their family. Pedro was crossing the border illegally when his family died, and he was left alone.

Now, first off, Red Glass is an excellent piece of young adult literature that would be appropriate to the reading levels and content appropriateness for young high school students, possibly 9th or 10th grade. The reading itself is surprisingly easy to get into, I actually read this book in two evening sittings, it's a fluid, wonderful love story.

I can see many students relating to either Sophie or her love interest Angel. The characters are so well written that at times I felt like I was reading a first person biography. The way the story moves from Tucson to southern Mexico and then off to Guatemala is entrancing. This book is great for students living in the desert Southwest or the border areas of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.

I highly recommend this book, and its wonderful play with words and metaphors. The metaphor of red glass will not be lost on high school students. This book is one of the better ya novels written in the last few years (published in 2007).

Back At It

The hardest issue that arose in keeping this blog running was one of time and resources. There's only so many books I'm reading, and now that I've read a lot more, I can do some more reviews. I've also been refining ideas and things like that, so I hope to be back to writing now. Check back, my first new book review should be forthcoming.

My Michael Jackson Tribute

I've been thinking on and off about the legacy left behind by pop legend Michael Jackson. Now, even though this is an educational blog that focuses mainly on literacy, it's my blog, and as such, I wanted to share a few of my memories of Michael.

There weren't too many individuals in the world who were scrutinized as closely as Michael Jackson was, but I don't want to get into that here. Simply put, I have been a big fan of his music, and his message of making the world a better place. I think he was a misunderstood individual who really viewed the world through the eyes of a child, a man who really wanted to see the world as a peaceful and happy place, and I wanted to give my small, insignificant tribute to the man here on my pages.

I grew up in the 80's, so of course I adored Michael Jackson. I loved "Thriller," I thought his music was the greatest (still do actually), and think he changed the face of pop music forever. My favorite Michael Jackson moment comes from the 1993 Super Bowl in Pasadena, California at Rose Bowl Stadium. It was Super Bowl XXVII, and the Dallas Cowboys (who also happen to be my team) defeated the Buffalo Bills to win their first Super Bowl since 1977, and their first in my lifetime.

Michael Jackson did the halftime show to that Super Bowl. It was a show that, in my biased mind ranks as the best ever. Jackson did many of his great songs, including "Billie Jean" and "Black or White." He ended this with the song "Heal the World," one of my favorite songs. It has a great message of hope and love for your fellow man. He really was a show man, and he will be missed. So here's his performance from that halftime show:

Why I Disappear

I've decided that I am in fact a creature of habit. It's the middle of summer vacation, and I'm not doing any kind of work this summer, and so I find myself far away from my normal professional interests, at least for a few more weeks. Later this month, on the 19th, I will head off to New York for the ExxonMobil teachers academy, and that's when I'll start thinking work again.

To all you teachers out there, I know I'm preaching to the choir. We have to take time to recharge our bodies and our minds. I personally have been spending my time trying to get back in shape, spending more time with my family, and trying to let my mind recover by having fun, playing video games, reading for pleasure, etc.

I keep telling myself I want to start getting back on the blog here, but the more I try the more I realize that I can't, because my head isn't in the game right now, so when that day comes, I will probably be around more.

No Child Left Behind, in the Words of Other Professionals

No Child Left Behind continues to loom over public education here in the United States. I think about the law a lot, I have written numerous (unpublished) papers on the topic, and am definitely an advocate against it. I have talked with President Obama's Administration twice on the matter (not that they really listened to me), once at a conference and once through an e-mail exchange. As a parent, I think No Child Left Behind hurts because it means that my son has to sit in the classroom and have the pressure of the law put on his shoulders. As a teacher, it puts the wrong focus on my job and forces me to do things that do not teach students, they teach them to test.

I've discussed this many times, so today, for those of you who are interested in hearing a little more, I'm going to throw a Youtube video titled "No Child Left Behind: Truths and Consequences." It's around 9 minutes long, but has some interesting information that I think most teachers could agree with. So here it is:

Public Education: Yes It's Broken, But We Can Have Hope

Budget shortfalls are the norm here in the state of New Mexico as it relates to public education. Budgets are being slashed, salary raises are being frozen, and staff is being cut at schools all across the state, especially here in the southern part of the state.

