| Description |
xviii, 222 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm |
| Contents |
Dealing with the politics of education : Understanding the backlash: what's going on in reading writing? : School bashing: do we deserve the "hits"? : Are kids poorer readers today? ; Raising our goals for teaching reading ; Are kids poorer spellers today?. The controversy over phonics and whole language : Messages parents receive ; Media hype ; Television's prescriptive point of view. Learning to deal with the media ; What we can do get our messages out ; Final perspectives -- Lessons and legacies from the nineties: learning from California and other places : California: complex issues without simple solutions : Looking at the big picture ; Lessons from California. Alief, Texas: educators and parents learning to work together : Lessons from Alief. Littleton, Colorado: a conflict in values and beliefs : Lessons from Littleton. Fairfax county, Virginia: innovation with community support : Successful practices. Final perspectives -- Whole language: rhetoric and realities : Whole language hasn't failed: we have failed whole language : What's gone wrong? Misinterpreting whole language ; I'm whole language- I don't teach phonics ; Whole language teaching requires more support and time to evolve ; Making parents part of the process. What does whole language really mean? : Defining whole language ; Some misconception of whole language ; Some key principles and practices of whole language. Whole language at the university: an excellent model in practice ; Dissenting voices in the ranks : Reading recovery does fit under the whole language umbrella ; It's not necessary to have total agreement to have unity -- Becoming political in our schools: the need to be articulate, astute, and active : The politics of change : The only one who welcomes change is a wet baby. A genuine committee process: not business as usual : Creating ownership for teachers ; It is possible to be too democratic ; Forging a new vision for the language arts ; In-house resistance ; Perspectives from our committee process. Lessons from our process of change ; Necessary partnerships : What we can do to foster parent support. Final perspectives -- Back to basics and other teaching dilemmas : Back to basics: what does it mean? : Those were the good old days ; Using real books and paper and pencil ; Reviewing the language-learning research of the seventies ; Understanding language learning by looking at ourselves ; What we can do to provide good, solid reading instruction ; What we can do to provide good, solid writing instruction ; Re-envisioning "back to basics" -- Phonics phobia : Beyond "sounding it out" ; What does the research say about phonics? ; Commonsense views about phonics ; The push for intensive systematic phonics: why and how? : A workshop in intensive systematic phonics ; A few disabled readers benefit from intensive systematic phonics. What we can do to keep phonics in perspective ; Final perspectives -- Spelling, grammar, handwriting, and other "questionable" practices : Teaching the skills : We need to do more teaching ; Sometimes, it's okay to tell them. What's happened to the teaching of spelling? : Putting invented spelling in perspective. So, how should we teach spelling? : What we can do to communicate how we teach spelling. Where does grammar fit in? : What we can do about grammar. We still need to teach and value handwriting : What can we do about hand writing -- Other dilemmas : Using a published series: pros and cons : The good news ; The not-so-good news ; What we can do about basals. We must preserve our libraries : What we can do to promote quality libraries. Teacher education: not just the job of the university : We need to encourage smart students to become teachers ; New teachers need lots of support ; How one school district supported as new teacher ; More help for novice teachers: what we can do. Changing demographics : What do changing demographics mean for us as teachers?. Standardized testing and how to deal with it: Putting standardized testing in perspective for parents. Still more dilemmas -- Empowerment for life : What happens when we empower students and teachers : Choice with intention ; Seeing evaluation through a new lens : Moving to student-led conferences ; Student writing their own narrative report cards. What makes a good teacher? -- Leading the literacy life we want our students to lead : Inquiry and change: become a teacher-researcher ; Cultivate your interests ; Take charge of your own professional development and learning : Make time for professional and personal reading and reflection ; Be more collegial ; Share knowledge and materials ; Collaborate as learners: start a support group. Using our literate selves as models for teaching : Looking at ourselves as readers to inform our teaching. Envisioning ourselves as writers : Why we must write ; Enter the public debate. Make time for reflection, writing, and action. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 204-215) and index. |
| Subject |
Language arts -- United States.
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Education -- Political aspects -- United States.
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Literacy -- United States.
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Reading -- United States.
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English language -- Composition and exercises -- Study and teaching -- United States.
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| ISBN |
0435072102 (acid-free paper) |
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