I got into a conversation with my husband today about teaching children to read. A lot of alternative schools don't--Waldorf, Regio Emilia, Montessori for the most part. They don't sit down with the students and have reading lessons. More, they teach the love of reading and allow the children to pick it up on their own or come to the adult to ask for help "when they are ready."
For some reason, I was thinking about this and asked my husband for his thoughts.
He did not approve.
"It has taken us thousands of years to get where we are today," was his response, in essence. "It took us thousands of years to develop oral language, thousands more to be able to write it down, and now, finally, we are at the point where we can teach it immediately. The basics of letters and numbers are taught for an entire year (kindergarten) because they are such an important basis upon which the entirety of our education system exists. If we neglect to teach reading properly, children must forever afterwards read through cargo culting."
Cargo cult - a term used for the act of applying something that is not entirely understood.
I guess that means we'll personally be teaching out own children the rules of reading and spelling. It's just that English, being a pidgin language, has so many of them, and so many exceptions. It's a nice fantasy to say that explaining all the rules and exceptions would just confuse children, and that they'll pick everything up just fine on their own.
But what about how the differences in reading between Montessori-, Waldorf-, and Regio Emilia-educated children and children from a public school background disappear by graduation? This is what I've heard, but I suppose I don't have any research to back it up.
Little did I know that all of this spawned in the back of my mind from the 30 hours I've had with the third grade class I'm student teaching this year. Their classroom teacher maintains that they are exceptionally "low" and is scrambling to prepare them for state assessments in the spring. We both know that many of them will not pass, and I'm worried about the kind of stigma that must come with that. Not passing a test that everyone says is so important, being classified as "low," and coming to think of yourself as dumb or inadequate. These are sweet kids, and I don't want that for them. I guess in the back of my mind, I kept thinking, "If these children weren't in a public school, they wouldn't have to go through this. It wouldn't be such a big deal that they don't have any number sense because they'll pick it up when they're ready. By the time they graduate, all the difference between them and other students will have disappeared."
Now that I know where all my thoughts stemmed from, I can focus on that. I suppose I need to figure out a way to keep my third graders this year to keep from feeling the pressure the state assessments are going to put on them.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Socratic Teaching in Practice
Today I was required to teach a math lesson to my university methods class. I taught it Socratically, and in hindsight I realized that it was my first experience doing so! My peers hated it. They were polite, but I could tell the only thing on their mind was, "We didn't do anything! There were no activities! There's no difference between lecture and what you just did!" Part of that was because it was my first time teaching using this method, and the other part was because the group I taught was not familiar with it. If I had a regular class of students I taught using this method frequently, they would have been more at ease with it.
I did think, however, that because teaching Socratically is so different than a regular lesson, I should announce what kind of teaching I will be doing before I begin. A good way to do this might be, "We are going to have a Socratic dialogue about decimals, so please turn your desks into a circle." Having the circle will definitely indicate to the students that they will be working collaboratively to answer questions. Having my "students" sit normally today indicated to them that I would be teaching a normal lesson, and they were confused when my lesson didn't meet their expectations.
I may also need to work on the questions I ask. I tried to use a new classroom management today, as well, using the word "together" to indicate when a choral response was requested. It didn't work so well because it was my first time using it and I wasn't in the habit of using it, but more importantly because it clashed with the dialogue. I asked a lot of low order thinking questions that were answered in one word responses so that I could use the "together" trick, and this did not lead to good dialogue. The "together" trick would have been good in a classroom that needs a lot of management, and it seems that Socratic discussion works better in one that doesn't need as much management, at least after the students have gotten used to the routine of the discussion. At any rate, the technique as unnecessary and a hindrance.
This is what I should remember for my future Socratic teaching:
*Announce in some way when I will teaching Socratically
*Remember those higher order thinking questions. Refer to Bloom's as much as necessary
*There should only be one classroom management technique used at this time, respect. Remind students to raise their hands any time they have something to add to the discussion.
