MY PHILOSOPHY OF LITERACY EDUCATION - SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

My Philosophy of Literacy Education

Something For Everyone

Diane S. Colburn
Viterbo University

Education 640
Dr. Lynda Fernholz, Tenured Professor
October 26, 2013

My Philosophy of Literacy Education: Something For Everyone

Experience teaching in a small Christian school afforded me the opportunity to observe

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teachers of other disciplines and grade levels in a way not possible while I was working in public
high schools. Insight to the challenges of colleagues on a daily basis made it easier to understand
and appreciate their specific struggles. Further, a small staff allowed for a great deal of
flexibility in scheduling and collaboration for thematic units. Our Pre-K through 12th grade
building with shared spaces created an environment for learning with and from one another. It
was a dream world in many ways because a group of people unified in purpose can truly provide
a synergistic atmosphere.
Even with several years of teaching experience and the extra insight provided by working
in that close building, I didnt understand literacy education nor did I feel literacy was part of my
job as a 7 12 grade teacher. My schedule was full with the sciences, some math, social studies,
and phy-ed. I was all about being a team player, but teaching reading was something the
elementary and English teachers did. Certainly students would be proficient readers and writers
by the time they were in 7th grade. Literacy wasnt my concern other than as it pertained to my
own children.
But, teaching literacy did eventually became my job. I hadnt set out to teach literacy and
in fact didnt have a clue that I should be. Drawing on previous learning situations from my
masters degree program, I merely explored options to help my students get through their classes
without hating me and the subject matter. In retrospect, I am amazed at the ease with which
literacy tasks can be included into secondary subjects. It makes perfect sense that every teacher
has a part in literacy education. Society cannot insist that literacy is so important and have
teachers dismiss it. We dont stop working on literacy skills just because the 3rd grade
assessment has been taken, a diploma has been signed, and because evidence of passing grades
are present on a transcript. Literacy is a set of skills that can and should continue to improve

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throughout our lives. From my happenstance experiences I have come to believe that to be most
effective, literacy education should be woven throughout curriculum. Teaching literacy in every
area of the curriculum is more likely attainable when consideration is given to Dr. Richard
Allingtons article: The Six Ts of Effective Elementary Literacy Instruction: What Ive learned
about effective reading instruction from a decade of studying exemplary elementary classroom
teachers.1 My paper will discuss research that supports my philosophy of teaching literature
within the framework of Allingtons 6Ts: Time, Texts, Teach, Talk, Tasks, and Test. Because of
my limited background in both formal literacy and elementary education, it has been necessary
to combine the Ts to prevent duplication in making my points.
Time
Lack of time is a common complaint from everyone on the planet. Our world is all about
having enough time because time is money. Customers need it today and there is no waiting
until tomorrow. However, teachers seem especially aware of time constraints because we have
such a small fraction of a students day and yet have huge societal expectations for our lasting
impact on them. The bell rings and they are gone. Perhaps that is why teachers feel hesitant to
take on more responsibilities, like teaching literacy.
The first year I was teaching in the private school I was in pure survival mode becoming
literate in the new courses I was not really trained for, especially chemistry. In an effort to save
myself time outside of class I started having students correct their papers in class. When that
activity started to take more time than I felt it should, I resorted to simply checking assignments
for completion. Still feeling pressured for time, assignments morphed into just the multiple
choice and true or false questions because they were easier to correct. We simply didnt have
1 Allington, R. (2003). The six ts of effective elementary literacy instruction.

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time to allow for discussions about potential variations in written answers. It didnt take long
before my high school students saw right through those pointless busywork assignments and
were performing horribly. I was performing horribly. We were all unhappy and unmotivated.
One day, thankfully, a student was finally honest and brave enough to kindly tell me my
assignments were a waste of time. I couldnt argue. Robotically following the curriculum in
order to fill the little squares in a grade book, while in a race against time to finish the textbook
was not my dream job. Frantic to regain some sort of positive momentum in the right direction
and find myself as a teacher again, I asked the students for ideas about what they thought we
should do. As a class, we looked at the outcomes for the unit and brainstormed ways we could
learn other than the prescribed methods outlined in the teachers manual. Students became
interested, involved and invested. Every chapter that followed started with a brainstorming
session about what was most interesting, what was probably most important and why, a plan for
how we would tackle the material, a timeline, and what would be put in the grade book.
Once I began to think in terms of priority outcomes for my students rather than daily
assignments from my students, thoughts about what my students should take home at the end of
the day changed. Instead of piles of corrected worksheets and yet another assignment from the
textbook, students were invited to journal about what they considered learning highlights from
the chapter thus far, questions they had, and what they looked forward to learning next. We had
turned a corner in that class with more student-centered, interactive instruction; and collaborated
to develop other learning activities that were more authentic and literacy based. None of us had
experience with teaching literacy, but many of the activities involved much more student
independent reading, research, writing, and presentation. These were the types of activities
students wanted to be doing. With experience, I can reflect that the very things that were keeping

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me busier than I needed to be were the things referred to as stuff in Allingtons paper.
Texts and Teach
One of the textbooks that several of the 7th and 8th grade science students struggled with
had a readability score at grade 10 and above. I did some research. According to the publisher it
was indeed designed to be the 7th grade level book and readability was not a concern for them.
Their philosophy was that offering challenging reading materials would somehow inspire
students to work harder and become better readers. Again, I wasnt trained in any form of
literacy but that didnt seem right.
Purchasing new textbooks was not an option and I think teachers everywhere feel stuck using
texts they already have because of budgetary constraints. One set of books might get everyone
looking at the same page, but they are rarely on the same page when it comes to being able to
comprehend the texts. Chances are high that they simply cannot and those books become the
most mistreated locker fodder that exists in schools. According to Allington: No child who
spends 80 percent of his instructional time in texts that are inappropriately difficult will make
much progress academically (p.7). What a waste of resources textbooks and packaged
curriculums are for schools.
But when left with textbooks that are too hard and no alternatives what do we do? I have
taken the liberty to combine Text with Teach because I believe the answer is to actively teach.
One key strategy would be the think-alouds and write-alouds Stephanie Harvey modeled so well
in the video: Strategies that Work.2 Difficult reading material is going to happen in life so to
prepare students with ideas to help them is very relevant.
Without prior knowledge of how best to deal with students who struggled to read coupled
2 Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2007). Strategies that work: Teaching comprehension for

understanding and engagement. Stenhouse Publishers.

