Introduction

            As a young teacher-in-training, I have spent many nights hashing out ideas and theories in my mind. There is so much research and theory out in the world already; it seems that the big challenge is to synthesize it into a cohesive theory. This semester I have been exposed to a very large variety of literature on the subject of teaching children to read and write. I was quite surprised to find that a great deal of it was in agreement with long standing feelings I already had on the subject. The idea of teaching children as people first, with real feelings and needs, has always been a guiding light through my work both in and out of the classroom. With this primary concept in my head, I will propose a personal theory of teaching and learning. A theory that combines research, current best practices in the field and most importantly, the concept of educating the child as a whole person, not merely a number to push through the system.

            There are so many labels available to describe various theories of education. Most of my life I have been wary of these labels, however, because of their lasting power to shape the policies that they are attached to. I came across a very moving article while skimming through Talking Points, which dealt with labels in teaching theory. It changed my outlook on the idea of labels and how they are used to define practice. Curt Dudley-Marling states that labels are indeed important, if only because they “build solidarity” (15). He also makes the point that we must “worry about who’s doing the name[ing] and for what purpose” (14). As a response to this I will label my theory from the start, so as not to have others label it for me. I would consider the bulk of my theory to be whole language, with small deviations here and there. I am for learning in a meaningful context, with active and authentic learning as my battle-cry. While the term whole language may hold different political meanings for different people, this is my definition based on a personal synthesis of my readings in the field.

Definitions

            No discussion of theory would be complete without outlining the terms involved and what they mean to me personally. In my opinion two of the most commonly confused terms used in educational theory are education and literacy. Everyone has a different definition of what education is or what it means to be literate. The two concepts are separate, one can be educated yet illiterate, or decode text without being able to think critically about what they have read. We must provide distinct definitions for the two concepts. Merriam-Webster defines education as “the process of developing morally, mentally, or aesthetically by means of instruction”.  This definition is very open ended, leaving much of the definition up to the purpose behind education, rather than education itself. Without a purpose, education can mean nothing. We must determine for ourselves what morals, ideas, and aesthetics we will teach our students. John Mayher powerfully sums up the purpose of education -- to “develop [the students’] full potential as language users to a level of critical literacy” (45). This purpose leads us to yet another problem however. What exactly is “critical literacy”?

            The definition of literacy has been expanding year by year. It can no longer just mean the mechanics of decoding print. To be truly literate takes much more than this, especially in complicated industrial nations such as the United States. Critical literacy moves beyond the mechanics of print and includes the ability to reflect and synthesize information. Reading is the “process of meaning-making” (Mahyer 222), which in itself alludes to much more than sounding out words and stringing together sentences. All of the decoding skills in the world will get a person nowhere if they do not know how to make sense of what they have decoded. The ability to relate what is being read to background experiences and personal feelings is an important component of critical literacy as well.

            We now live in a period of text transformation. Just as when people switched from oral traditions to a writing system or when Gutenberg invented his printing press. The Internet and hypertext technology are changing the way people read and gather information. This too plays a part in the ever-changing definition of literacy. The power and influence of technology on education cannot be underestimated or ignored for much longer. Regie Routman notes that we are “not teaching our students how to interpret, evaluate, analyze, and apply knowledge for Information Age learning,” (6). I strongly agree with this statement and seek to remedy this situation. New technologies challenge our tried and true modes of linear print, they “make it possible to combine textual, visual, and verbal elements into new modes of communication that rival the printed word” (Hammerberg 207).  Children are constantly being exposed to these new forms of text and we as teachers must equip them with the knowledge they need to utilize this new technology for their own future benefit. Reading and writing in hypertext requires a new literacy, one which is non-linear and much more demanding in many cases that print based texts. According to Nancy Patterson, “hypertext reading requires the reader to make deliberate decisions about which path to take within a hypertext,” (77). For the writer this means that they must give up some of their control of the text. The piece will not be read exactly as intended by the author; each reader makes their own way through the hypertext. This new technology flips much of what we have learned about reading and writing on its head. The definition of literacy is changing before our eyes and within our classrooms.