Yes, things are bad, and it does not have all to do with the bad economy. Years of mismanagement or outright shady business practices by central office administrators all over the country (especially here in New Mexico) have put us in this mess. In my short career, I have already seen numerous snake oil salesmen come along, unloading their programs upon my district, all because one person downtown was impressed by what they had to say. I've seen millions of dollars spent on a program and a year or two later have seen that program forgotten. I have seen more and more kids crammed into classrooms, while the same central administrators who tell us that there was simply no more funds to hire another teachers gives themselves hefty raises. I've seen school funds funneled into new schools and schools where the wealthier students go while poorer and older schools literally fall apart.

There's no way around saying this, public education in New Mexico, and the United States, is in perilous disrepair. The people who actually do the educating, and the students, who are the point of this whole education thing, have been shelved so far down the food chain that they've been all but forgotten. In this age of standardized testing, with the multi-billion dollar testing industry banking in, and with the government happily playing along, there's not much left to go around. And what is left has been pilfered a dozen times before it reaches the classroom.

So yeah, things are screwed up, but there is hope. Hope lies in the fact that central administrators really don't do much (trust me, their decisions have minimal impact on classroom instruction, they could just sign paychecks and make sure the money is divvied out evenly and everything would work fine). Hope lies in the fact that there are many great teachers out there, who can make a difference without Reading First, Nancy Fetzer, Malcolm Baldridge, Reading 180, and all the other flavor of the moment programs. Hope lies in the fact that there are people out there who care, and who don't appreciate seeing tax money thrown away on nonsense.

There are a lot of reasons to think that public education is faltering, and I would agree with many of them. But that doesn't mean we give up. Public education teachers, support staff, and other interested people will keep caring, will keep working, and will do it even if there is 50 kids crammed into a class and there's not enough money to run the air conditioner. Because after all, at least we know that the head honchos can afford another year of membership at the country club, right?

Some More Technology in Literacy: Finding My Way Under New Mexico's Response To Intervention Model

I've been talking about technology in literacy a little bit lately, so I figured I'd stay on that topic today. My school district, like all school districts in the state of New Mexico, is implementing a "Response to Intervention" model (from here on referred to as RTI). The RTI model does have some MAJOR issues, including the fact that schools are basically left to their own devices to implement it, that it takes instructional time from the day, and that in many cases (whether the state department wants it or not) all students are given the interventions.

If you're not familiar, and I don't want to get too deeply into this, RTI is a mainly literacy intervention where kids are given extra small group tutoring sessions in heterogeneously grouped settings. I can't honestly say that I agree with the model and in the two years we have implemented it I haven't seen it do any good. But that's not the point here.

My grade level implemented RTI by taking one classroom teacher a quarter, as well as support staff, and splitting up the students in need of intervention (we defined them as "below benchmark"), while the other teachers took the kids not needing it and did science. When it was my turn, I had an intensive group of four students.

Rather than beat them over the heads with worksheets and mundane tasks, I pulled out some technology and had them interact with each other and texts in a new way. This was easy because there was four of them and I had eight computers in the classroom. One of the biggest things they did during their 9-weeks with me was they would read Diary of a Wimply Kid on Funbrain.com. This was basically the same book that I had six copies of on my bookshelf, but they came to me every day begging for more.

We were on computers four days a week during my RTI cycle (the entire 9-weeks). When these four students went to take the MAPS Test, an online assessment, they grew more than any other RTI intensive students that year. Of course, I knew why. They were excited about their reading, they were seeking out more, and they stayed positive. They were in an environment that allowed them to experiment with the text, to interact with it, and to get out of the mundane routine of worksheets and textbooks.

I guess my point(s) here are:

1. Sometimes school districts or state education departments implement programs that are not in the best interest of learning.

2. Sometimes teachers have to make the best of a bad situation (that is more than sometimes in some cases).

3. Think outside the box, even if it's just baby steps. I know that computers in the classroom aren't a "WOW" thing anymore, but they are still out of the routine.

4. Follow what works. Just because it worked for me doesn't mean it will for you. I'm just sharing in the hopes that maybe it will work for somebody else.