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with high level textbooks I did what I could to alleviate stress first. We had a discussion about
the textbook and I told the students that although the book might be difficult, it would serve our
purpose. When we did need to use the book to work through the content, we did what I called
divide and conquer. Each student selected a small section of reading and used a handout to
gather and organize information that would assist them in presenting their section. The handout
asked them the main idea, terms, what they thought was most interesting, and what they learned.
We would also do popcorn reads for the essentials but discussion would be paramount as we
went. I armed them with highlighters and would read to them. When they heard / saw something
they thought was worthy of being highlighted they interrupted and we would discuss if it was
important enough to highlight. This generated discussion and kept the highlighting within
reason. Outlining as a class was a popular activity and students became very familiar with using
the glossary, index, and margin notes. Students dissected the photos and diagrams, picked the
important parts and skipped the rest. Most importantly, they liked science.
One of the best things that ever happened while I was teaching in the public school was
not having a set of books for particular class. It was before the internet so I was forced to use a
variety of reference books, some old text books, free sample textbooks, and library books. I
invited students to find topic appropriate books and magazines on their own to help out and
acquired a few very old college textbooks from someones grandparents. Standard homework
assignments from the textbook were useless so creative discussions became the norm. Using
different books encouraged more conversation because students werent all looking at the same
material and merely following along. It was a refreshing change from my other classes and
although it wasnt intentional, it offered materials at different reading levels and required a great
deal of active teaching.

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Talk
Students need to articulate their ideas in discussions how can they do that if teachers are
doing all the talking? The ways in which teachers can encourage students to share their ideas
and be good listeners are numerous. The home court advantage analogy that was presented by
Nancy Steineke was especially helpful for secondary classrooms and other strategies for this
notion were discussed throughout the book Best practice: Bringing standards to life in America's
classrooms. 3
Tasks
Dont we all like to do the tasks of our choice much more than those things we feel
obligated or instructed to do? We vacuum the initiative out of students by not giving them the
opportunity to take any on their own. The summation of this section in my mind is simply to be
sincere. If we are truly in the profession of teaching because we want what is best for kids then
wont we be engaged in doing just what we want our students to be doing and right along with
them? For example, I dont tell my 7-year old to go bake cookies by herself when she asks if we
can. Nor do I send her to play while I do it. We bake cookies together and love every minute of
it. And because it is so enjoyable, we look forward to the next time. Gradual release of
responsibility has her doing additional steps each time.
Sincere teachers work beside and with their students not standing in front looking down
at them. They are eye-level and knee to knee, respectful, encouraging, coaching, loving that they
have the opportunity to be a teacher of those students. The lasting impression from the numerous
videos we watched as part of Balanced Literacy showed teachers on the level with the kids
touching, squishing close, face to face, flat out sending the message that they want what is best
3 Zemelman, S., Daniels, H., & Hyde, A. A. (2012). Best practice: Bringing standards to life in

America's classrooms. Heinemann.

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for that child.

Test
Some of the best students are horrible test-takers and some of the worst students can do
well on tests. Tests do not adequately show learning. When I switched to science portfolios for
assessment, I was amazed at the creativity and pride that students work showed. They were
allowed to depict what they had learned in each unit through art and/or writing. Emilie Parkers
kindergarten classroom in the video In the Beginning: Young Writers Develop Independence4
was a bit like some days in my junior high science classroom. Despite the number of years they
had been in school, my class was their first experience with portfolios. They were making
books, sharing their knowledge, doing each others artwork, being resourceful, and celebrating
their learning. Students were responsible for keeping their parents informed of their progress
and discuss plans if they were behind. The sense of community I had worked to develop in our
class grew outward as a result of their willingness to share their work with the other classes. One
unexpected result was upperclassmen learning the hidden artistic talents of the junior high
students and making connections with them.
My initial motivation for switching to the portfolios, de-centralizing the use of textbooks,
and other strategies I tried to help my students really boiled down to alleviating frustration with a
packaged curriculum that was successfully suffocating any natural curiosity students might have
had. The outcome was amazing and it easily the best way to teach with literacy in mind. Having
literacy skills in science class adds balance for the student and sends the message that it is
important to be literate. Effective teachers will teach with literacy in mind and so that the
4 (2007). In the Beginning (DVD) - Young writers develop independence. Retrieved October 23, 2013,
from http://www.curriculumpress.edu.au/main/goproduct/12026.

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synergy created grabs ahold and compels students to a lifetime of growth in literacy.

References
Allington, R. (2003). The six ts of effective elementary literacy instruction.
Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2007). Strategies that work: Teaching comprehension for
understanding and engagement. Stenhouse Publishers.
Zemelman, S., Daniels, H., & Hyde, A. A. (2012). Best practice: Bringing standards to life in
America's classrooms. Heinemann.
(2007). In the Beginning (DVD) - Young writers develop independence. Retrieved October 23, 2013, from
http://www.curriculumpress.edu.au/main/goproduct/12026.