Classroom Environment

            Imagine walking into a classroom brimming with books of all kinds, students working in small groups or reading intently in corners. Imagine this space humming with energy and exhilaration, where children are excited to come to school each day and the teacher does not look like she could use two extra summer vacations. Impossible, you say? This dream can become a reality, given the right environment. The classroom environment includes not just the walls of the room, but also the students, supplies, and philosophy that fills it.  Hillocks contends that “teaching creates environments to induce and support active learning of complex strategies that students are not capable of using on their own” (55). These environments must be caring and supportive of student voice, always encouraging discussion and creativity.

            I view the classroom as a social community.  Mayher discusses this idea in depth, understanding that “learning is as much a collaborative social process as it is an individual one” (105). To view learning in this light gives us a new perspective for our approach to teaching and learning. The idea of the classroom as a social community has strong implications for all areas of study, but influences writing pedagogy perhaps most of all. Writing is a communicative art. Though people can and do write for their own fulfillment, such as in a diary, students will more commonly be writing for the expressed purpose of communicating ideas to others. This social community can be taken one step further and become a community of authors. The “conception of learning to write as an ever-evolving and ongoing process of participation in a community of authors,” is very motivating (Larson 91). As teachers we must create an environment for active learning and ownership of text. This can teach children that they are all authors and that an author is not just an elite position they can never attain.

Katherine Schultz studied this idea of the classroom community and found that “the social interactions that shape and are shaped by writing are critical to our understanding of writing curricula” (389). We cannot create writing curricula in a vacuum, if children and their interactions are not at the forefront of our process, than how can we expect to ever keep them engaged? Schultz also found that “writing occurred throughout the day and was embedded in nearly every aspect of classroom life” (385). This can be a powerful and meaningful way to encourage students to write. Letters, journals and creative stories are all forms of writing which should be equally valued in the classroom. Adults write with purpose, not for a grade. Why should we be expecting success from children who are writing for the opposite reason? Are we teaching them that writing is a hollow activity that they will be able to ignore once they make it through their mandatory schooling? We must teach children that writing can be used in every day life and that it can and must have real purpose.

How can we create this community? I believe that it must start with the teacher’s heart. The teacher must open up and create a classroom that is warm and loving. The process of writing opens people up and most are not willing to do this unless they are positive that they and their work will be accepted and viewed as important. I believe that classroom discussion is a vital part of creating this type of environment. Student meetings where real issues are openly dealt with are very useful and can be a great opportunity for bringing children closer together and creating the support system that so many of them need. In these meetings the teacher should model how to share feelings and concerns, as well as how to respond to the concerns and feelings of others. Starting with this basic activity can be a strong foundation for a writing community.

My idea of this writing community includes a classroom that is bright and open. It may seem silly, but I think that fresh air is a good place to start. I think that many classrooms are far to cluttered to be real workspaces, which is the true purpose of a classroom. The children should be comfortable and feel at home, so as to maximize their learning. “Children are and have always been powerful learners out of school,” (Mahyer 61) we should be capitalizing on this fact and trying to make our classrooms more like the real world. I believe that this includes even the decoration of the room. I can see a Kindergarten classroom broken up into functional areas, a reading corner complete with couches and lamps, a dramatic play area with real dishes and silverware, plenty of open space for learning and working, and a bright rug for stories, singing, and meeting to build a community. I also believe that a high quality classroom environment includes a great deal of time out of the classroom. Taking field trips to see new things and gain new experiences to learn and write about or simply being outside and investigating. Environment makes a huge difference in learning, whether the students you work with are five or fifteen.

