There was a specific passage from this chapter that I particularly liked, Beers says she wants to "teach them how to struggle with a text" successfully. i found this to be a very interesting way to look at the situation. No matter what, as a reader, there will almost always be a type of text that you find difficult to read, but if you know how to successfully struggle through the text hopefully it won't seem so difficult.
You never really think of the hidden meanings behind questions and if I did I never noticed it until I read this chapter. At first the question may seem so simple and straight forward, until you get to the answer, which just seems to complicate matters. It seems like it is very important for the student to understand exactly what they are asking and in order to do that we need to understand how to help them understand what they need to know or ask to get the answer they are looking for. Some students are still trying to learn how to think and that's a big part of becoming a independent reader. They need to become involved and ask the right questions as hard as that may be.
The strategies in this chapter also act as an eye-opener to the importance of confidence as a reader and as a person.
I also found that statement about teaching them how to struggle successfully interesting. You'd think that if a student couldn't read a complicated text you would just give them something easier to read, but this idea means that all students should be able to read anything, even if they struggle, they will just know what to do as they are struggling.
ReplyDeleteI as well found the concept of teaching students to struggle with a book whether it is a text, a novel, or some other form of print media intriguing. It made me remember back to when I was becoming a reader. I had a very encouraging family and especially in the person of my mother. On the other hand I had a teacher who was not. It was not so much what she did to embarrass me as a learner by escorting me out of her class and into what she called a “lower level” reading class. But the fact that she just assumed I was a bad reader based on an early spelling test and one or two read-alouds. She never considered the fact that maybe I was just unsure of myself or anxious to be reading in front of my peers. She never knew and probably never even considered that I had already read the “The Grapes of Wrath” in an agreement with my mother just so I could read the Victorian romance novel mistress of Mellyn. I was a fourth grader emerging as a young reader. I was learning to struggle with books. This teacher could have helped me learn how to struggle better and more effectively. Instead she put me into a class that she deemed easier for me. Two things happened there. First, I never had to try hard or push myself and still got high scores. Second when something was too hard, whether it be boring, or confusing, or new to me, or even just something I did not want to read and therefore a struggle—too much of a challenge—I simply put it down and looked for easier more appealing text.
ReplyDeleteNow to this day as a learner there are times I would rather run from the struggle than face it head on. I never truly developed good strategies on my own and am often still overtaken by frustration, tired eyes, or just disinterest. As an adult learner I have found ways to compensate for this weakness but am excited about learning more ways so while I help my students I can also help myself.
The second point you bring up about the multitude of questions behind any given single question is confounding. It leaves me asking my single question: How we will ever get to the bottom of it all? Great post! I am looking forward to hearing more from you. Peace, MPN
Hey Jared! I agree that the student needs to know what questions they need to ask. It's hard for us teachers to figure out the answer of unasked questions. I liked how you brought up that these students are still learning how to think and we're going to have to do our best to help dig out the questions that they're trying to ask. Beers said, "studying the process is far different than grading the product". (11) I think this accurately describes the fact that we need to teach our students how to articulate their questions so they can find the answers.
ReplyDeleteI like this quote as well.
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