[MOSAIC] [MOSAIC) THANK YOU, ELLIN!! Most appreciated!

[Lamma55 at aol.com]

Dear Ellin,
 
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my question. As a Title  
I teacher, former Reading Recovery teacher, and former literacy coordinator I  
have seen many new teachers confused by college professors, administrators 
and  so called "veteran" teachers. I am baffled by the confusions that exist 
over  "strategies" vs "skills", "instructional methods" vs. "learning practices", 
and  "learning tools" vs "learning practices". You are so right when you say 
that  there is an abundance of confusion between "standards", "curriculum", 
"learning  tools" and "instructional strategies".  It boggles my mind that  
administrators, professional staff developers, and college professors continue  to 
miss the point on these things. 
 
As a Title I teacher, I work hard at providing direct services to the  
student population we serve. I work in grades K-2, and my teaching is grounded  in 
what I learned as a Reading Recovery teacher as well as what I have learned  
from "Mosaic of Thought". I spend almost an equal amount of time trying to  
mentor new teachers through study groups. I focus on many of the principles I  
learned from your work. At times I feel like I am working against the tide  
because administrators focus solely on high stakes testing, standards, and test  
scores. Very little is offered in the way of helping teachers understand reading 
 process/reading comprehension instruction, and assessment that allows 
teachers  to measure strategy use as well as their thinking! 
 
As I see teachers focus on "curriculum" and "content" I can't help but  
notice that they lose sight of teaching and facilitating how children learn to  
think. Add to that the demands of having to follow a "research based" reading  
program and you can't help but notice that we are merely pushing children  
through materials. 
 
Please know that your work has been inspiring to me, and that I refer to it  
over and over in the work I do facilitating my K-2 study group.  Just last  
week, I went to my Title I director, and the Asst. Superintendent in charge of  
Curriculum and asked them if they could send two of our first grade teachers 
to  a conference you will be speaking at in the Boston/RI  ( SDR staff  
development) area. These teachers even offered to pay half the conference fee...  but 
sadly, we were turned down. 
 
I will pass on your thoughts to these new teachers, and encourage them to  
join this listerve.
 
Again, Thank you for taking the time to respond to my questions.... I am  
very grateful
 
Patrice Bucci 
Title I Roberts School
Medford Public Schools
Medford, MA