The article Going Public: NCLB and Literacy Practices in Teacher Education described many of the issues that we, as a nation, are facing in our education today. The author stated that she believes student’s curricula should reflect their cultures and interests. I think that if children had curriculums that included a majority of the time text that they found interesting and relevant to their lives that they would be more eager to read. I agree that student’s need to have choice in what they are reading. I used to be a student who wishes I had choice, and unfortunately the lack of choice has pushed me away from reading. Also if students have choices in what they are reading, it will be easier for them to activate their prior knowledge and make connections to the text. This will enable them to better comprehend what they are reading.
The article also discussed how there are many students who drop out of school and do not realize their full potential. I believe that this is a huge issue in our society. Right now there is an issue with achievement gap with income, ethnicity and abilities. Students who are in low income areas usually do not do as well as those students in more fortunate areas. I agree that teachers need to be professionally trained and informed on how to teach students the importance and pillars of reading. Students need to be motivated, engaged and confident about them to do well in school. I think students would have more self-confidence if there were no standardized tests. Standardized tests put a large strain on the school district financially and pressure on the teachers and students. More focus should be geared towards teaching material to the students and not focusing on the tests. I believe peer tutoring is a great way to boost student’s confidence and help them learn. Also involving a lot of writing into the student’s curriculum is a great way to practice reading comprehension. Writing includes all of the pillars (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension) into one assignment. Writing enables students to practice and familiarize themselves with literacy.
I agree with Jaimie that students like to have choices when it comes to reading especially when they become older. If they have a choice they will actually enjoy reading and want to read more instead of being forced to read something they do not have an interest in. Trained teachers would definitely benefit the students more because not only would the teachers feel more confident with the material but the students would get the best possible information. I also agree that standardized tests put way too much pressure on students to do well and many teachers and schools teach to the test which is not beneficial whatsoever.
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