Yesterday, Katie Keier’s blog post, “Dear Thinkers, Learners, Wonderers…teachers” arrived in my inbox. I don’t always read every blog post I receive via email. Sometimes, my email makes me feel like I’m drowning. But something about the email sitting in my inbox caught my attention and right away, I was glad I engaged. In the post, Katie wrote about the state of education, reminding veteran teachers to remember the years of field experience and research they have under their belts as new programs are forced upon us. She reminded us all the vital role that learning plays in our profession, not just for our students, but as professional educators. For all the days I wonder what the heck I’m doing in a school, Katie reminded me.
My own kids’ school has adopted a mandated program this year. Just last week, I asked my second grader, Rose, if she had read any books at school yet. “Reading books is a choice for morning work,” she told me. Aside from morning work, she has “read” stories as a whole class from her massive anthology.
Adi, my fifth grader, on the other hand, has already voluntarily read more books this year than any previous school year. In years past, I’ve had to give Adi several reminders to get her daily assigned reading done. It was such a chore that I often had to read to her to get her minutes in.
During the first few days of fifth grade, Adi came home bubbling with stories about her new (veteran) teacher. “She buys all her books for the library, and she recommends books!” This seemed like a novel concept, but one that has helped Adi to pick up books first thing in the morning. My nagging has ceased as she happily picks up one book after another.
Sure enough, at Back to School Night, her teacher, Ms. G, proudly showed off the bookcase with books she had purchased for the classroom library. Her energy around books was contagious. She beamed when sharing that her class had read the most in the whole school during the past two read-a-thons. Ms. G is a teacher that clearly values a good book and instilling a love of reading in her students. I believe she is living what Katie describes in her blog post, this “…opportunity right now to use current research on literacy learning (and much has been, and continues to be, published by literacy researchers), to stay abreast of literacy learning and combine this with how we know children learn, based on years of research in learning and education.”
I’ve talked to many teachers, standing at the observation window and dance class and on the field at soccer practice. I talk to teachers all day in my job as a literacy coach. I know the pressure that all teachers feel, the inadequacies and guilt they shoulder as they try to do their best as new things are piled on. I wish that telling them “You know how to do this. Trust yourself,” was enough to make things easier.
Where There Is Joy 
I have such mixed feelings as I read this. There’s hope, that’s nourished by your recounting Adi’s burgeoning love of reading, nourished by you and her teacher(s). Such an all-important reminder that teachers can make a positive difference. Then there’s the all-consuming worry about the important things that get pushed to the side as new initiatives flow in with mandated read alouds, activities, etc. Our schedule is so structured and full that sometimes I feel like I’m suffocating. How must it feel for my students, I wonder then. That’s when I try to go a little bit rogue and do something radical…like tuck in a beloved read aloud that I chose to meet the interests and needs of my class. (insert eye roll) Thanks for sharing this slice and your reflections.
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This article was so good and so timely. I also loved the part about the role of curiousity – for teachers. We need to stay curious and open to how to best help all children learn. Thank you for always sharing!
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I agree that veteran teachers should trust their experience, but there is also the pressure from new initiatives and schedules imposed… yet that love of a subject can and should shine through. What you so well describe for reading here, could also apply to math, science, writing, art… Your intro blurb said it so well- “trying their best.”
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❤️
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Her students are lucky .
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This exact topic has been weighing on me quite a bit this year. So glad that your 5th grader is having such a positive experience.
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Thank goodness for all of the Ms. G.s out there who nurture a love of books among children!
Thanks for the link to Katie’s article. I will have to read it!
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I’m so glad the post resonated with you. Thank you for sharing it. And I am especially grateful for the “Ms. G’s” out there who know what really matters. Thank you for the work you do – and for trusting teachers. It means so much.
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Obviously, I will have to go read Katie’s post. Kids need good books & teachers who are passionate about sharing them. Kids need time to read and sometimes a little push to read. And they also need the foundations that support their ability to read. I’m so glad to hear that Adi is enjoying books this year, and I love seeing Out of My Mind in the photo. Fingers crossed that our systems find a way to use *all* of the science of reading, not just the bits they can cram into anthologies and sell.
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