My name is Merle Patterson-Jobe, I am an educator and have experienced teaching at levels from early childhood to adult education. My interest in reading began very early in my teaching career, after I was assigned to a standard two class, having taught a standard five class for a period of time.
My challenges begun on the very first day I entered the class room and attempted to introduce a reading activity to the class. Reflecting on my knowledge base at that time, I will now confess that I was limited, but I knew enough to realize that my class needed help and needed it quickly. That was the start of my interest in reading.
I was further encouraged by a senior teacher who appointed herself as my reading guide and what a good guide she proved to be. Her encouragement led me to be trained and to function as a Reading Facilitator some years later, still this training proved inadequate if students and teachers were to benefit from excellent coaching in reading.
There was a burning desire to address the needs of those who were struggling and to ensure that they received excellent instructions. More important though, was the realization that classroom teachers at the primary level, and more so at the secondary level, were unprepared mentally as well as pedagogically to address the reading challenges our students were encountering. I recognized I could help to stem the flow of students leaving school unable to read if I had more information to share.
My longing to make a difference, to encourage teachers the way I was encouraged, to share with them what others have done and found to be successful, to work with parents and their children to widen the net of literacy and to improve my skills to be a more competent reading facilitator, has led me to be a participant in the first class of locally trained Reading Specialists.
This was an experience I will want to remember
ReplyDeleteHi Merle. Your experience is interesting and meaningful.The question now is: How do we collectively and individually impact the system to effect student improvement in reading literacy? Perhaps we will need to form a professional association that will foster continued discussion/exploration of pertinent issues concerning developing literacy in our schools and to make recommendations to the policy makers and administrators. At the end of the day, I believe that meaningful, sustained collaboration is key to achieving our literacy goals.
ReplyDeleteMerle,
ReplyDeleteYour blog was quite insightful. Like you, I was challenged pedagogically to address the reading problems of my students. Although the number of students of each class was fewer, I believe that the longing to make a difference was just as intense. What I love about this M Ed Reading Course is that it brings so many like minds with similar issues and similar goals.I know that as we work together to make new connections and experience new insights, we would be able to create a more literal society.