|
|
Post by lsantana36 on May 12, 2016 8:36:06 GMT
What Linda said! Brozo hits hard on the inability of teachers to assist kids with their learning because they're so focused on getting them to pass some standardized test. This always brings me to the same question: why are we still testing!!!?!?? It has been scientifically proven that it doesn't help with learning, but isn't that what school is all about (learning)? I don't think what Brozo had in mind is that boys can't read period as the "Johnny Can't Read" video did, but more so the fact that adolescents are becoming more testing literate instead of learning literate. As much as teachers want their students to pass, students themselves want to pass. Therefore, they pick up books that continue to narrow their mindset and literacy practices, such as SAT/ACT Prep booklets. If FCAT is right around the corner most students are going to have some sort of textbook in their backpack rather than the next J.K. Rowling fantasy novel that has nothing to do with FCAT preparation. It just makes sense, its a vicious circle of narrowing mindsets due to already narrowed mindsets.
|
|
|
|
Post by jamestgardiner on May 12, 2016 12:09:25 GMT
Boys and Literacy
•Slump in achievement and motivation to learn - "4th grade slump"
•Global - But buys have hardest time to overcome it
•Standards - Not helpful; deters boys
-Curriculum becomes more narrow to meet standards; Should broaden to reach boys
•Entry-point - first texts that capture the imagination of a reader EX: Farmer Boy
-Expose boys to all potential dimensions to being masculine; Pop culture tends to lead us to think of maleness as "macho"; This leads to boys hiding their insecurities.
- Literature can show us there are different ways to be masculine
•Is there a connection between bullying and literacy? Bullies tend to be those who are insecure about something, i.e. weight, intelligence, etc.
-Boys are typically made fun of for reading a lot. Are they being made fun of by others who do not read as well?
|
|
|
|
Post by aholcomb on May 12, 2016 12:19:35 GMT
One of the most interesting things mentioned was the fact that the standards are killing literacy in boys. There are many anti-standards advocated out there, but Brozo had one of the most compelling reasons I have ever heard. When teachers are teaching off the tests and getting students ready to take tests all year long, of course some students are going to suffer and Brozo says that many of these students are boys. Because they are not able to broaden their scope and find what they enjoy, they think that they don't like reading and so they do not even try to pick up a book for fun. One of the things that I wish Brozo would have mentioned is that not all books are "boy books" that the boys will enjoy. Offering them a broader scope in all terms may help with this literacy problem. Maureen Johnson's Coverflip, where she started an internet sensation where people were flipping "girl covers" and "boy covers" so that they were either more neutral or had more appeal to the opposite gender is a big proponent of the fact that most books should not be gendered. However, there is still a long way to go in order to get publishers involved in the fight.
|
|
|
|
Post by Angelica on May 12, 2016 12:39:49 GMT
I agree with aholcomb, in that we should be asking why boys in particular experience more literacy setbacks. Brozo emphasizes male archetypes and the ideas surrounding masculinity because he is concerned about the messages boys receive in the media, at home, or school about what it means to be a "man". These gendered messages present hurdles for boys in developing a love for reading. If being a "man" means knowing how to throw a ball or being the fastest or strongest, then those are naturally going to be the pursuits of boys over reaching for novels or poems. That's why positive role models for young boys are a necessity in the context of books or even positive mentors. As educators, we have to change the discourse surrounding reading and manliness.
However, gendered stereotypes and messages are not the only hurdles that boys and girls alike face when it comes to literacy. While an entire generation believes it is the way we teach phonics others still will argue that maybe we need to address the poverty first or maybe it is a war with our "instant" and "microwave" culture and we have to reclaim the attention spans of children. Every generation and culture will have its own ideas about "Why Johnny Can't Read". I think it is important to take into account all these ideas so we can move forward with a holistic approach.
|
|
|
|
Post by jessicadiazr on May 12, 2016 18:28:21 GMT
Images of the literary assumptions that we came up with in class (05/12)
|
|
|
|
Post by jessicadiazr on May 12, 2016 18:29:10 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by jessicadiazr on May 12, 2016 18:29:31 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by george on May 12, 2016 19:59:17 GMT
Thanks Jessica! They look great.
