Blog Week 1 Entry 1

Entry #1: Discuss with another teacher, his/her philosophies about teaching literacy.

The teacher I discussed this topic with is Debbie Durkee, the fourth grade teacher with whom I completed my student teaching last fall. Debbie has taught 4th and 5th grade for almost 25 years in various schools in which many of her students have been English Language Learners. Debbie explained that she has always found teaching literacy to be an uphill battle, but that the most important factor to help students be successful in reading and writing, is to help them be successful and confident and whatever level they are at. She mentioned how important it is to use scaffolding to help ELL's especially when it comes to reading, as it can make all the difference in the world if a student is given the opportunity to be successful and comfortable at the same time. She also explained that she is not one of those teachers who will let a child move up a reading level if they are not comprehending what they are reading. Debbie has seen many teachers base a child's reading ability only on their fluency, and it frustrates her to no end because so many kids, while able to read the actual words, will come to her in 4th or 5th grade having no idea as to what they are reading. She would rather a child take an hour to read a book that is at the first grade level and be able to tell her what it is about, then have a child read the book in 2 minutes and not remember a thing. She values literacy and believes that reading and writing creates a foundation for children to succeed in all other areas. Without being literate, to quote Debbie exactly, "a child's chances of growing up and becoming a successful adult are slim to none, and all children, English speaking or not, deserve a fighting chance to thrive as adults."