final synthesis blog

          I could start this blog with the typical "throughout this semester" and waste your time going through each thing we've done and how it benefits me as a future educator. But you know why we did the things we did in class, and we both know why they are important, because of what you have taught us through this course. So instead, I think I'll go a different route.
          I think I have learned something much deeper in your class this semester. More than the "I want my students to read in content classes" or "I won't use a textbook!" This class has opened my eyes to the challenge of what this truly entails. Growing up, I never struggled with reading. I read chapter books in kindergarten, and if you ask my parents who taught me to read, they'll look at you with a strange look on their faces, squint their eyes a little, and tell you, knowing you won't believe them, that I somehow taught myself to read. I adore books. I always have, I always will. And not the digital ones at that- real, hands on, musty smell books. But what I've come to see this semester is that not all students I teach will feel this way. Some students will have never seen a book, some may absolutely hate reading though they don't struggle, and others may be just fine reading without my help. But it isn't just my job to include reading in science or social studies classes, it is my job to make a conscious effort to prepare my students no matter where they stand on reading. I can't just shrug my shoulders and say "well, I included the readings" or "see? I used my text set", I have to know that the things we did and the ways I incorporate the things we did benefit the students to make them successful far outside the classroom, because academia is not everyone's ultimate goal. Simply saying I will include these strategies is not enough.

           I want my students leaving my classroom to know that they are prepared to do whatever it is they want to do, and hope that in the way I use readings and texts, they are inspired, prepared, and capable to be successful at whatever it is they seek to be successful at in the future. We may only have these students one year, but we can do much more than model how you read through a think aloud. We can show our students through a think aloud that is okay to be wrong in their predictions. "Oh up here in this paragraph I predicted this but look- I was wrong, and that's okay! The important thing is that I made the prediction", this easily models the scientific method and forming hypotheses, while including reading strategies to help them outside of science.
           In a literature circle, we can teach our students that they don't always have to agree with everyone else and not everyone has to agree with them. In using a unifying text in a group, students can see how someone might view parts of the book differently than they do. I think all too often in our society we try to tell students "there's a right way, and a wrong way" and in reality there is neither. There are gray areas, blurred lines. There are cultural perspectives that alter viewpoints. Everyone has a unique experience, and book groups are a very clear way to demonstrate these differences and elaborate on them.  Talking about our differences in a mature manner is important and will benefit them working together in the future, as not everyone is going to agree with them forever.
            Student choice in reading bolsters self-exploration, accountability, and piques a child's individual interest. Allowing students just enough opportunity to give them some power in the classroom teaches them that it really isn't all about the test, and that their individual thoughts and ideas are so important too. Because I firmly believe they are. "There is nothing new under the sun" they often say, but I fully believe are children are a source full of unabashed ideas and like I said earlier, it's okay if they are wrong. We should foster a kind of environment with reading for our students to feel comfortable and secure so that they can be innovative thinkers. That is what I want from my students. And it all starts with me.
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