Role of the Teacher

            It may seem to some that the teacher does not have a role in this new classroom. In my view the teacher’s role has only grown from the tradition idea of a teacher as the transmitter of knowledge (Mahyer 19) to the idea of a teacher as a guide. The teacher’s role then “is to coach and prompt, to ask questions that push the edges of student ideas, and to sustain the interchange among students” (Hillocks 65).  If this is to be our role as teachers, than it becomes easy to see how complex it actually is. Often, classrooms such as the one I have described above seem rather chaotic and it is easy for an observer to confuse this with the idea that the teacher is doing nothing. However, in a classroom where lessons are taught in context and children are guided through discovery, the planning is immense. Not only must the teacher plan lessons and themes out in steps so that children may be guided through discovery, but they are “always improvising, always creating a climate for learning through the art of teaching” (Mahyer 8). I see three main traits that must exist in a great teacher: passion, reflection, and creativity.

            “Passion is contagious,” (Harvey 12) and it is a contagion that we want to spread. Teachers are models for the children in their classroom and modeling passion is an easy task that can evoke a great response from students. Sharing your passions means sharing yourself. By sharing our passions with our students we can “share the learning struggle with them” (Harvey 53) as well. If we open up and share ourselves, it becomes more likely that our students will feel safe in sharing their passions. If they open up, then we will also have to listen and have the students themselves become our passion. Joanne Larson conducted a study of Maryrita Maier, whose “students knew her likes, dislikes, and life passions and she knew all of theirs,” this is a perfect example of a passionate teacher (75). If a teacher is to be a role model, they must let students see them as human beings, complete with the passions and struggles that make us who we are.

            The ability to reflect upon one’s own actions is a powerful tool for developing as both an educator and a person. Routman notes that “constant self-monitoring and self-evaluating [is what] excellent teachers do” (36) As a student I find myself doing this all of the time, I have to because I am still trying to figure out the best way of going about things in the classroom. It is my belief that when teachers stop doing this, they stop learning. Teachers who are not still learning themselves are not modeling positive behaviors to their students. Education is a life-long love affair; we must demonstrate this in all our actions to our children. A reflective teacher looks back upon the day and reevaluates their actions, they view the classroom as a laboratory of sorts. I believe that this is absolutely true, educators should be constantly researching, our subjects are so easy to come by and we are able to observe them all day, every day. There is no better way to learn about how children learn than to simply keep your eyes wide open and your mind questioning while in a classroom, whether you are leading the lesson or just there to watch.

To be able to reflect upon our teaching processes, we must become dedicated and meticulous observers of ourselves, our students, and the relationships in our classrooms. We can begin this process by being “teachers who listen to [our] students and observe what they can and cannot do in classroom discussions, in dealing with texts, in writing, and so forth” (Hillocks 61). These daily observations take place in between all of the time spent on mandatory state tests and go beyond a simple measure of whether the children can answer a, b, or c. This observation can teach us about how the children in our class go about solving problems both in the text book and on the playground, how they react to change and new ideas, and even catch that exact moment when the last piece clicks into place and the child is excited about understanding a new concept. From these observations and mental notes it becomes more possible to see what is working on our classroom and what is not.  It is my belief that a lock-and-step curriculum is not a good fit for all children. It takes this observation and reflection to mold the curriculum each year to the individuals of the classroom, rather then molding the students to fit the curriculum. I do not view children as pieces of clay to be sculpted into the jigsaw pieces that we need, but rather as stones in need of our polish to let their inner beauty shine through. A teacher who reflects “will analyze a new idea in light of its appropriateness to the students and their present knowledge…and its probability of success” (Hillocks 37). This implies that not only do we have to become aware of the characteristics of each individual in our classroom, but also be sensitive to which methods of learning they are comfortable with and come up with new ideas to reach all of these differences.