I did think, however, that because teaching Socratically is so different than a regular lesson, I should announce what kind of teaching I will be doing before I begin. A good way to do this might be, "We are going to have a Socratic dialogue about decimals, so please turn your desks into a circle." Having the circle will definitely indicate to the students that they will be working collaboratively to answer questions. Having my "students" sit normally today indicated to them that I would be teaching a normal lesson, and they were confused when my lesson didn't meet their expectations.
I may also need to work on the questions I ask. I tried to use a new classroom management today, as well, using the word "together" to indicate when a choral response was requested. It didn't work so well because it was my first time using it and I wasn't in the habit of using it, but more importantly because it clashed with the dialogue. I asked a lot of low order thinking questions that were answered in one word responses so that I could use the "together" trick, and this did not lead to good dialogue. The "together" trick would have been good in a classroom that needs a lot of management, and it seems that Socratic discussion works better in one that doesn't need as much management, at least after the students have gotten used to the routine of the discussion. At any rate, the technique as unnecessary and a hindrance.
This is what I should remember for my future Socratic teaching:
*Announce in some way when I will teaching Socratically
*Remember those higher order thinking questions. Refer to Bloom's as much as necessary
*There should only be one classroom management technique used at this time, respect. Remind students to raise their hands any time they have something to add to the discussion.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Pledge to Guide Today's Students--draft 2
Pledge to Guide Today's Students
I pledge to guide my students in learning about the world they live in.
Respecting and honoring others
-Learning about cultures and societies across the world
Respecting yourself
-Self concept, eating well, exercising
Respecting the Earth and the environment
-Using resources and dealing with waste properly
Living in the age of technology and information
-Respect and honesty while using the internet
-Critical thinking skills when learning from any media
-(How to multitask and monotask where appropriate)
Seeing the big picture of life
-The universe and how we fit into it
-The Earth and its inhabitants
I've made just a couple of changes to this draft.
First, the category of "Respecting the Earth and the environment" was the only one that didn't have a subheading. I added "Using resources and dealing with waste properly," which basically speaks for itself--I'll be teaching the three R's. I barely remember reading somewhere a new list of R's more appropriate for the 21st century. I need to do more research on that.
Second, I took another look at the category, "Living in the age of technology and information." I wrote down some notes a week or so ago with the thought of adding it to this category,
Marketing. Kids need to be able to see through marketing schemes. "What are they trying to sell me? How are they doing this? What kind of tactics are they using?"
What is planned obsolescence?
Also, "What is the REAL price of this item? Although the monetary cost is low, what am I paying for? What kinds of practices am I helping support when I buy this? What kinds of work practices? Who gets the money I pay? Do I want to support these companies or stores when I don't know who they are or what they do?"
However, in retrospect, I believe ALL of this is covered in the subheading, "Critical thinking skills when learning from any media." Maybe I should make some bullet points under each subheading? I may do that in a subsequent draft.
Also in my notes, I had written, How to use technology and multitask, but also how to monotask and slow down to enjoy the moment. (((Monotasking Mondays? It sounds nice, but wouldn't a better day for monotasking be Friday, because we are all stressed from the busy week that we need to slow down?)))
I couldn't decide whether this point was important enough to include or not. I finally added it as "How to multitask and monotask where appropriate," in parentheses, considering that I could always exclude it in a subsequent draft.
I pledge to guide my students in learning about the world they live in.
Respecting and honoring others
-Learning about cultures and societies across the world
Respecting yourself
-Self concept, eating well, exercising
Respecting the Earth and the environment
-Using resources and dealing with waste properly
Living in the age of technology and information
-Respect and honesty while using the internet
-Critical thinking skills when learning from any media
-(How to multitask and monotask where appropriate)
Seeing the big picture of life
-The universe and how we fit into it
-The Earth and its inhabitants
I've made just a couple of changes to this draft.
First, the category of "Respecting the Earth and the environment" was the only one that didn't have a subheading. I added "Using resources and dealing with waste properly," which basically speaks for itself--I'll be teaching the three R's. I barely remember reading somewhere a new list of R's more appropriate for the 21st century. I need to do more research on that.
