Sometimes it is easy to get excited about a new course of action, thinking it will be the magic bullet to solve all of your problems. Education tends to fall into this trap frequently, jumping from one initiative to another, hoping that THIS will be the thing to make a difference for that difficult student, or close gaps of 5 grade levels in math. However, one will never become proficient, much less an expert on anything when jumping around so frequently. Initiatives that are the most effective aren't the most exciting. The ideas that don't go away, that you continually are hammering away at, are the ones that will stick. Those are the strategies and concepts and approaches that will become second nature in your classroom. Only then, will you see the promised result that you hoped for in the beginning.
As a school, we have grown because of a strong focus on one thing: All students will graduate from RHS college and career ready, meeting standard in all required state testing. This hasn't changed since 2011 and our continued work toward that singular goal has created notable change throughout our building. This focus is an easy one to work toward, because it aligns to every subject area and is important for every student. The literacy initiative that we have set forth also promises great reward if we continue to make it a focus in our classrooms. However, I would argue that it is a focus that some have a harder time buying into. It feels as though it doesn't align as cleanly into our classes. It seems like another hoop to jump through. Consequently, it risks falling by the wayside as many other great ideas in education have in the past. The only way to make it successful is to do the work. Three years into an initiative, the work is no longer new and exciting. It can feel like drudgery at times and so many will slowly back off. However, the only way to make great gains in literacy is if EVERY TEACHER is integrating it into their classes EVERY DAY. It doesn't have to be fancy, but it needs to be consistent. Someone I very much admire would often say, and I paraphrase, "Great teachers consistently plan good lessons." It doesn't take superstar lessons every day to be great. It takes consistently good planning to be great. With that in mind, every day you lesson plan, I challenge you to think, "How can I make this lesson better by integrating reading, writing, speaking, or listening? How can my students better understand the learning target BECAUSE I integrated reading, writing, speaking, or listening?" Once you have answered those questions, it will be easy to integrate literacy into your lesson and it will be easy to write a literacy target for the day. Do the hard work that comes after the newness wears off. Focus on literacy even when it seems monotonous. Stay the course. It'll be worth it.
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AuthorTeachers and instructional coaches integrating literacy into classes. Archives
March 2017
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