            Creativity leads the way in classrooms where children are actively learning and teachers are practicing reflective teaching. New ideas and unique teaching methods are required each day in a classroom where a teacher is passionate and reflective. It takes great creativity to develop new ideas and approaches to be tested in the classroom setting. These new approaches are then reflected on by the teacher who can then either toss them or refine them so that the process of teaching is constantly evolving and moving forward. Anne Dyson notes that “learning to write involves work of the imagination on the part of both children and teachers,” (397) meaning that it is as much our part as teachers to find ways of reaching the students as it is their job as students to be active and receptive. Some think of teaching as a science, with sure-fire methods that can be memorized, while others think of it as an art. I agree with John Mayher, it “combines knowing and doing, technical knowledge and artistry” (9). Good teaching does take a vast amount of technical knowledge; however no amount of study can provide a teacher with passion, reflection and creativity – these we must develop within our selves, as a sort of personal quest without an end.

            In today’s rapidly changing society, I believe that teachers must add yet another facet to themselves and their role in the educational system. Politics. Routman remarks that “we educators must have more influence with our communities, school boards, state legislatures and government before there is a problem” (34). Too often teachers wait until the problem has overtaken them before someone gets the power to speak out against it. It is vital to the future of curriculum and education that teachers become political about the issues that really matter. I am not talking about salary increases or benefit cuts, which seem to have flocks of teachers running to public meetings, but real issues like instructional methods, curriculum problems, and standardized testing. Routman is correct in her assessment that we need to beat these problems to the punch. I believe that the best way to do this is to become vocal about the good things that are happening in our schools. By emphasizing the positive, people are more likely to listen to you when you have something negative to point out. I know my local education reporter on a first name basis, I would recommend that all teachers try to do the same thing. I attend board meetings and I am not a teacher, nor do I have children in the local district yet. I will be both someday and I understand that there are changes that need to happen now. I feel that political action is important to teachers because we are encouraging our students to do the same. The call for active learning must be accompanied by a call for active teachers, I plan to be among the voices of the few, rather than the silence of the many.

Role of the Student

            My goal is a student-centered classroom and curriculum, so the student’s role is very important. I really like Mayher’s view of the student as an “initiator and questioner” (77). They play a large part in curriculum planning as the teacher and are a great resource for new ideas and inspiration. This means that not only do we, as teachers have to be great listeners, but also that we need our students to want to share with us. I have previously outlined an environment which encourages students to speak and share. To accomplish this ideal we must provide students with materials to get them interested and thinking. I agree with Mayher’s assertion that students will “express their own puzzles and problems with a text they are sufficiently intrigued with to want to understand it better” (226). It is when students are interested and asking questions that the real process of student action and therefore, student-teacher transaction takes place. Students must be provided with a wide variety of options and materials. With this available to them, students can “determine their own purposes and topics”(Schultz 387). Once students do this, teachers can help them explore and develop. When “student ideas remain the focus of attention,” (Hillocks 65) then classrooms are active and engaging. This is exactly the way that we want them to be.

            A student must be confident in order to succeed in school, and more importantly, in life. It is my belief that children are confident from birth and it is through the work of adults that this confidence either dissipates or grows. We must do all that we can to build confident learners who trust themselves to answer questions and speak up when they need to. This confidence can be built in classrooms by allowing children “become their own experts” (Mayher 188) and encourage children to seek each other out as “important resources in the quest for knowledge” (Harvey 20). We can make them feel proud that they found the solution to a problem by themselves, rather then being spoon fed grammar exercises from a text book. The confidence to raise your hand in class to answer or ask a question is a quality that will continue to be important for students throughout their academic careers and even further into their lives. Parents and teachers seem to pay much more careful attention to younger students then they do older students. Children are expected to either sink or swim as they move into high school and beyond. Confidence and the knowledge that they deserve a good education will keep them from falling between the cracks of our school system. No one pays attention to whether you are reading your texts in high school and college; you have to be willing to fight for your education. Confidence goes a long way in education. Mayher states that “learners are, finally, responsible for their own learning” (105). In order to keep them fighting for their education beyond the walls and safety net of elementary school, we need to provide them with the opportunity to build the confidence they need to know that they deserve a great education and will settle for no less.