Second, I took another look at the category, "Living in the age of technology and information." I wrote down some notes a week or so ago with the thought of adding it to this category,
Marketing. Kids need to be able to see through marketing schemes. "What are they trying to sell me? How are they doing this? What kind of tactics are they using?"
What is planned obsolescence?
Also, "What is the REAL price of this item? Although the monetary cost is low, what am I paying for? What kinds of practices am I helping support when I buy this? What kinds of work practices? Who gets the money I pay? Do I want to support these companies or stores when I don't know who they are or what they do?"
However, in retrospect, I believe ALL of this is covered in the subheading, "Critical thinking skills when learning from any media." Maybe I should make some bullet points under each subheading? I may do that in a subsequent draft.
Also in my notes, I had written, How to use technology and multitask, but also how to monotask and slow down to enjoy the moment. (((Monotasking Mondays? It sounds nice, but wouldn't a better day for monotasking be Friday, because we are all stressed from the busy week that we need to slow down?)))
I couldn't decide whether this point was important enough to include or not. I finally added it as "How to multitask and monotask where appropriate," in parentheses, considering that I could always exclude it in a subsequent draft.
A Second Look into Cooperative Education
I've been avoiding thinking about cooperative education.
After my first day of basking in the glow of its concept, I spoke with my husband about it--my realistic, down-to-earth husband. I don't even remember what he said, but after that, my glow had burned down to a low fizzle. Teacher Tom, after receiving many comments from others also realizing that this type of education had been staring them in the face all this time as well, began a week long special all about coops. I read them along with everyone else, but could no longer get excited. It wasn't until the last day when I was finally able to (almost) put my thoughts into words. Tom asked if there were still questions to be answered and I finally choked this out,
I love the community that evolves from a cooperative school, but I'm concerned about teaching students that don't already have parents that are that engaged in their children's learning and future. How could I create a cooperative-like atmosphere when a full-fledged cooperative school isn't appropriate? I'll do my best to engage parents at whatever school I'm at, but what about parents that can't come into class to help? Or parents that can't pay the tuition for a cooperative school (I know yours is cheap, but I expect getting costs low is a difficult task that not everyone has the skills to do).
I guess what I'm trying to ask is, how do I get my low-income students into the wonderful atmosphere a cooperative school creates?
Someone else must have asked the same question. In his next post, he referenced the question and someone else's name. (Which is good because I just realized when I went to find my comment that I placed it on the wrong post. So there's a possibility he didn't even see it.) His full response can be found here, as it's too long to quote in its entirety, but the most important part of the answer was,
I'm only half joking when I suggest that instead of putting money into things like high stakes testing, new buildings and text books, or getting teachers competing against one another for bonuses, we might want to consider paying these poor parents to get involved with their kid's school. That's what the research seems to indicate will make the most difference.
(He goes on in an elaborated follow up post here.)
You know, one of the reasons I got into education was to make a difference in the world. The biggest difference. The greatest impact. The students whose parents love them enough to send them to an alternative preschool and go into the classroom to work once a week? They're already guaranteed to get a great education whether I'm involved with them or not. The kids that concern me live with their single parent who works three jobs and is too tired when she comes home to cook anything more than macaroni or read a bedtime story. Those are the ones that need me the most.
So to my question, "How can I make cooperative education work for students in low socioeconomic standing?" I'm pretty sure the answer is, "You can't."
And that's why I've been avoiding thinking about it.
It's a wonderful model, especially for today's world of parents who are choosing to stay home with their young children, homeschooling them, providing them local and organic diets, and keeping them away from anything plastic or corporate-made. Not that there's anything wrong with this type of parenting--honestly, it's how I see myself parenting when the time comes--but it's a luxury choice that the middle-class have. It's simply not an option for a lot of families in the United States at this time.
It's a wonderful model, but I no longer see myself getting involved in it. I'm thrilled to hear that it exists, and I loved learning about it. I wish everyone involved in cooperative education the most sincere best of luck.
Now, like Tom suggested, if we could only rearrange some government spending to pay the parents of those inner city children to come into the classroom instead of picking up an extra job...
