Comment

Comment by Barry Lane on May 24, 2009 at 8:36pm

No problem discussing stuff here, you wall people, but the main discussion is above , labeled part 1. Get off the wall and join in when you get a minute.

Brenda's Bouncer

Comment by Ken C on May 24, 2009 at 7:09pm

Cool. An ambidextrous discussion. Half of it is above in the discussion forum, the other half is below on the comment wall. A quirk of Ningdoms, I think, much like frogs being royalty in the kingdoms of yore.

Anyhow, I'm all there on the CHOICE bit, only with caveats. I've been a dyed-in-the-wool 1/2 hour of reading assigner every night ever since I first read Nancie Atwell's stuff (and that's going back to the Grover Cleveland Administration, I believe). But we have to assign certain books, too, according to the 8th grade curriculum. So we do.

As for papers, it's more like a republic than a direct democracy when it comes to choice. That is, we choose the genre of the paper, then allow kids a choice on the topic within that genre.

Once upon a Newsweek, I just let kids write whatever they wanted to in a Writer's Workshop that would've made the Ancient Greeks proud, democracy-wise. Only many took advantage of that freedom or really didn't challenge themselves very much. They wrote little. They wrote the same stuff over and over.

My compromise: I assign expository, persuasive, descriptive, memoir, poetry, and now multi-genre -- then turn 'em loose. Probably the purists disagree with this, but that's just the way it is.

But choice, worth fighting for? It's #1.

Comment by Penny Kittle on May 24, 2009 at 6:11pm

Nice vision, Paul. My daughter went to a literature program last summer at a private school and each book they read was for keeps... including her notes on the texts, etc. What an obvious move. One of my goals this fall is to maximize every bit of creative energy I can to get classroom libraries in all of my colleagues' rooms. And yes to newspaper subscriptions, the best periodicals, RSS feeds for each student... read to live.

Comment by Penny Kittle on May 24, 2009 at 5:31pm

I think it is easy to lose sight of good ideas when bad ones dominate the discussion. The more we accept that the current conditions are the way things are, the less likely we are to creatively work around those we can. One thing I love about this book is clarity. If we can boil down what we know is important to six literacy principles worth fighting for... to articulate for ourselves, our students, their parents, and our colleagues what we're willing to go to the mat for, well, then that's a start.

So what makes your list of six? I'll tell you choice in reading and writing are worth fighting for in my mind. Everything starts there with me.

Comment by Jutti Marsh on May 21, 2009 at 10:11pm

I am going to get this book ASAP! My district has gone crazy over data! We are spending millions on "periodic assessments" for math and science. They are laying off teachers and increasing class size but refuse to let go of these and other costly assessments.

Comment by Brenda Krupp on May 18, 2009 at 11:55am

I have posted a discussion on Part 1 of this fantastic book. Consider responding to any part of chapter one and let the conversation flow. Parts of this chapter had me clenching my fists and shaking them at the "dept. of ed" and other parts made me want to shake colleagues and wake them up to the realities of teaching. But I am an optimist so my posts will be positive and will lead us to consider what we do well.

Hope you are enjoying this book! READ on!

Comment by Betty R, Mellberg on May 18, 2009 at 9:17am

Haven't taken the opportunity to read his book yet, I do imagine it is as good as all of his other books; however, will not have the opportunity to read it by the 18th,

Comment by Joy on May 17, 2009 at 9:46pm

Michele, That is a good interview!

Comment by Michele on May 17, 2009 at 9:42pm

Ordered the book for 17.55 and it will deliver on may 22...waiting...

I listened to a great interview @ http://www.nhpr.org/node/11984 that featured Ralph Fletcher and Thomas Newkirk talking about their books on how to support 'boy writers'. It is certainly worth the listen...enjoy.

Comment by Joy on May 16, 2009 at 10:31pm

I will live vicariously through you all until I can get the book. I've heard so much about it, sounds fabulous!

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