Assessment

            I feel that a section dedicated to assessment is necessary because it is both the beginning and the end of my teaching process. Assessment is vital for both the formation of lessons and the review of them. Education is a process that never ends, so how can there be a final exam? I view education as a cyclical process. We assess to decide what to teach, and then we assess to find out how much of what we taught has been acquired by the students, which in turn tells us what to teach next. McNair, et al. define formative assessment as “a daily, ongoing approach involving checking with all students about what they know and what they are interested in. It also includes an understanding of students’ misconception or incomplete understanding and an identification of their learning strengths and styles” (25). This is a powerful tool for a classroom teacher. I believe that assessment cannot be done simply once or twice a year and then forgotten about until the test scores come back. Observation is a powerful way to assess students on a daily basis, it allows the teacher to reflect on their teaching methods and see what the students are learning at the same time. A major assumption that too many educators make is that “students learn what teachers teach” (Mahyer 57), in my experiences as a teacher’s assistant I know that this is not true. Formative assessment through observing and talking with the students can serve as a way to ensure that students are learning something, if they are not then the teaching approach must be reworked. It is far better to catch this early and often, rather than to get to the end of the year and realize that your students did not learn what you thought they did.

            Authentic assessment is also very important to my theory of teaching. “Authentic assessment allows teachers to align curriculum and instruction and tailor it to the needs of individual children” (McNair et al. 24), this is important to me because it links back to my idea of the student as an individual. Standardized tests are necessary due to political stress for accountability, however this does not mean that teachers are limited to these tests in their classrooms. There are many forms of authentic assessment and I feel that one of the most powerful is the student portfolio. “Portfolio assessment judges students’ ability to apply knowledge,” (Barootchi 281) which is the true measure of understanding in my view. Portofolios are also useful in helping students learn to set goals and meet them, for the vital part of a portfolio is that the individual “demonstrate[s] progress in pursuing their goals” (Barootchi 286). This provides students with lifelong metacognitive skills that will carry them far in life. I plan on using portfolios in combination with observation and other authentic measures to reflect on my teaching skills and methods as well as my students learning processes and achievements.

Implications

            The theory of learning and teaching I have set forth has several important implications for the classroom. These implications also serve as a framework for building curriculum and social relations among students and teachers. At the heart of this theory is the impact of learning in context. The idea of learning in context rules out the use of workbooks and vocabulary drills. Instead we make learning authentic and do not try to separate knowledge from its use. Vocabulary, spelling, and grammar are all around us, we use it them in real ways on a daily basis, so let us show this to our students. Handwriting and spelling are important, but why not tell children the real reason why, “so they can take pride in their work” (Routmann 113). Vocabulary drills and worksheets only show learners pieces of a giant puzzle. They could spend years trying to piece it all together only to find out that they have been working toward the wrong shape. Mayher tells us that “unless the learner can clearly see the connection between the part and the whole, practicing the part is likely to be either useless… or even counterproductive” (85). Now show these same learners the picture of the puzzle they are working on. All of a sudden the pieces begin to click into place. Only when knowledge is given a context does it truly become useful. This context includes showing children how language and writing relate to other fields of knowledge such as math and science, or the arts and physical education. Curriculum integration is a wonderful way to provide children with a context for learning.

            Most people perform much better when they have a purpose that they care about. Children are the same way.  Routman makes a powerful point, “children learn best when curriculum is personally meaningful and relevant to their lives” (42). This is where the idea of authentic, and therefore, meaningful learning comes in. Children do feel passionately about things when given a chance. When they are given opportunities to write for various audiences and not just for a grade, excitement ensues. Publishing and sharing their stories can also work wonders. Adults do not often write for a grade, but rather with a purpose. Schultz has a powerful point when she states that “any attempt, such as a workbook exercise, to isolate language from a meaningful context will result in a simulation of writing rather then in authentic writing” (387). Children need a chance to have a voice and write to powerful people. They also need a chance to be recognized in their own right as authors and share their work with others for praise from their peers instead of grades from the teacher.

