Reading is not a knee-jerk reaction to identifiable symbols. It is much more complex than that and must be structured accordingly. Often reading instruction consists of choral reading, fluency, and the ability to identify details and main ideas. Rather, I belive that reading is an event within a specific time and place. This event is the intersection between a reader and an author, a text, a linguistic code, a time, a historical understanding, prior knowledge, and situated perspective. Ten people will read the same text and NO TWO will experience the same event. This is the awesome part about reading. Likewise, one person can read the same text ten times, and NO TWO occurrences will completely correspond.

I suppose my main point is that like differentiation, it is not the student’s job to adapt to OUR teaching philosophy, but rather it is our job to adapt our teaching philosophies to our students. Because the truth is that we are not preparing them for our world, we are preparing them for theirs.

This past year, I worked in an urban, third grade classroom of eighteen boys and six girls. My students came from diverse cultural, economic, and social backgrounds, meaning that every day presented new challenges and opportunities. I planned for and accommodated a range of learning styles and abilities, although a common thread seemed to be high, constant energy!

If you asked the people who know me best, they’d probably tell you that I was a teacher. They might mention that I was a technologist, or perhaps a ballerina, or a bride, or a caffeine connoisseur, or a travel junkie. They might have stories about the time I lived in Montreal, or spent those summers in Europe. When it comes down to it, I’m just a girl trying to learn as much as I can while exploring this little earth of ours.

Please pop in for a bit, have a look around and see where I’ve been and where I’m going. I’d love to know if we might be headed in the same direction, so contact me. I’d love to hear from you!