Strategic Reading, According to Wilhelm (Chapters 1-2)

      In the first two chapters, Wilhelm provides future teachers with some solid golden nuggets.  Being a future English teacher, I found this week's reading very interesting, especially the chapter in which Wilhelm introduces various reading techniques.  However, before Wilhelm divulges to the reader the ways to improve reading literacy, he spends the majority of the first chapter going over the basic foundations of pedagogy. 

      Chapter 1 really emphasized on the Vygotskian Theory, and Wilhelm definitely comes across as a big advocate for using this model in the classroom.  One thing I found interesting in this section, in particular, is that when Wilhelm discusses the Vygotskian Theory, he introduces it by mentioning that certain effective components of this theory is forgotten in the secondary grades. Wilhelm (2001) states that a typical high school classroom is a space where, "the teacher tells and the student listens" (p.10). The downfall to this teaching practice is that the student resorts to memorization rather than actually trying to learn something and apply it in a new area.  I can relate to this because I do feel like many high school classrooms are very lecture based. I have been in those classrooms where I felt like I was being talked to, and to be honest, I had no desire to learn.  When I had classes like that in high school, my objective was not trying to learn, but rather coming up with creative ways on not falling asleep. 

      As a future educator, I enjoyed reading this chapter because it furthered my knowledge on the Vygotskian Theory.  I obviously knew some things about Vygotsky and his theories, but Wilhelm goes in depth and provides useful snapshots of his own personal experiences to really illustrate Vygotsky's ideas.  When Wilhelm (2014) starts talking about Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) he states, "When you assign a task and the students successfully complete it without help, they could already do it. They have learned nothing" (p.16).  To me this is such a vital piece of information because it is a pitfall that I wish to avoid.  The zone of proximal development is predicated on a teacher providing assistance to a student to help them master a new skill, and to then have the student be able to enact that new skill on their own.  When teachers give these assignments and the students complete it without assistance, they have to be aware that the student might have not learned anything. 

      Chapter 2 was also a really great chapter because it delved deep into reading literacy and various techniques to teach reading. Wilhelm stresses that English teachers have to teach students how to read, and how to read effectively.  I love how this chapter opened up with Jack's poem as a cry for help.  Jack would like to read, but he exclaims that no one has taught him how to do so.  Jack's story was illuminating for me because it is indicative that not everybody has certain literacies, so I cannot automatically assume that a student is literate in reading.  These students may genuinely find it difficult to engage with a text.

      Again Wilhelm offers yet another golden nugget that I am putting in my teacher toolbox.  In the section called "Guided Reading" it states that "when you want students to learn something new, make sure everything else is easy" (Wilhelm, 2001, p. 44).  To me this makes sense, but it is not something that would be in the forefront of my mind when constructing a lesson plan.  So, this has made me realize that everything involved in a lesson is equally important. If I want a student to learn something then I have to create an environment where they will be able to succeed. Also, in the "Guided Reading" section Wilhelm discusses the importance of text selection and according to him, choosing a text should prompt further learning within that text, but should also provide a learning where students can carry over to different texts (p.44). So, what I believe Wilhelm is trying to say is that teaching reading strategies are more important than teaching the text.  Wilhelm also suggests that the students should have an interest in the text they are reading.  Someone should have handed this chapter to some of my former high school English teachers.  I just remember reading some of the most boring and awful books in 12th grade English, specifically.  Now that I am currently in these teacher education courses, I often think back to some of the teachers I have had and analyze their teaching from a different perspective.  There were some who knew how to teach effectively, but I am afraid that most of my English teachers were the type to pick a book and assign reading, and that was about it.  I did not really have an English teacher that taught the class how to read more academically, but I had those that would assign a pop quiz asking to ID a quote somewhere on page 339.  I refuse to be like that.