Snow and a Learned Helplessness

As I'm writing this post I'm enjoying a view of white roofs and snow/grass men. (In the South we often do not get enough snow to make a man purely made of snow. He usually is covered in bits of grass as well.) But, I am cuddled up warm inside due to my "Learned Helplessness" of being a Southerner. I don't have the clothing appropriate for snow, nor do I know how to drive my car on the snowy roads.

Why did I bring up snow? And this "learned helplessness" thing? Well, there is a connection, I promise. I was listening to this podcast (#17) earlier and one of the first things discussed was learned helplessness. I think I've heard that phrase before, but for some reason it really caught my attention this time. The teachers on the podcast were discussing their classrooms and how students seem to come in to the classroom and immediately say, "I don't get it!" As teachers, it is our job to help students to "get it", but a lot of the time I feel like we, as teachers, are making our jobs even harder than they already are. Students have a job too. Their job is to learn. When assigned a reading or homework, if they don't immediately "get it" then it is their job to wrestle with it on their own until they can't anymore. Students are not taking ownership of their own learning. We often teach students a "learned helplessness" and make it all too easy to just give up. They know that after being assigned a worksheet we will write all of the answers on the whiteboard the next day. In my student teaching, students were even allowed to re-take tests for FULL credit with the help of their books. What are students learning from this? (I'm asking myself this as much as asking for your help understanding!) I also gained some insight on this topic from this blog post of a teacher relating her struggles of learned helplessness with her students.

The teachers went on to talk about reading which grabbed my attention again as I'm still trying to better define "content literacy". I am a good reader. I just am. My mom jokes that I learned to read in carpool lines. (Oh the joys of older siblings.) But I have always enjoyed reading. I like being read to. I never understood students in class who couldn't read very well. So, knowing this, you will understand how surprised I was to hear the podcast say, "We all thing we're good readers. {I don't think. I know.} But the truth of it is that we're all bad readers. {Maybe you are, but I rock!} It just depends on what reading we're given. {*jaw drops*}" Humbling. That makes sense. This also helped me to get into the mindset of a student who might have difficulty reading certain materials. It also makes me think that maybe different students should be given different readings that can push them but also encourage them and help them succeed. (I'm slowly realizing that teaching is more work than everyone thinks it is.)

So if some type of reading is difficult for everyone, what do we do when we hit that wall? I am too stubborn to give up, so I use a strategy. One strategy that we've been focusing on in my content literacy class has been double entry diaries. (This blog gives a great description of how to use and teach double-entry diaries.) You basically fold a piece of paper in half and write a quote or something from the "text" on the left side. On the right side you are supposed to add your thoughts or ideas on what you have written on the left side of the page. I've seen it used in math classrooms as well as literature classrooms and it seems to be a great strategy for some students. Not for me. I'm very much a highlighter and underliner. Sometimes I write in the margins if I need to. But there is nothing I like more than a good colorfully highlighted reading or book. It means I understand. Knowing this, I still know that many of my students are going to need different strategies. So I need to adapt. I need to learn more strategies. I want to know 15 ways to understand a text so that I can help my 15 different students understand their texts. I've got a long road ahead of me, but I'm up for it. But it will definitely require me learning just as much if not more than I am teaching.

"Content Literacy - the ability of someone to interact with and use strategies to interpret the content of some subject (in its own language) including being able to speak, listen to, read, and write in that language"

Oh, and the connection between snow and learned helplessness that I promised earlier? I realized that I am completely helpless about snow because I live in the wonderful South and have learned NOTHING about snow. It's cold and wet. And beautiful from a distance.

{Sassy}

Slowly But Surely Moving Forward

Week two of classes are now over and we've had more chances to talk about this Content Literacy thing. We read the first two chapters of our class textbook called Do I Really Have to Teach Reading? Content Comprehension, Grades 6-12 and listened to this podcast to help develop our understanding. As we discuss and research this idea, I'm trying to come up with my own working definition. Currently it goes something like this:

"Content Literacy - the ability of someone to interact with and use strategies to interpret the content of some subject (in its own language) including being able to speak, listen to, read, and write in that language"

So... With that in mind, how should that change the way that I will teach in the future and how I prepare to teach my students? I think that, first of all, it propels me to be literate in both of my choice content areas of math and science. I should be able to read a math or science textbook with some level of ease. And if I cannot? Then I will be working from the perspective of my future students. They will encounter difficulties while reading these textbooks and I will encourage them to use strategies to help them to build an understanding of the books and content.

As my teacher said, "You don't read a textbook like you would a fairytale. That is, from cover to cover."I don't think that I've ever thought about reading textbooks differently than reading any other book. Being a "good student" I generally do all readings assigned including any boxes on the sides of pages. I never thought about there being a different way to read it, but I'm excited to explore those possibilities.

In the podcast mentioned above, a teacher spoke about being chosen as a Presidential award winner for her teaching of first and third graders. I found myself being slightly cynical when she was talking about having her first graders type up notes on technology and almost kicked myself. I'm supposed to be a new teacher! I of all people should be optimistic about teaching kids and all of the things that students are capable of! Why wouldn't first grade students be able to use technology in this way? It has shown me a part of myself that may tend toward cynicism which I will have to actively work against as I grow and learn as a teacher. My students are capable of so much! They just need someone to guide them as they learn, and what a blessing to be one of the people who gets to guide them!

{Sassy}

Learning To Be A Teacher

Hello all. Or no one [yet]. I am a college student going through school to become a Middle School Math and Science teacher. I have a passion for working with middle school students and a love for that moment when you've explained something to someone and they get it.

I have just started a class related to content literacy which I have just now learned about. In the best way that I can possibly explain it as a math-minded person, it is this: People talk about how math is a different language (because it is, and it is beautiful). Content literacy is learning how to read that language of math. I hope that makes as much sense to you as it does in my head. Like I said, I'm becoming a teacher which includes learning how to fully explain my thoughts on a subject and not having to constantly say, "Does that make sense?" After reading a few articles on the subject of content literacy, I've gotten at least a good idea of what the topic covers. One of the points that an article made was that literacy in a content (or language) includes the ability to speak, write, read, and communicate in that language. This means that I will be walking with my students as they begin to speak the language of math and numbers; write, configure, and translate the difficult problems; read the confusing, but well-meaning textbooks; and communicate to students, parents, teachers, and siblings what they have learned. It looks like I've got a lot of work ahead of me. Feel free to help me build a greater understanding of this topic or put it in different words!

Through this blog, I hope to build a network of fellow educators who I can communicate with and learn from. I am not too far from having my own classroom and the idea both excites and terrifies me. It would be so incredibly encouraging to go into my classroom my first year with a network of educators whose brains I can pick and get ideas from. I already have a small teacher crush on a few blogs, so get excited. You could already be or become one of them!

Now why have I made a decision to spend the rest of my life in school? Well... Like many other women, as a little girl I would gather my collection of dolls together and teach them simple math concepts. Of course, all of my students were brilliant and thought that I was "Teacher of the Year" material. That was a just a game for me. Or so I thought. Then as I got older, I discovered a love of cooking and baking. My plan then was to go to a culinary school and become an amazing chef. (Side note: I still love cooking and baking and use it as my relaxation and de-stressor from school.) When going through middle school, I was involved in the ministry at my church and became very close with most of the staff. Then, when I graduated from middle school and moved into high school, I did not want to lose those relationships, so I began volunteering with that same ministry. I found a love for the middle school age group and continued to volunteer with that ministry all throughout high school as well as college when I could. This passion for middle school aged students put together with my love for math and science resulted in my decision to become a middle school math and/or science teacher. It just made sense.

[Sassy]