Upon
reading Kylene Beers’ chapter entitled “The Measure of Success” I was
challenged to reconsider the educational system and how it works or does not
work for students; as well as the definition of modern day literacy. The
author’s inclusion of real stories at the beginning of each topic to illustrate
her point really influenced my reading of the text; as I often tend to view
education in an old fashioned traditionalist sense. These little anecdotes at
the beginning of each section compelled me to remember that the main goal of
teaching is not simply to convey information, but to help students grow into
successful individuals.
The
author’s first story told of a boy named Derek placed in a remedial reading
class out of a need to further improve his standardized test score. This story
showed how, it is very easy for educators to get caught up in academic
easements that we forget about all the outside factors that contribute to
performance in school. Upon reading this I was charged to view student scores
and attitudes with increased compassion and respect as the prescribed school
system often hinders students of low socio-economic status’ ability to succeed.
As
the chapter continued, Beers introduced the topic of underground literacy, once
again illustrating that there is often more behind a student’s achievement than
what is on a graded page. After telling the story of Collin, an avid
environmental blogger, who was receiving low grades in English, the author went
on to discuss what literacy in twenty-first century looks like. I found this
section of the chapter the most interesting and challenging as it outlined what
and how schools should be teaching while illustrating how they are presently
falling short. As a future teacher I found this broad picture inspiring if not
a little overwhelming. How am I as one teacher supposed to make an impact on
this broad system of thought and teach my students what they need to know to be
successful while nurturing them as individuals?
great question, Katie! Sometimes as teachers is easy to get overwhelmed or lost in the bigger picture. That said, I wonder if teachers too often limit their scope to solely their classrooms. I think teachers' voices are the most important for when lawmakers are making decision, so I try to remind myself of that duty too - to try to help create policies that are best for all!
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