To learn more about cooperative education, read Teacher Tom's Cooperative Nuts and Bolts series:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5
Also of interest is Montessori Candy, a blog about a cooperative Catholic Montessori preschool. Here is a list of their posts with the Coop tag.
Just a note, October is Coop month.
After my first day of basking in the glow of its concept, I spoke with my husband about it--my realistic, down-to-earth husband. I don't even remember what he said, but after that, my glow had burned down to a low fizzle. Teacher Tom, after receiving many comments from others also realizing that this type of education had been staring them in the face all this time as well, began a week long special all about coops. I read them along with everyone else, but could no longer get excited. It wasn't until the last day when I was finally able to (almost) put my thoughts into words. Tom asked if there were still questions to be answered and I finally choked this out,
I love the community that evolves from a cooperative school, but I'm concerned about teaching students that don't already have parents that are that engaged in their children's learning and future. How could I create a cooperative-like atmosphere when a full-fledged cooperative school isn't appropriate? I'll do my best to engage parents at whatever school I'm at, but what about parents that can't come into class to help? Or parents that can't pay the tuition for a cooperative school (I know yours is cheap, but I expect getting costs low is a difficult task that not everyone has the skills to do).
I guess what I'm trying to ask is, how do I get my low-income students into the wonderful atmosphere a cooperative school creates?
Someone else must have asked the same question. In his next post, he referenced the question and someone else's name. (Which is good because I just realized when I went to find my comment that I placed it on the wrong post. So there's a possibility he didn't even see it.) His full response can be found here, as it's too long to quote in its entirety, but the most important part of the answer was,
I'm only half joking when I suggest that instead of putting money into things like high stakes testing, new buildings and text books, or getting teachers competing against one another for bonuses, we might want to consider paying these poor parents to get involved with their kid's school. That's what the research seems to indicate will make the most difference.
(He goes on in an elaborated follow up post here.)
You know, one of the reasons I got into education was to make a difference in the world. The biggest difference. The greatest impact. The students whose parents love them enough to send them to an alternative preschool and go into the classroom to work once a week? They're already guaranteed to get a great education whether I'm involved with them or not. The kids that concern me live with their single parent who works three jobs and is too tired when she comes home to cook anything more than macaroni or read a bedtime story. Those are the ones that need me the most.
So to my question, "How can I make cooperative education work for students in low socioeconomic standing?" I'm pretty sure the answer is, "You can't."
And that's why I've been avoiding thinking about it.
It's a wonderful model, especially for today's world of parents who are choosing to stay home with their young children, homeschooling them, providing them local and organic diets, and keeping them away from anything plastic or corporate-made. Not that there's anything wrong with this type of parenting--honestly, it's how I see myself parenting when the time comes--but it's a luxury choice that the middle-class have. It's simply not an option for a lot of families in the United States at this time.
It's a wonderful model, but I no longer see myself getting involved in it. I'm thrilled to hear that it exists, and I loved learning about it. I wish everyone involved in cooperative education the most sincere best of luck.
Now, like Tom suggested, if we could only rearrange some government spending to pay the parents of those inner city children to come into the classroom instead of picking up an extra job...
To learn more about cooperative education, read Teacher Tom's Cooperative Nuts and Bolts series:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5
Also of interest is Montessori Candy, a blog about a cooperative Catholic Montessori preschool. Here is a list of their posts with the Coop tag.
Just a note, October is Coop month.
Friday, August 19, 2011
What Worksheets Are For
A friend handed me a stack of worksheets the other day and asked if I wanted any of them. My immediate reaction was to politely and simply hand them directly back to her and reply, "No, thanks." But then I thought that maybe I should look through them quickly and see if any of them gave me any new ideas. So I had an inward sigh and sat down with the stack.
Among the coloring pages, dot-to-dots, and math board games, I found one choose-the-right-word on needs and wants. Needs and wants is an important topic that's actually taught in public schools today, although I don't think any students or teachers actually internalize any of it. This paper listed scenarios and wanted students to decide if something is a good or service and a need or want. I'll list some from what I remember.