            An important part of my theory is the idea that students are the center of a classroom. This means that we must focus “on student learning rather than on teaching” (Mayher 215). Though this idea seems to flip the whole science of education on its head, the change is a rather obvious one. We were all students once and we can all think of a time where we were utterly confused. Thinking back to that event, was the material confusing? Or just the way it was being explained? For me it was most often the approach that was being used to present the information or the fact that the information was not really being explained at all, just presented. If we can concentrate on how students are learning and provide them with the supplies and experiences that they need, we can begin to function as a guide for their explorations. Humans are “active meaning makers,” (Mayher 79) so why should we just treat students as empty vessels to pour ever increasing amounts of decontextualized, memorizable information into? There is a great “need for active discussion of ideas and language” (Hillocks 7) in our classrooms, students need to be able to voice their questions and get the answers they need not from the back of a workbook but from hashing it out with each other and discovering new ideas as they go.

Opposing Views

            Not all people are in agreement on teaching theory. If they were discussion would not be held and perhaps progress would not be made. It is important to look at the points of contention some people may have for the theory of teaching that I have outlined above. Classrooms as I outlined in the section above on learning environment can be quite a handful to keep up with and often look like chaos to the casual observer. Nothing could be further from the truth, however. There is a place for defined rules in the theory that I am advocating. The main difference is that rather then the rules being posted on the first day of class based on what a teacher has needed in classes prior, the rules are negotiated between teachers and students throughout the year. After short discussion regarding incidents that occur in the classroom, the children and teacher can post rules that they decide upon. These rules can be added to or taken from as the year progress. The evolutionary nature of discipline in a classroom is important to my theory, as it places more responsibility on the children for their own behavior and helps to build a community within the classroom. Just as reflective teaching is fundamental, reflective classroom management must be utilized. Rules needed one year may not be needed during the next year and we must be open enough to see this.

            Some teachers and parents take great comfort in having stacks of student work done in spelling books or upon worksheet after worksheet on grammar. Active and authentic learning requires no such skill and drill learning and can be somewhat disconcerting to unfamiliar eyes. I have found that even kindergarten parents expect their child to come home with a workbook for homework and page after page of coloring sheets on the letter “a”. This expectation is hard to meet when children are writing in journals for the teacher to read or sending the letters that they write to interested parties around the nation. A clear way to deal with this problem is to make your theories known at the beginning of the year and to keep parents involved throughout. Routman makes an important point, “if we are [] clear about our goals and purposes – as well as responsive to the parents of the children we serve – most parents are very supportive of our practices and the changes we are attempting” (73). Letters home once a week accompanied by suggestions for extending learning at home can be a great substitute for weekly homework assignments out of a workbook. Lots of active learning can and does take place in the home, so let us combine the force of the school and home environments and share the curriculum. There are ways of meeting the needs of parents and administrators to have hard copies of student work that allow them to see the evolution of their children’s skills as writers. Writing workshop is a great way of producing published books written by the students to send home and read.

            Assessment is a third major issue when arguing for a learning theory. The opposing viewpoint to my theory would be, how then do we measure student achievement? If standardized bubble sheets are not the answer, then what is? My proposition is periodic portfolio review of student work instead of standardized tests. Portfolios can be created to show a large variety of student work and ability as well as be used to show student progression over time. These portfolios can even be given numerical grades if needed to satisfy the public’s need for numbers. Portfolio review cuts down on the stresses associated with testing and allows students to choose what aspects of their performance to show. Some children need to have several drafts of a paper before they arrive at a completed project, it is not fair to take this process away from them and require an essay written in an hour. I believe that children are far smarter than any standardized test can handle if we just give them a chance to shine.

