I heart Daniels and Zemelman

I feel like I say this every week, but in case I haven’t gotten my feelings across, I’ll say it again: I love our text book. You may or may not understand how great and unusual this is. Textbooks are usually long and boring and difficult to understand, a good read for when I’m trying to fall asleep at night. But Subjects Matter is so fabulous, I’ve already decided that I will not try and sell it back at the end of the end of the semester (something I usually do, even if I really like the books, just because the money is something I need) because of how useful I think it will be as I begin to teach my own lessons. Chapter 5, with all it’s pre,during, and post reading activities is heavily dog-earred at the moment. I love that the authors don’t just tell you what to do but also explicitly how. For example, in the brainstorming activities it is suggested that occasionally students should be given a few moments to jot down their ideas before sharing so that “passive or unconfident kids” have something to say (104). Even things that might seem sort of obvious are stated, such as in the think-aloud strategy, where teachers are reminded to shift their voice when moving from the reading to their thoughts so students are able to separate the two. The authors leave no worry unspoken, even going so far as to present potential problems (or non-problems) and how teachers can address them, be it that students are unable to keep quiet (just remind them that they’ll be able to speak aloud at the end) or end up arguing (perhaps a lesson on valuing other’s opinions), as they may in the “written conversation” strategy, which was one of my favorites and I hope to be able to use someday. Chapter 7 on creating community in the classroom was wonderful as well. This past weekend at the writing conference, I attended a panel that asked us to write “teacher manifestos” and one part that I wrote was that I want my classroom to strive for community, not competition. Competition isn’t bad; but too much of it can drive even the most confident student down or the most humble student to have an unappealing ego. The first page of the chapter says it all for me: “good teachers know instinctively that the work of teachers runs even deeper than that [than teaching kids to read more or better]. We need to make the classroom a community, a place where students feel safe to take the risks involved in learning, where they see it connected with their lives, and where they help and learn from one another instead of working only as isolated individuals” (167). Two classes ago, it was suggested that I was dismissing content for saying that I feel that the more important thing is creating happy and empowered students. What I was saying, in different words, was precisely that of the authors. Students who are confident and happy won’t be so scared to try and learn difficult things, to share what they know with others, and will appreciate those around them for what they can offer. I love English and I love reading and I love vocabulary, puns, and Latin roots. I want dearly for everyone to have read some Steinbeck and some Shakespeare (who I’m not even a huge fan of) and John Kerouac because I see value in them and because having a working knowledge of them because certain authors are referenced so frequently, either explicitly or inexplicitly, and knowing them will make the work that references them will gain deeper meaning. There are many things that I value more than school (gasp). I will always love my family, friends, dance, and adventure more. It just is that way. But I still love, love, love reading. Because I feel this way, I am 100 percent aware and okay with the fact that sometimes, simply people won’t like the authors I teach. Not everyone will like To Kill a Mockingbird nor will everyone have had the chance or desire to read it. But I know that these people have other things to offer- maybe they’re fantastic at math or an excellent mediator, a hilarious comedian, a moving lyricist, or a compassionate friend. When community is valued over competition, knowing who is the valedictorian in the class isn’t valued over the star football player or the quiet art student. Being well-rounded makes for an interesting world and that is why students should be taking Brit Lit and Algebra or American History, regardless of whether they like it or not. But knowing every single grammar rule and reading as many classics as possible is most definitely not the end all be all of human existence.