August+27th

In Wolfe & Antinarella's Introduction, one point of particular interested is the naysayers' attitudes about student-centered teaching and how they believe it has diluted the curriculum and instruction in today's schools. Aren't our students supposed to be the focus of the curriculum? I am confused! These viewpoints, however, are in direct contradiction to what I have seen within my own classroom. Students who learn in a student-centered classroom are able to find their own voices within the learning community. AHHH! They become invested in what they are learning, which results in an evolving social and intellectual independence. Just because students enjoy learning does not mean that they are not learning! Say it isn't true, learning CAN be fun!

Another provocative point from Wolfe & Antinarella's Introduction is the idea that schools need to "become more seductive places" (p.xv). I love the idea the seduction really means to "win over, to attract, to LEAD (Latin)!" It seems ironic to use a word such as seductive when discussing teaching; however, this is the perfect way to explain what must happen. It is true that young people today find themselves being pulled in many different directions and are often //seduced// by the glitter, intrigue, and mystery of the world in which they live. We, as educators, must find a way to be equally compelling in our //streets//-our classrooms.

Finally, I would like to address Tchudi & Mitchell's statement about the role of E/LA teachers as conduits of more than just books, themes, and grammar and instead serves as the bridge between the world and self. Helping students traverse this bridge is an exciting opportunity for both E/LA teachers and also all educators. Meg, You have eloquently captured the true beauty of teaching as "conduits". You are so right the teacher benefits just as much as the students! Teaching is an ART form! Lisa

Meg

In reference to the poem in Chapter 1 of Tchudi & Mitchell.... I believe "students are waiting" for E/LA teachers to bring them into the 21st century for reading/ writing/listening/viewing instructional applications. I absolutely agree, and as E/LA teachers, we have a unique opportunity to make this happen for our students. E/LA teachers are problem solvers...they offer connections to language/literacy that are the 1st keys to unlocking our students' worlds.

Literacy is not confined to words on a page it is a symphony of activities within/out of a person/child/student (I love this line! True!). In accordance, the experiemential model (EM) makes room for teachers to provide language experience activities (LEAs) for younger students and move away from recall of terms and definitions to more transactional more afferent, expressive instructional activities for older students. EM is still based in very fundemental knowledge developmental heiarchies such as Blooms, but also encompasses the revised Bloom's taxonomy, with creativity being at the top.

Teachers have to find a balance in the classroom, a space for both ends of the communication continuum i.e effferent /public to poetic and private. Unfortunately curricular demands limits the room for that "space". We focus on grammar/spelling and ignore imagination and wonder. We have to allow students to traverse this continuum at their own pace, with the understanding that their knowledge is constantly expanding in unique patterns for each student. Lisa, I like your point about finding the balance between efferent/public and poetic and private, and in my experience, E/LA teachers can be the catalyst for incorporating the imaginative into the curriculum. For example, a teacher can still teach the basics of grammar/spelling/writing in a way that is compelling, exciting and creative. My students actually "act out" sentences, clauses, punctuation, etc. They can be silly, creative, and engaged...in grammar! It's crazy but true! ~Lisa