Conclusion

            In this essay I have argued for a whole language based theory of teaching writing. This is a theory based on a substantial body of research. Real research, conducted in classrooms across the nation. Some people see whole language as being too lenient and even wishy-washy at times. I do not believe that this is the case. As I have outlined in this essay, I am a whole language teacher and I hold very high ideals and standards for my students. The main difference, in my opinion, is that rather than having me as the leader and the students as followers, I view education as a journey we are embarking on together. We need to learn how to become a team and work together so that they can learn the skills that they need to be successful in life. My definition of success goes beyond the ability to make money in a career. It includes becoming a well-rounded person who can and does read and write for both pleasure and purpose. With a goal like this, how can educators go wrong?

Works Cited

Barootchi, Nasrin and Mohammad Hossien Keshavarez. “Assessment of Achievement

Through Portfolios and Teacher-made Tests”. Education Research. 44.3 (2002) : 279-88.

Dudley-Marling, Curt. “I’m not a Communist, a liberal, or a whole language teacher (and

I don’t beat my wife)”. Talking Points. 10.3 (April/May 1999) : 14-6.

Dyson, Anne Haas. “Coach Bombay’s Kids Learn to Write: Children’s Appropriation of

Media Material”. Research in the Teaching of English. 33.4 (1999) : 367-402.

"Education." Merriam-Webster. 12 Mar. 2005.  <http://www.m-w.com>.

Hammerberg, Dawnene D. “Reading and Writing ‘Hypertextually’: Children’s Literature,

Technology, and Early Writing Instruction”. Language Arts. 78.3. (Jan. 2001) : 207-16.

Harvey, Stephanie. Nonfiction Matters. Canada: Pembroke Publishers Limited, 1998.

Larson, Joanne & Maryrita Maier. “Co-Authoring Classroom Texts: Shifting Participant

Roles in Writing Activity”. Research in Teaching English. 34.3 (2000) : 468-97.

Mayher, John S. Uncommon Sense. Portsmouth, NH: Boyton/Cook Publishers, 1990.

McNair, Shannon, et al. “Teachers Speak Out on Assessment Practices”. Early Childhood

Education Journal.  31.1 (2003) : 23-31.

Patterson, Nancy. “Hypertext and the Changing Roles of Readers”. English Journal.

(Nov. 2000) : 74-80.

Routman, Regie. Literacy at the Crossroads. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1996.

Schultz, Katherine. “ ‘I Want to Be Good; I Just Don’t Get It’: A 4^th Grader’s Entrance

Into a Literacy Community”. Written Communication. 11.3. (July, 1994) : 381-413.

Dr. Hall’s Comments

Amazing, Cassie. 
                                    I think this is ready for the portfolio.

Some final thoughts on developing your Assignment 4 for your 

Teaching Portfolio:

Keep your primary PURPOSE for writing front and
                                    center: to explain 

WHY you do what you do as a writing teacher, based upon what you believe about students, writing teachers, and
                                    the teaching and learning of writing.  Based upon your thorough and carefully
                                    considered reading of assigned texts in English 110, describe your own developing theory of teaching and learning.  

One
                                    major area for developing your final draft for your teaching portfolio is to EXTEND your theory to include 1) references to
                                    additional reading from class and from your outside research, and 2) EXAMPLES of classroom practices that ILLUSTRATE your
                                    theory at work.

Keep
                                    your audience in mind: yours is a SKEPTICAL audience, one that doubts or questions your theory--perhaps a “commonsense”
                                    colleague, principal, or parent.  With this audience in mind, you need to address
                                    explicitly their arguments AGAINST your theory.  What are some possible objections
                                    they may have, and how will you respond, in order to develop your case, with frequent references to current research in the
                                    field of writing instruction to bolster your position?

Check and double-check your final draft for accurate use of MLA format.

Take time to proofread aloud from a printed copy.  This will help you as you edit.  Share
                                    your draft with a classmate this week to get help on final polishing.

--M. Hall

Changes That I Made

I only did a final proofread and polish for this assignment. I was very happy with how the paper turned out and feel that it accurately expresses my viewpoints.