"Sally went to the barbershop. She paid for a __(good, service)__. Getting a haircut is a __(need, want)__."
Easy. She paid for a service; a haircut is a want. Alright, let's move on.
"Sally went to the mall. She paid for a __(good, service)__ at the store. Clothes are a __(need, want)__."
Okay, this one's a little trickier. Clothes are obviously a good, but because Sally had to go to the mall, the clothes she bought there are probably a want, not a need. However, the question just asked about "clothes" in general, which ARE a need. It's a little questionable, but acceptable. Let's check out the last one.
"Sally went to the pizza parlor. She paid for a __(good, service)__. Food is a __(need, want)__."
This one really got me. Because Sally went to a restaurant where food is prepared for her, she paid for both the good of the food and the service of having it prepared. Because it merely talks about "food," the answer should be "need." But again, because it specified that she went to the pizza parlor, pizza is a want, not a need. So although the "correct" answers are a "good" and a "need," you could easily argue either way.
And come to think of it, on the second question, when Sally paid for the clothes at the mall, which were undoubtedly overpriced, she probably paid for the service of having children in third world countries gather the materials and construct the clothes at the American equivalent of one dollar a month and at terrifying working conditions, the shipping of the finished products, the paychecks of CEOs that decided to outsource the company, and the employees of the store who marked up the price of the product by 75%. So, in fact, she paid for their services as well as the good itself.
With all that in mind, I wrote off the worksheet as stupid, cookie-cutter fodder common in most traditional classrooms across the country and handed the stack back to my friend.
But today I thought back to it and all of the comments I had. Wouldn't it be great if my students thought these thoughts as well? Wouldn't it be cool if I could use this silly worksheet to ignite these thoughts?
And then I thought, couldn't I use these silly worksheets to explain the molds that other teachers and other people in the world will try to fit them into? I could tell them, "This is what they will give you. And you know the right answers. That is, you know what answers they will be grading for. And you can try to talk to them about it, like we did together, but chances are, they won't listen. So you just have to put the answer you know that they want. And if you don't know, just guess. You may have guessed what they want correctly, and you may have guessed incorrectly, but it doesn't matter. Take your C and go sit back down because there's nothing more you can do with that kind of person. They just want to grade for what they think is correct and give you a score and label you and fit you into a category. And it doesn't matter. What matters is that you know that there's more to knowledge than that."
So that's what worksheets will be for in my classroom--preparing my students for the terrible teachers they will have in the future. Steeling their hearts for it and instilling more confidence into them. I look forward to the wonderful conversations about worksheets I will have with my students.
Among the coloring pages, dot-to-dots, and math board games, I found one choose-the-right-word on needs and wants. Needs and wants is an important topic that's actually taught in public schools today, although I don't think any students or teachers actually internalize any of it. This paper listed scenarios and wanted students to decide if something is a good or service and a need or want. I'll list some from what I remember.
"Sally went to the barbershop. She paid for a __(good, service)__. Getting a haircut is a __(need, want)__."
Easy. She paid for a service; a haircut is a want. Alright, let's move on.
"Sally went to the mall. She paid for a __(good, service)__ at the store. Clothes are a __(need, want)__."
Okay, this one's a little trickier. Clothes are obviously a good, but because Sally had to go to the mall, the clothes she bought there are probably a want, not a need. However, the question just asked about "clothes" in general, which ARE a need. It's a little questionable, but acceptable. Let's check out the last one.
"Sally went to the pizza parlor. She paid for a __(good, service)__. Food is a __(need, want)__."
This one really got me. Because Sally went to a restaurant where food is prepared for her, she paid for both the good of the food and the service of having it prepared. Because it merely talks about "food," the answer should be "need." But again, because it specified that she went to the pizza parlor, pizza is a want, not a need. So although the "correct" answers are a "good" and a "need," you could easily argue either way.
