Chapters 7 & 8--My thinking on this book

Promise: This will have a positive ending! J

First of all, a confession: up until these chapters, I have not liked the tone of this book. And that confused me a bit, because I inherently agreed with the philosophy and content behind Routman’s research. Granted, I have not read anything else by Routman, but in the first couple of chapters of this book she appeared to me to have a negative attitude towards teachers. “What I didn’t see then was how their teacher’s narrow vision would permanently impact each child’s life,” (3). “I have never been in a classroom or school where the expectations are too high. In fact, I continue to be stunned at how little is expected from students” (10). “Everywhere I teach, I find that students’ voices have been silenced” (20). This list could go on.

In addition, I have a hard time recognizing an expert in education when that expert is really no longer in the teaching capacity; yes, Routman is a coach, and yes, she is a teacher-researcher, but all of her case scenarios seem to be focused on a sample lesson (Norman comes up quite a bit) which runs for the same amount of time. One week. And while the research does have the consistency of approach, The Optimal Learning Model, and therefore does validate the practice, I had a hard time reading about Routman coming in and saving the day for well-meaning, but sub-standard, teachers, especially when so much of her advice directly contradicts what we are told to do by our superiors. “Stop while the kids’ energy is still high” she says—but our evaluators are looking for “bell to bell” instruction (41). It is easy to take one idea and one lesson and “wow” students and teachers for a week, especially when you stop when the energy and enthusiasm is high. It is much harder to be in the classroom, day in and day out, live with successes and failures, and still press on to find a way to reach each student.

This is what I believe about teaching: most teachers go into teaching with a passion and love for the profession. We are well-meaning, but we are also well-educated and dedicated to continuing education for ourselves and our students. We grasp at good ideas, we change direction on a dime if what we were doing isn’t working, we ask for help when we need it. And what is that called? We say that we “beg, borrow, and steal.” Again our own “professional jargon” makes us sound little more than magpies…desperate for someone to come in and save the day.

Yet in later chapters, Routman talked about empowering teachers. She says we must be advocates for our students. So, Routman understands that teachers are the only hope for educational success, and yet she considers very few teachers competent? By her own admission, she comes back to the schools she visited and notices that nothing has changed. She writes, “I have rarely seen coaching in a school or district that, after a few years, impacts student achievement” (115). So…what does this mean? In the last chapter, I finally understood where Routman’s beliefs (and attitude/tone!) coincide exactly with mine. She writes, “I have been teaching long enough to know I don’t have the power or the right to change anyone. Second, lasting change happens from within. My work, at best, is a catalyst” (127).


I think Routman put into writing something very brave, and very, very powerful. The only people capable of initiating a school-wide pedagogy change are teachers. The rest—the principals, literacy coaches, curriculum coordinators—they need to be the catalysts and then resources to help teachers change. They need to empower teachers to research, to observe, to change, to grow. In fifteen years we may have a new educational model we are encouraged to follow, and inevitably it will be up to teachers to determine whether or not that new model works. And so Routman concludes that attaining and maintaining high student achievement depends, not on an “expert” coming in and doing a residency for a week, but “on all teachers being knowledgeable and effective…there must be a core group who keep things going” (123). I think Routman pursued a venue of education that allowed her to see many schools, many teachers, and many students. I believe that she is knowledgeable in her craft. But in the end, I think that she understands that her research is meant to give teachers the voice they need to stand firm in advocating for students and for the teaching profession. She acknowledges that teachers need to “simplify” instruction, “have more fun” in the classroom, and work smarter, not harder. All these things I believe teachers know inherently, but we get bogged down with all the rest. We need someone to remind us. Routman quoted Arthur Miller when he said, “the longer I worked the more certain I felt that as improbable as it might seem, there were moments when an individual conscience was all that could keep a world from falling.” I believe that she referenced this specific quote because Routman knows that all meaningful, quality instruction begins and ends with the teachers who have the endurance and the passion to stay in the classroom to plan, assess, and work for all students, all the time. And so I believe Routman when she encourages us, as teachers, to “rise above the distractions and regulations and naysyers. Focus on the children in front of you, and create genuine hope for their futures. They deserve the best of what you have to offer. They are counting on you" (131.)

We can do it.