As I read this weeks chapters in Building Adolescent Literacy in Today’s English Classroom I found
myself highlighting a lot but simply writing things like “good call” or “so
true!” or one time I even wrote “Booyah!” Dr. Bomer’s concepts are things I’ve
thought about before but haven’t been able to put into words and he presents
his ideas in such a clear and exciting way.
I only wish I could have read this section about
conversation before observing this week! I observe Reading II, the name doesn’t
give this class justice. It sounds so banal but what happens in that classroom
is, for lack of a better word, magic. My CT is so engaged and encourages her
students without them even realizing it. I observed her give a great lesson
about visualization and after I walked around conferencing with students about
what images they were seeing in their books. I’ll admit…it got awkward. I
enjoyed getting to know the students and talking to them but it was hard to
draw out of them more than just the specific image they were seeing in their
book. I know that this doesn’t come naturally and that it takes practice, but I
was surprise how difficult it was, even with books I’ve read before. That’s why
we observe experienced teachers! I found our conversations veering from what we
were supposed to be talking about and I needed to steer it back to their books
rather than their cruel volleyball coach. These conversations are important,
however; by talking to students about things outside of class I get to know
them better and they start to understand that they can trust me; but the middle
of class isn’t the time. But I digress…
After reading chapter eight, I realized
I was doing some of the things Dr. Bomer warned against when starting a
conversation with students. I asked questions I knew the answers too and as a
result the conversation didn’t really go anywhere. It’s important for the
students to lead and mediate the discussion. By steering the conversation only
in the direction I want it to go we could miss out on some great insights. I never realized that was the consequence of
asking questions I knew the answer to until I put it into practice. I feel
better prepared to have meaningful conversations after our readings for this
week. I am just an awkward person, though, so I hope I can get past my social ineptitudes to really get to know these kiddos and what they're thinking about while theyr'e reading. I really want to have the kind of conversation I would have with my English IV AP teacher are the kind I want to have with my students. Those conversations are a major reason I decided to become a teacher myself. I would walk out of class feeling like I just
had a major breakthrough in a therapy session.
There were several times where everyone would let out a collective sigh,
as if we discovered the meaning of life. It’s not that my teacher necessarily
said anything enlightening or guided the conversation the way she wanted it to
go but she let us have a conversation for ourselves. At times, it veered away
from what would be seen as appropriate at an uptight Catholic school; but it
was a safe space we needed away from the prying eyes of the nuns. That's what all students need, a safe space for conversations.
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