Extra, Extra, Read All About Reading!

It's no secret that one of my most beloved activities is learning. My friends might call it "her wheels are spinning again" or "your brain never turns" off moments... or worse,  "never stopping syndrome." I laugh in spite of myself because, well, it's true. Why am I like this, truthfully I have no idea. I have no siblings that I emulated and created this "monster within" nor do I deny noticing my family has no trouble "turning off" or "tuning out." So, what's the deal with me? Perhaps that should be a who other personal blog for my General section. 

Given we are living in a time of unfavorable interactions and mixed communication has created a no-winning situation, one way I feel I escape is through learning and goal setting. One of my small goals for this summer was to begin collecting podcasts. Given my job is to speak all day and hear others speaking, it was (admittedly) the last thing I wanted to do each evening when sleep was a definite shoulder to cry on or destination to rejuvenate. Now that summer is here, I've set a schedule for myself (as I always do,) and part of my outside time to medicate with natural vitamin D includes listening to a podcast. 

Today I came across two that I highly recommend, so therefore decided to make them the focal point of my blog today. Both are centered around reading, so if you were looking for math or other subjects, this might be a great time to exit to get some much needed chocolate... I don't blame you! 

The first podcast is from Reading Teachers Lounge, Season 2, Episode 10. Balanced Literacy versus Structured Literacy. What I loved most about this was it directly correlates to my last post about the need for structured literacy in classrooms, especially with younger students. Early childhood grades are the primary years to establish the alphabetic principle and teach both decoding and encoding. Many schools and school districts rely solely on Balanced Literacy.  Not to rewind on my last blog, however I like aspects of both models for different reasons. You cannot simply have students rely on generic strategies to decode and therefore need structured literacy, especially for struggling students. Likewise, having exposure to authentic, grade-level texts is irreplaceable at any age. Will there ever be a perfect solution? Sure, if you have 24 hours in a day to teach everything, (I know my teacher friends are laughing with me if you've lasted this long so far...) but to me, the best approach is to differentiate and integrate based on student needs, with the developmental ideals in the forefront of decision making. 

The second podcast was from Aplify, The Science of Reading. I highly enjoy the materials from Amplify since they are rooted in brain based learning and differentiation. The podcast was from 2020, episode 20, a conversation with David and Meredith Liben. What I enjoyed the most was perhaps not what I should have. What I should be saying was they provided great advice for how to work with older students (middle and high-school level) who need structured literacy integrated into their learning program. Nonetheless, my favorite part was their sense of humor (specifically David) in highlighting that failure is inevitable and really the primary way we learn! Educators are not perfect, do not have all the answers, and wish so desperately to help their students that oftentimes they become swallowed up in a series of mistakes they were not even aware of. 

So why do I continue to learn? Well first and foremost because I can... additionally it's curiosity to learn from and with others how to become stronger in my work that guides me down the path of dedication. We learn something new everyday, like it or not, it's the will to process and apply what we learn that makes it worthwhile, and makes a difference... especially for our students. 

Keep reading, keep listening, keep learning (is there any other choice?) 
I'll leave you now with this thought as I look up the book David and Meredith wrote: Know Better, Do Better, Teaching the Foundations so Every Child Can Read. I can't wait to add this to my recommended book list in the future! Look for the link in my shared links! 

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