And come to think of it, on the second question, when Sally paid for the clothes at the mall, which were undoubtedly overpriced, she probably paid for the service of having children in third world countries gather the materials and construct the clothes at the American equivalent of one dollar a month and at terrifying working conditions, the shipping of the finished products, the paychecks of CEOs that decided to outsource the company, and the employees of the store who marked up the price of the product by 75%. So, in fact, she paid for their services as well as the good itself.
With all that in mind, I wrote off the worksheet as stupid, cookie-cutter fodder common in most traditional classrooms across the country and handed the stack back to my friend.
But today I thought back to it and all of the comments I had. Wouldn't it be great if my students thought these thoughts as well? Wouldn't it be cool if I could use this silly worksheet to ignite these thoughts?
And then I thought, couldn't I use these silly worksheets to explain the molds that other teachers and other people in the world will try to fit them into? I could tell them, "This is what they will give you. And you know the right answers. That is, you know what answers they will be grading for. And you can try to talk to them about it, like we did together, but chances are, they won't listen. So you just have to put the answer you know that they want. And if you don't know, just guess. You may have guessed what they want correctly, and you may have guessed incorrectly, but it doesn't matter. Take your C and go sit back down because there's nothing more you can do with that kind of person. They just want to grade for what they think is correct and give you a score and label you and fit you into a category. And it doesn't matter. What matters is that you know that there's more to knowledge than that."
So that's what worksheets will be for in my classroom--preparing my students for the terrible teachers they will have in the future. Steeling their hearts for it and instilling more confidence into them. I look forward to the wonderful conversations about worksheets I will have with my students.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
An Introduction to Cooperative Education (with links to Teacher Tom)
Earlier this month, my husband and I took a trip to Kansas City. On our first day, we had a nice, romantic walk along the plaza in search of a local gourmet burger place he wanted to check out. We found it, and other nice-looking businesses, right next to an early childhood Montessori preschool connected to a temple. I wish I had a picture to show, but even a picture wouldn't do it justice. The feeling I got as I walked along the outside the building I knew wonderful things had and did happen inside, it was a sort of excitement mixed with recognition and nostalgia. What an atmosphere it had! We walked down a little ramp and into our hip burger joint, and the feeling wouldn't leave me alone. I was considering the dream I had recently. I looked the school up on my phone while we waited for our order. Could it be? Was this the school I had dreamed about? Was this Marketplace Education in action?
It was not, of course. It was a regular Montessori preschool, just located on the plaza next to some local businesses. The website did have me intrigued at, "families work together to provide children with the best possible educational environment," however. That was part of my dream, after all, the parents as the business owners and education assistants inside the school.
But that's about where the similarities ended between my dream school and the school on the plaza.
Today an education blogger that I follow posted a new post about coop schools. He's been teaching in a cooperative preschool for the entire time that I've been following his blog (for way longer, actually, more than 10 years). It's been staring me in the face from his sidebar all this time. Of course I had read many of his posts in which parents take a center role. But I wasn't ready to learn yet. "When the student is ready to learn, the teacher will appear."
I read Teacher Tom's post about teaching in a cooperative preschool and subsequently, every post he has written with the "cooperative" label. I nearly cried at each word. THIS was closer to the school in my dream.
I have a lot of learning ahead of me. How does a coop school really function? How does one get started? How would an elementary coop differ from its preschool counterpart?
"Sometimes I describe us as a bunch of families who have decided to homeschool their kids together." It sounds perfect, Teacher Tom. I look forward to learning as much as I can, and perhaps even my own venture into cooperative education.
It was not, of course. It was a regular Montessori preschool, just located on the plaza next to some local businesses. The website did have me intrigued at, "families work together to provide children with the best possible educational environment," however. That was part of my dream, after all, the parents as the business owners and education assistants inside the school.
But that's about where the similarities ended between my dream school and the school on the plaza.
Today an education blogger that I follow posted a new post about coop schools. He's been teaching in a cooperative preschool for the entire time that I've been following his blog (for way longer, actually, more than 10 years). It's been staring me in the face from his sidebar all this time. Of course I had read many of his posts in which parents take a center role. But I wasn't ready to learn yet. "When the student is ready to learn, the teacher will appear."
