Letter+to+Dr.+McKool

April 28, 2011 Dear Dr. McKool, This semester has been an extremely exciting one for me. I have learned so much that has changed my future teaching without a doubt. The main thing I have learned that has completely altered me as a teacher is the fact that giving students a choice could make or break their learning experience. I didn’t realize how true this was until I looked back on my learning experiences while I was growing up. If I had these opportunities I believe that I would have been able to stay interested in subjects such as Social Studies and Science. My teachers always had us read passages from the text, we were currently reading, and answer questions that went along with them. Literacy is a subject that has always been a difficult one. I was always a strong reader and I still am today, but I have always been a struggling writer. I know the subjects are supposed to support one another, but that has never been the case with me. Writing was my biggest fear and now I admit that I am no longer afraid of it. While we worked through writer’s workshop this semester I found my growing more confident in my abilities. I would write stories that were personal ones, making them easier to write, to try to strengthen my abilities. I truly believe that it has. I know that I will try to continue this process from now on because if I could gain this small amount of confidence in once semester, I can only imagine what would happen if I continued. There are many different ways to work with literacy and I have learned many of them this semester. The literacy framework by Fountas and Pinnell was something that I couldn’t be happier that I learned. I always wondered how I would be able to incorporate literacy into my day. I knew that I would need to discover this soon and this book answered my prayers. It was a system that is very easy to follow and that explains everything in extreme details. Fountas and Pinnell designed their framework in three easy to understand sections. These blocks are Language and Word Study, Reading Workshop and Writing Workshop. These different blocks cover the many different ways we must work with a child. We have discussed in class that using two and a half hours to three hours for literacy could be impractical in a school setting. This idea frightened me at first. I now understand that I must use the literacy time for my other subjects as well. I know that I will be able to do this successfully as a teacher because of this framework. The book // English Language Learners // was an extremely interesting book for me to read. I was able to relate to it constantly because ELL students could be treated similarly to special education students. I read the book and realized that almost everything I have learned in my special education classes could be directly applied to these students as well. There is a quote that states that, “school administrators, curriculum specialist, and classroom teachers all have the same goal: to enable every student to succeed academically”. All students are supposed to be able to have every service possible to succeed. However, as we learn in special education and in this book there is not always the possibility to have this happen. This book has many scenarios, which show that this would not be able to work, especially in the larger school systems. It is extremely sad when these children are not able to get all of the services that they need to succeed. The book spoke about how each district can handle the ELL students in extremely different ways. One thing I do wish is that every where in the United States could get proper services for our Special education and ELL students because they are the future of this country. If the students are not taken care of there is no way for us to help them either. The Fresno Unified School District requires that all their teachers be trained to assist ELL students. I wish that all teachers could be required to learn how to help ELL students. I am beginning to believe that all teachers should be prepared for every type of student. Average children are an individuals and will need certain supports to succeed, however there are many more than just average students in our school systems. The country is moving towards inclusion for all types of students and I believe all teachers should be prepared for this future. I couldn’t imagine not being able to assist a child in my classroom with something like this. The book // English Language Learners // taught me how to be the best possible teacher I can be. I will always strive to make sure that the children that need my assistance will receive my help. Fountas and Pinnell spoke about many different parts of their literacy framework however, one of my favorite things we did this semester was the Literature Circles. My group was one of the groups reading the Giver. I found this group to be one of the things I looked forward to most. This group is a complicated book, but I enjoyed it very much. The group and I were constantly having a fast paced discussion about what had happened in the book. Some of us were able to point out different aspects of the books that others were not able to understand. Any time this happened it added more to the group discussion once again. I loved discussing the different ideas because it added more understanding of the book for me. I know that my future students will be able to use this as well. Discussing books of any kind will bring it a new level for anyone. I know as a teacher I will facilitate this by sitting in on group conversations to see if they are speaking in the right direction. The teacher will be able to make sure that the students stay on task and work through the literature circles together. I know that this is something that is extremely possible because my cooperating teacher Mrs. Savur did this quite often. She was probably one of the best teachers I could have witnessed in Millstone River School. She did not have us involved in the actual lessons often, but I believe we learned much more just watching how she interacted with the children and used different strategies. One of these was that she used Fountas and Pinnells framework and while doing this made history come alive. She would use her read aloud and their independent writing time to supplement history. This made it easier for her to fit in all literacy possible. She would teach a lesson where she had the students act out all parts of the American Revolution. Some students would be specific characters while other clusters could be the general soldiers. The students have been practicing this from the beginning of the year, but I am completely amazed how well each child gets into their part. After, they would translate that lesson and decide how they could use that lesson to make their stories come alive. I could never thank her for how much I learned as simply a witness in her classroom. She is one of those teachers that as a student, you will remember for the rest of your lives. I find myself learning as a teacher always. There are always opportunities for teachers to grow. I learn from my students all of the time because as a teacher you must always adapt your teaching style to your students. I know that every time I have had the opportunity to go into a classroom I am able to take something out of it that I will use as a future teacher. I know I still must grow before I am ready to take my final steps to becoming a teacher, but I look forward to them. I know student teaching will give me all the confidence in the world, especially in my literacy lessons, to be the best teacher I can be. Thank you so much for everything you have done for me this semester. From working through my lesson sets to showing me that you have confidence in me, I appreciate it more than I can say. You have been an incredible teacher to learn literacy from this semester because you pushed me unlike any other teacher has. I know the books we have read and the discussions we have had, as a class will come with me for many years. Sincerely, Monique