|
|
|
|
Post by tom56omara on May 12, 2016 22:19:41 GMT
"I think allowing children to read books they are interested in throughout grade school is important. I have always enjoyed reading, but when it came to reading something in school that was not interesting to me, I gained no benefit from it. Most of the time I did not complete the reading. But, I also think it is hard to find books that strike the interests of the different students while also challenging them to increase their literacy skills." I somewhat agree with this. As an elementary school student we want to have fun and do the things that we are good at. Reading a book that we don't understand is not going to make us feel confident and it might increase room for failure or just "giving up". My disagreement with the above statement: As a child, when I completed a whole novel in the 3rd grade I was so proud of myself. I completed this novel because it was equal to or lower than my reading level, but it helped me realize the power that books have on our minds. Therefore after 3rd grade I kept reading novels that were close to my reading level because I wanted a good story. "Thomas the Train" wasn't a good story because it was too easy. Instead I chose to read "Ruby Holler" by Sharon Creech. This was the novel that inspired me to read more. Check it out. |
|
|
|
Post by hannahacree on May 16, 2016 17:18:03 GMT
When thinking about my childhood I can identify the books which sparked my interest and were my entry points. However, for me, reading was never as exciting as doing other activities; I would always much rather be out doing an activity than sitting and reading. Although I enjoyed going on adventures through books, I didn't like sitting still for such a long time and thought there was always something more productive or interesting I could be doing than reading for pleasure. I feel this may contribute to the the lack of literacy and lack of interest in reading in boys, as Brozo discussed. Boys may not have an entry point until much later, but I feel the issue may also be that boys do not have strong enough of an entry point to overcome the want to do other, more interesting things.
|
|
|
|
Post by Tiffani on May 17, 2016 2:56:58 GMT
When teaching individuals how to read, I think that it is extremely important to give them all of the tools they will need in order to have the ability to read practically any word on their own. We are taking so much away from people by teaching them using a whole-word approach. I don't think a whole word approach is actually teaching individuals how to read, but more-so how to memorize groupings of letters. Then what happens when the individual gets to a word they've never seen before? How will they successfully read the word without being fully comfortable sounding out phonemes?
In an article titled "Why Johnny Can't Read: 50 Years of Controversy" by Schantz and Zimmer, 2005, it was stated that Rudolph Flesch attacked the whole-word approach for a number of reasons that I agree with. When an individual gets to a word that they've never seen before, their best option is to guess. Individuals need to be held to a higher standard than a dominantly whole-word skill level. I believe that phonemes are a vital part of reading education and learning. I know an individual who reads using the whole-word reading method, and I often catch them saying completely different words than what they are "reading" and even adding in extra letters to words. I also catch this same individual spelling simple words incorrectly, that if they had simply been taught phonics and how to sound words out, etc. they would never make these mistakes. For example spelling the word "dose" instead of "does." This is a twenty-five year old. How did this individual get through this much of their life and still spell such simple words incorrectly I am not sure. It actually worries me that teachers bump students along until they actually graduate high school and still have these issues.
|
|
ksbarber
New Member
Hello, classmates. My name is Kathy. I have my BFA in Film and adding a teaching certificate.
Posts: 18 
|
Post by ksbarber on May 24, 2016 14:40:37 GMT
I liked Jessica's observation in the BROZO readings comments that she found it interesting that Brozo defines literacy entry points as "that first text that captures your imagination".
She commented it is hard for boys to find books that spark their interest. This made me think that if we say that girls do better at writing and reading in the middle school to high school years, then it may be that more writers are targeting books for that age group toward the girls in subject matter. But it is ironic that a larger portion of the great novelists revered by our society are men, but those books are marketed towards adults. Perhaps what we need is for publishers reaching the adolescent-aged readers to be more open ti publishing books that meet the interests and activities of teenaged boys, but without the sex, gore and seediness of the more gruesome popular novels.
I have always considered myself a "writer" and dabbled in that world, but usually thinking in terms of what interested me as a teenage girl or young adult woman. What if
i could write on a subject that interested young men (gaming, sports, gang violence, peer pressures)? Would today's publishers want to go there? I think I have seen more growth in this area and hopefully our teachers and librarians are taking this into consideration when building reading lists and buying books to stock school libraries.
|
|
ksbarber
New Member
Hello, classmates. My name is Kathy. I have my BFA in Film and adding a teaching certificate.
Posts: 18
|
Post by ksbarber on May 24, 2016 15:45:58 GMT
|
|
linda
New Member
Posts: 30
|
Post by linda on May 25, 2016 11:38:39 GMT
Creative way to boost school spirit/pride/belonging that includes more students than the usual sports or club groups.
|
|
