Is it more important for a student to be a reader or to be a
writer?
We all know that to be a literate person you need both, but
teachers only have so many instructional minutes a day. Where are those minutes
best spent?
Striking the right balance between reading and writing is
the tightrope that literacy teachers across the country have to walk each day.
In elementary schools, many teachers spend most of their
time on reading. They are often highly
knowledgeable and comfortable with reading instruction and with their own
skills as readers.
These teachers are often avid readers themselves both
professionally and personally, some may even belong to book groups. They read
for work and for pleasure. This predisposes them to the idea that reading is
the more important content to teach.
This predisposition is reinforced by standardized tests, “since federal
law required standardized tests only in math and reading” (Layton, 2015) , with little to no
attention paid to other content areas.
Still, “over the past ten years research has shown that
reading and writing are more interdependent than we thought” (k12reader.com, 2008) . The reciprocal nature of the relationship
between reading and writing makes it impossible to teach one effectively
without the other. “A child’s literacy
development is dependent on this interconnection between reading and writing” (k12reader.com, 2008) .
Furthermore, a singular emphasis on reading does not prepare
students well for life in a 21st century global community where the
ability to communicate ideas effectively and multimodally is essential to
success.
So what is a busy teacher to do?
The first thing is to build a stronger pedagogy around the
teaching of writing and writing conferences.
A good place to start is by researching the work done by Lester Laminak,
Katie Wood Ray, and Lucy Culkins.
The second, and possibly more difficult thing, is that teachers
must build their own identities as a writer. Very few teachers, outside of
secondary English departments, see themselves as writers. While some may engage in, and be quite
accomplished at writing for professional audiences; few write for personal
pleasure and fewer still belong to either professional or personal writing
groups. Participating in a writing group can be a great way to start building
one’s own identity as a writer.
Just as a teacher that is a passionate and voracious reader
models a love of reading for their students, a teacher that writes for
themselves as well as for their students models and encourages a love of
writing.
When the teacher is equally invested in both reading and
writing, it will be easier for them to walk the tightrope of balanced literacy.
Works
Cited
k12reader.com. (2008, April). The relationship
between reading and writing . Retrieved from k12 Reader:
http://www.k12reader.com/the-relationship-between-reading-and-writing/
Layton, L. (2015, October 24). Study says
standardized testing is overwhelming nation's public schools. Retrieved
from The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/study-says-standardized-testing-is-overwhelming-nations-public-schools/2015/10/24/8a22092c-79ae-11e5-a958-d889faf561dc_story.html
No comments:
Post a Comment