I read Teacher Tom's post about teaching in a cooperative preschool and subsequently, every post he has written with the "cooperative" label. I nearly cried at each word. THIS was closer to the school in my dream.
I have a lot of learning ahead of me. How does a coop school really function? How does one get started? How would an elementary coop differ from its preschool counterpart?
"Sometimes I describe us as a bunch of families who have decided to homeschool their kids together." It sounds perfect, Teacher Tom. I look forward to learning as much as I can, and perhaps even my own venture into cooperative education.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Classroom Libraries
Teachers will go to great lengths to keep their classroom libraries looking nice. Many have checkout policies for borrowing books to prevent them from being stolen. Some even include a kind of temporary barter system by taking something that the student will obviously want back by the end of class, like a shoe.
These teachers are very concerned about their books because they, undoubtedly, have funded them out of pocket from expensive bookstores. New books aren't cheap. But children don't care if you bought your books from Barns & Nobel. Worn books represent loved books. They have been read and enjoyed by many people. Even books without pictures on their covers will find their way into students' hands.
But many children in this country don't have access to books. Many don't have a single book in their home. They may not even be able to make it to the public library safely. There are organizations that work very hard to supply these kids with books to read. But for some, it's too late. Many children already despise reading. It's a horrible truth that hard for me to even think about.
So, in my opinion, if a student cares enough about a book in the classroom library to steal it, someone's doing something right. If a student cares enough about a book to steal it, I believe that they should have it. Sure, the student may not have the proper ethics yet to know that stealing is wrong, but at least they haven't given up reading. At least they have the motivation to want to own something that will lead to their own growth. And perhaps they may get to the point where ethics matter more.
I have a large collection of picture books and young adult novels that I've gotten for cheap from half-priced bookstores and garage sales. I don't even have a classroom of my own yet, I don't even know what grade I'll be teaching, but I've already gotten my classroom library ready to go. And I hope many of my books are stolen.
Edit: My husband says it still promotes miscreant thievery and ill ethics to have these philosophies, even if I don't announce them to my students. Perhaps I will have some sort of no-checkout take-home policy of my classroom library books. I don't want to give books as any type of reward (perhaps other than for simply completing a year in my classroom), and I don't want to have a situation where I'm allowing each student to take a book but "Megan" already took the one that "Jose" wanted because she got to go up before him. I'll have to see what I can come up with.
These teachers are very concerned about their books because they, undoubtedly, have funded them out of pocket from expensive bookstores. New books aren't cheap. But children don't care if you bought your books from Barns & Nobel. Worn books represent loved books. They have been read and enjoyed by many people. Even books without pictures on their covers will find their way into students' hands.
But many children in this country don't have access to books. Many don't have a single book in their home. They may not even be able to make it to the public library safely. There are organizations that work very hard to supply these kids with books to read. But for some, it's too late. Many children already despise reading. It's a horrible truth that hard for me to even think about.
So, in my opinion, if a student cares enough about a book in the classroom library to steal it, someone's doing something right. If a student cares enough about a book to steal it, I believe that they should have it. Sure, the student may not have the proper ethics yet to know that stealing is wrong, but at least they haven't given up reading. At least they have the motivation to want to own something that will lead to their own growth. And perhaps they may get to the point where ethics matter more.
I have a large collection of picture books and young adult novels that I've gotten for cheap from half-priced bookstores and garage sales. I don't even have a classroom of my own yet, I don't even know what grade I'll be teaching, but I've already gotten my classroom library ready to go. And I hope many of my books are stolen.
Edit: My husband says it still promotes miscreant thievery and ill ethics to have these philosophies, even if I don't announce them to my students. Perhaps I will have some sort of no-checkout take-home policy of my classroom library books. I don't want to give books as any type of reward (perhaps other than for simply completing a year in my classroom), and I don't want to have a situation where I'm allowing each student to take a book but "Megan" already took the one that "Jose" wanted because she got to go up before him. I'll have to see what I can come up with.
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