Brandi’s Blog
Just another Edublogs.org weblog
Jaeger: Silencing Teachers in an Era of Scripted Reading
February 4, 2008
As I read this, I couldn’t help but think about my school. It is not as severe as this specific case, but similiar. Our school has Open Court as our “phonics program”. However, it is not a true phonics program. It is very scripted and does not meet the needs of every type of learner. Needless to say, I NEVER use it. The TE is so full of dust it’s scary. Why should I use a program that I know is not best suited for my learners. I teach kindergarten with a high percentage of ELL in my classroom. They need interactive dialogue, modeling, one on one, small group, whole group, partner time, individual time….NOT DIRECT INSTRUCTION TIME! I must say that I have never been made to teach this program. It is stated that Open Court is our phonics program and time has been built into the daily schedule for it by administration, but no one comes around to check to see if you’re teaching it or not. I feel that I am the teacher in the room. I work with these 19 individual students everyday. Shouldn’t I be the one and the only one who decides what’s best for my learners? I think so. I do not agree that someone who has been out of the classroom for X amount of years or better yet has never set foot in a classroom should tell me what is the best way to teach my students. How does that even make sense? It seems that education has just become too political and we are worried too much about the wrong things. The joy of teaching is being taken away by “the powers that be” and I believe this is a major factor in teacher attrition.
February 7th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
I somewhat agree with you about Open Court. One skill that I think Open Court advocates that I see worth in is the blending of sounds which is included in each lesson. However, my big beef is that at our school, the kids are so transient. Then, when they reach third grade and they can’t decode, they come to the younger grades as if we haven’t done our job. Basically, I think they are just passing the buck. I’m sorry that some kids come in who just haven’t gotten it. But, shouldn’t the third grade teachers be able to catch them up? I think we have gotten so engrossed in the idea of covering the curriculum that we have neglected the idea that all teachers need some understanding of child development so that they can step in where the child needs it and provide assistance.
February 7th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Hi Brandi,
You are so right. We’ve come a long way since this program was first introduced. I do believe there is some good in this program. I know Charlotte has used it extensively and speaks very highly of it. I agree, though, that if you are the one in charge of those students and what is important to them you should be the “bottom line”. I have such fears that we will in the very near future become the type of school that makes you be “on-task” at a certain time and with a specified program. It’s a little scary to anticipate. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Perhaps we can empower our fellow teachers to make sure we get what is needed for our students and for ourselves. Afterall, if teachers are demoralized what good are we to students?