Lifelong Learners (D&Z Chapters 8 and 9)

     I really enjoy this book, as I feel it contains a lot of great practices to incorporate in a classroom.  However, the one grievance I do have with this book is that I feel like the authors exert a lot of their energy showing how reading and literacy can be incorporated in every subject other than ELA.  I feel like English is the only subject that is synonymous with reading. In every other subject, a student can get by without actually reading the textbook or any form of reading.  Whereas, in an ELA classroom, the entire curriculum is centered on a specific text, and the understanding of these texts play crucial role in passing the course.  Like, you can’t take an English course, if you don’t want to read the textbook/ texts. When I took math in high school, I never once read the textbook, unless it was to do the homework at the end of the chapter.  I just knew how to the math problem, sort of like a puzzle, but if you were to ask me the proper terms of the math problem, I would not have been able to answer you.  

            The reason I bring this up is because the premise of Chapter 8 is creating lifelong learners and lifelong readers.   Daniels and Zemelman (2014) state that a lifelong learners, “read not only what’s required by their jobs, but also for recreation, for information, for citizenship” (p.221).  D&Z also discuss that lifelong learners also read with other people (p. 221).  This chapter centers on individual and small group independent reading, where there is a specific time allotted each class periods for students to read what interests them, “at a level people can fluently digest” (Daniels and Zemelman, 2014, p. 222).   The problem I have with the current state of English classes is that we are forcing students to read some texts that they don’t really want to read.  If choosing readings based on students’ intrinsic motivations fosters the concept of lifelong readers, shouldn’t the entire ELA curriculum be set up in the way? Actually, shouldn’t all of an individual’s education be based on their interests and intrinsic motivations?  I am not saying that and ELA class shouldn’t teach the classics like Shakespeare, but I do think that there needs to be a better balance.

            I do like the concept of the independent reading workshop because I don’t think students do enough reading based on their interests. I can relate because as a current college student, I can never find the time to read what I want to read, during a given semester.  If I factor in time to read things for fun, I am taking away time from my class reading, which can ultimately affect the grade I get at the end of the semester.  Therefore, I think it is important to factor in time during class time to have students read what they want to read.  Lets face it, students are not going to want to pick up a novel, of their choice, after reading a thirty page chapter for homework.  I think we should have a wide range of English courses to choose from in High school, sort of like the options we get in college.

            I can really see myself implementing a number of the technologies listed in this chapter. Sites like Edmodo, Google Drive, and Kidsblog.org all seem like interesting publishing forums to have students electronically share their writing (D& Z p. 232).  By implementing this activity, actually aligns nicely with the Common Core State Standards, as there is some that require students to utilize and learn how use technologies.  The only problem, I can see from doing this activity is that we may be teaching in a school district where not every student has access to the internet or a computer.

            Chapter 9 harks back to what Daniels and Zemelman said at the beginning of Chapter 8 where independent reading can be done in small groups, and that lifelong learners often immerse themselves in book clubs.  Chapter 9 is all about Content- Area Book Clubs.  Again, as an aspiring ELA teacher this concept is not taboo to us, but D&Z’s purpose is to show how this technique can cross over to different content areas like math and science. This chapter shows how to prepare students on how to actually participate in a book club, which I think is very important to ensure that the students are reaping the benefits of what the book club should be giving to them. 

            I am not going to get into the specifics of book clubs, but I will spend some time talking about the teacher’s role in book clubs, and it is a very minimal one.  Book clubs should be practically student directed with the teacher only there to assist, observe, and facilitate (D&Z, p.249).  The students are doing all of the work by reading the book, b contributing to discussion such as asking “rich” questions, and by being an active listener.  I do think this important in the development of lifelong learners because it allows students to read a book that is interesting to them, and work out the problems or issues that arise from reading the book with their peers.