In response to one of the guests who commented toward the end of the interview (Ms. Passionate About Writing :) ). I could completely relate to the emotion I could sense in your voice. I have also seen less writing workshop, I have seen book rooms dismantled, I've seen less guided and interactive writing, less shared reading, I have seen "guided reading" become bad words (of course along with balanced literacy). I have seen more and more districts in my area do away with Reading Recovery and adopt scripted classroom programs along with the companion scripted interventions. I have also seen people who were once considered literacy leaders become the lonely souls trying to help others see that phonics instruction isn't the only way. All of this is discouraging and emotional because we know who suffers as a result of this movement toward it's one way or the highway. The glimmer of hope I see is the push-back I see that is done in a respectful manner with research cited to back up its claims.
One more thought: The discussion surfaced an even deeper problem for writing workshop than I knew about. Calkins wrote in the 1982(?) book that the first response among teachers when asked to teach more writing is to assign it as a response to reading. The same may be occurring today. As educators are cornered to defend comprehension as a package (motivation, metacognition, strategic), there is less space for a defense of composition, far less space for poetry. I don’t have an answer. Back then we had more space and support, I think. Peter, we HAVE to flip this narrative somehow:)
Stellar! Peter is amazing. Hello again. I remember Peter from 2013 or so when David chaired a panel advising NAEP on alignment between NAEP Reading and the Core. PK came up then, too, early on, but it was like a trip to the moon in the 60s when we talked about it then--impossible. The panel couldn’t rationally return with a verdict that, actually both NAEP and the Core need to realign to a different comprehension model. To think you guys came so close to crossing the border into sociocultural theory and then got sent back... I enjoyed Peter’s eye rolls during discussions of alignment of the Core even internally, and I think we had some nice wine at dinner. The DMV metaphor is priceless. If I were still teaching content-area reading I’d use it in the intro lecture--dual application: the kids in high school and themselves in my class. They had no conception of why they were required to come to the EDU 382 or whatever. Peter’s responses to comments were instructive also on two levels: He always gathered his thoughts, sometimes taking a deep breath, before speaking. Then he grounded his responses first in his experience as a teacher responsible for kids and second as a researcher and scientist. I could feel his roots in the classroom. He has some powerful roots. Who had Dick Allington in a Master’s program? And his finger is squarely on the pulse of the patient right now. I can’t remember her name, but her story of the damage done to Lucy Calkins’ legacy on the east coast made me tear up, too. The mixed messages kids are getting, then the mixed messages credential candidates are getting... what a rich discussion. Thanks again, Matt, for all you do and for all you have ahead of you to do.
In response to one of the guests who commented toward the end of the interview (Ms. Passionate About Writing :) ). I could completely relate to the emotion I could sense in your voice. I have also seen less writing workshop, I have seen book rooms dismantled, I've seen less guided and interactive writing, less shared reading, I have seen "guided reading" become bad words (of course along with balanced literacy). I have seen more and more districts in my area do away with Reading Recovery and adopt scripted classroom programs along with the companion scripted interventions. I have also seen people who were once considered literacy leaders become the lonely souls trying to help others see that phonics instruction isn't the only way. All of this is discouraging and emotional because we know who suffers as a result of this movement toward it's one way or the highway. The glimmer of hope I see is the push-back I see that is done in a respectful manner with research cited to back up its claims.
One more thought: The discussion surfaced an even deeper problem for writing workshop than I knew about. Calkins wrote in the 1982(?) book that the first response among teachers when asked to teach more writing is to assign it as a response to reading. The same may be occurring today. As educators are cornered to defend comprehension as a package (motivation, metacognition, strategic), there is less space for a defense of composition, far less space for poetry. I don’t have an answer. Back then we had more space and support, I think. Peter, we HAVE to flip this narrative somehow:)
Stellar! Peter is amazing. Hello again. I remember Peter from 2013 or so when David chaired a panel advising NAEP on alignment between NAEP Reading and the Core. PK came up then, too, early on, but it was like a trip to the moon in the 60s when we talked about it then--impossible. The panel couldn’t rationally return with a verdict that, actually both NAEP and the Core need to realign to a different comprehension model. To think you guys came so close to crossing the border into sociocultural theory and then got sent back... I enjoyed Peter’s eye rolls during discussions of alignment of the Core even internally, and I think we had some nice wine at dinner. The DMV metaphor is priceless. If I were still teaching content-area reading I’d use it in the intro lecture--dual application: the kids in high school and themselves in my class. They had no conception of why they were required to come to the EDU 382 or whatever. Peter’s responses to comments were instructive also on two levels: He always gathered his thoughts, sometimes taking a deep breath, before speaking. Then he grounded his responses first in his experience as a teacher responsible for kids and second as a researcher and scientist. I could feel his roots in the classroom. He has some powerful roots. Who had Dick Allington in a Master’s program? And his finger is squarely on the pulse of the patient right now. I can’t remember her name, but her story of the damage done to Lucy Calkins’ legacy on the east coast made me tear up, too. The mixed messages kids are getting, then the mixed messages credential candidates are getting... what a rich discussion. Thanks again, Matt, for all you do and for all you have ahead of you to do.