LLED Ray Ch. 7, 8, 19

In chapter 7 of the reading, I noticed that it says to do what I see my teacher doing a lot of the time. She walks around the room throughout the students writing time letting the children know that she is intrigued by their works. She also invited them one by one up to her desk to conference with them on their writings. During this time she usually shows them ways that the students have already learned to improve their works. She also shows that her presence in the classroom is not just sitting behind her desk. Her responsibility is to walk around and help every student and she demonstrates this very well during writing time.

Chapter 8 speaks about trying to control the chaos of writing. Once again my teacher is great at understanding the different amounts of time it takes her students to complete their writings. She does give time frames for students to complete their writing assignments and to publish them, but she allows freedom to work at their own rates while in the midst of the writing process. There are constant conferences and the students usually work together which seems to cause more chaos. Somehow it all comes together in the end.

Chapter 19 is a great way to finish out the book. It speaks about publishing. Deadlines are very important and need to be established well in advance before the due dates. Finishing a piece can also be difficult since sometimes as writers we have so much to say and only a few weeks to put it in a text. Take for example a narrative, how can a person place so much about a topic in a short text. We could also take the other side and say how can we add to a text when there is nothing left to say. Only the writer knows when a piece is finished and it is important to understand this concept in writing and publishing.

LLED Ray Ch. 14, 15, 17

After the readings this week I began to think of the conferences I've seen my mentor teachers give. The readings are absolutely right! Most of the conferences I've seen have been well structured and planned out. This is dues in large part to the relationships my teachers tend to have with the parents of their students. Knowing what areas a student needs the most help in and the progress of this process for correcting these issues, it is easier to relay these messages to the parents without being offensive or relaying to them that you don't fully understand the issue. As the teacher the parent of the students expects you to teach their children at all cost. Regularly conferring with them allows for this process to be smooth and more of a team effort which is important for the student.

The question "Why Do We Need Talk?" is a great question. Another great question is "Should we force students to sit in a classroom all day without talking?" With lunch time becoming more and more of a structured setting, and the reduced recess times for many schools, students should be able to have some time to talk and communicate.  The Early Childhood Education Program at the University of Georgia really pushes for less of a traditional classroom and more of a democratic classroom. Allowing students to talk and communicate their ideas back and forth gives them a voice in the class and makes for a fun environment in the classroom.

Asking students questions that are looking for one answer can be both good and bad for the students. We should want to know that they understand the material. Teaching to the test is not the way understand if a student gets the message you are trying to relay or not. It is up to us to be thorough in our attempt to give assessments. The other writing class for this semester talks primarily about assessments and I look forward to building on the knowledge I've received so far.

Once again I'm keeping it real and live....just some more Words From Super Sigma 5