Angela, Thank you for getting to the heart of the matter. Many people (not just educators) believe that just because children are small they do not possess the intelligence or emotion to find connections to reading or the world in general. Our goal in education should be to touch the entire child and not piece together learning or understanding. Amen, sister.
AngelaMaiers
· 3 months ago
Deb- This really is the heart of reading and the heart of the matter. Without meaning- what is the point? As you understand- young children are ready, they are capable, and they are waiting for the opportunity to show us what they can do!
KJanowski
· 4 months ago
Angela, I love what you are saying here. I'm concerned that the National Reading Panel's findings have caused us to lose the big picture ideas that you are talking about in this post. When we concentrate on the "pieces" of reading, we lose the big ideas and especially the joy. Those kindergarten students are getting it on the second day of school. Let's hope they don't lose it in our attempts to "teach" the skill of reading and it's five main components.
AngelaMaiers
· 3 months ago
Karen- I so appreciate your thoughtful comments. Your passion and belief in students comes through in every word. I, too, am concerned at how NCLB has narrowed our definition of reading and in doing has limited how we define and explore what it truly means to be a reader. As you said, the pieces without the whole make so sense. Let's hope for a new definition and new vision as NCLB goes through new channels.
zack_allen
· 4 months ago
There has been a big push in early childhood for "developmentally appropriate practice (DAP)". That push has helped more than it has hurt. It has kept standardized testing out of kindergarten and helped to keep the balance from leaning too heavily to academics. However, some people have taken its meaning too far and made broad position statements that children under the age of 6 should not blah, blah, blah. To me DAP simply means differentiation - every child progresses at their own pace and usually going through the same stages. A child can not learn how to read a decodable book before they have letter sound connections, etc.
While some students (probably very few in actuality) may not be ready for big idea thinking, many are. It is a crime not to provide the opportunity for big idea thinking when many are developmentally ready. I heard recently that kids as young as 2 years old can infer. We often underestimate the abilities of our youngest children.
Some children (I was one) are whole to part learners. We need to see the big ideas and see how they fit, before we can begin to focus on the individual skills go into it.
AngelaMaiers
· 3 months ago
Zach- DAP and the work of organizations like NAEYC have made huge gains into validating the contribution of early learners. I love your definition of DAP and see the concept applying to learners of all ages.
With opportunity, we will be amazed at what our youngest minds are ready to share! And yes, two year olds can infer! Just watch a child interact with the facial expressions of their parents. They exactly when mommy and daddy are happy, sad, mad, excited...all without one word being spoken!
All Comments
Thank you for getting to the heart of the matter. Many people (not just educators) believe that just because children are small they do not possess the intelligence or emotion to find connections to reading or the world in general. Our goal in education should be to touch the entire child and not piece together learning or understanding. Amen, sister.
This really is the heart of reading and the heart of the matter. Without meaning- what is the point? As you understand- young children are ready, they are capable, and they are waiting for the opportunity to show us what they can do!
I love what you are saying here. I'm concerned that the National Reading Panel's findings have caused us to lose the big picture ideas that you are talking about in this post. When we concentrate on the "pieces" of reading, we lose the big ideas and especially the joy. Those kindergarten students are getting it on the second day of school. Let's hope they don't lose it in our attempts to "teach" the skill of reading and it's five main components.
I so appreciate your thoughtful comments. Your passion and belief in students comes through in every word. I, too, am concerned at how NCLB has narrowed our definition of reading and in doing has limited how we define and explore what it truly means to be a reader. As you said, the pieces without the whole make so sense. Let's hope for a new definition and new vision as NCLB goes through new channels.
While some students (probably very few in actuality) may not be ready for big idea thinking, many are. It is a crime not to provide the opportunity for big idea thinking when many are developmentally ready. I heard recently that kids as young as 2 years old can infer. We often underestimate the abilities of our youngest children.
Some children (I was one) are whole to part learners. We need to see the big ideas and see how they fit, before we can begin to focus on the individual skills go into it.
DAP and the work of organizations like NAEYC have made huge gains into validating the contribution of early learners. I love your definition of DAP and see the concept applying to learners of all ages.
With opportunity, we will be amazed at what our youngest minds are ready to share! And yes, two year olds can infer! Just watch a child interact with the facial expressions of their parents. They exactly when mommy and daddy are happy, sad, mad, excited...all without one word being spoken!