Become an "Expert at Smartness"

This chapter really spoke to me as it seems that the suggestions Regie made are the direction my school Chapin Elementary is headed. We have been doing a Regie Routman in Residence study this year which goes right along with this text. We as a staff have also looked at our school wide beliefs of teaching which was a HUGE task but a meaningful and eye opening one. We have even investigated the idea of creating and implementing Professional Learning communities within our school and have begun to look at how we can more effectively plan for instruction as grade level and leadership teams.

I agree with Regie that having common school wide beliefs that are shared as a WHOLE school and the idea of working effectively as a team are the core to any school and are essential to student success. I also think however, it is important as Regie states," Keep an open mind. Be willing to change your views when research and experience warrant it." We have to remember that as professionals, we are continuously growing and changing too.

I also enjoyed some of Regie's ideas on how to conserve time and energy as it seems we never have have enough time. I liked the idea of stopping when kids' energy is still high- which I admit I sometimes don't do but see now the benefit of this philosophy and will definitely be trying this. I also liked Regie's caution on the use of technology and agree that authentic materials such as books still have a place in our schools.

What were your thoughts?

Advocates for Children

As I begin my reading, I am reminded of how important it is that we, as educators, provide rich literacy experiences for our students. It is true that more and more children enter school lacking many of the basic early literacy experiences that we would expect them to have been exposed to. And so, it is even more vital that we provide opportunities that immerse them in quality literature on a daily, ongoing basis.

We must also keep in mind that as we advocate for children, we must keep our expectations high and believe that all things are possible. Let's not start off another school year checking and chatting over each other's class rolls to "warn" others about students that we share. Let's give ourselves and our students the opportunity to demonstrate and discover strengths within our learning communities from the very start of the school year.

Loving It

Okay, I am on a youth retreat in Myrtle Beach with students from Riverland Hills Baptist church and I have having technical difficulties, so I am attaching my post to this until I have better connection and can sign up for the blog correctly. See below for my first post:As a lovers of all things Regie, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the first two chapters and the beginning of the third. I always appreciate that Regie is an advocate for teachers and students and also sets high expectations. I especially appreciated this quote, “I am passionate about making life easier for teachers and students everywhere while at the same time increasing achievement and raising expectations for what is possible.”The way that Regie requires teachers to move beyond their low expectations for children and see that all students are capable. It must be a team effort of all resources working together in order to support struggling readers and writers, but that isn’t always the case in every school.Creating an “I Can Do It!” environment reminded me of Robin Cox’s phrase, “Believe them into being.” It is our job as teachers to help students believe that they can do anything they set their mind to through raising the expectations set for them. In order to do that, we must use choice words, proper tone of voice and body language in order to provide a welcoming and safe environment for students to feel comfortable taking risks. We also must treat each other, as professionals, this way as well. Through constant celebration of the small things that students accomplish, we CAN “believe them into being.”Finally, having teachers who are more confident and more knowledgeable about the content in which they teacher is crucial in order for us to see test scores and student achievement improve. Only through school wide professional conversation and collaboration can this happen. When teachers show their students that they are life long learners themselves and share that learning with the students and their co-workers, the knowledge base and confidence of the staff can improve.I am looking forward to reading the rest of the book and growing deeper in my knowledge base and confidence. I CAN do it!
June 7, 2010 8:33 PM

Videos

Thanks to Tiffani for reminding us of the videos that go along with our book. You can find them by clicking on the link below!

Regie Video Link

Blogging!

Hello Everyone!

I'm really enjoying reading your posts so far! I just sent email invites to all of you inviting you to create your own blog posts on the site. If you do not receive an email, please let me know--some of you are not on district email, so if this is the case, send me an email so I will have your address!

Keep reading...and blogging!!

Becky

Create an "I Can Do It!" Learning Environment

I had several "Ah-ha" moments while reading this chapter. One, in particular, was doing more shared reading from shared writing texts. Many weeks I am on the hunt for poems and/or big books to use for shared reading when all along I've had an endless number of shared reading material in our shared writing and the students' writings. The idea of turning their written texts into Readers' Theatre scripts is a bonus! I can't wait to use this idea with my students!

I went to Regie's website and watched her videos for this chapter. I highly recommend you watch her video with Antonio. She was fabulous in supporting him as he worked on creating a story about his new baby sister.

Was there anything in this chapter that made you all say "Ah-ha"? If not, what do you think of her video with Antonio?

Look Beyond What You See

After reading this chapter, I realize that I am guilty of being that teacher who shows sympathy for certain students and their unfortunate situations. My expectations for these students are lower and this is something that I realize I need to change as a professional.

Regie also makes a great point when she states that "literature is one of the most powerful ways we educators can connect to our students." I need to make a conscious effort to add more books in my classroom library where my students encounter characters that are much like themselves.

What are some points that stuck out as you all read this chapter?