"It's so hard to put it in to one sentence," Mrs. C. began. She went on to list the following aspects as important in the teaching of literacy, especially to English language learners.
- Total Physical Response (TPR)
- Oral rehearsal
- Think-Pair-Share
- High expectations
- Predictable routines
- Oral language development
- Time for Practice and modeling
- Visual cues
- Explicit instruction
As the discussion continued it was apparent that Mrs. C's three teammates agreed with her on her philosophy. Though they might have minor differences of opinion, all of their comments seemed pedagogically sound and agreeable. I found myself agreeing with what was being said as well as agreeing with what was not said. Though the teachers may not have said it aloud, they were acting out a vital component of teaching- collaborating. The teachers' philosophies, in my opinion, were best shown in how they worked together, collaborating as a team and building on best practice and sound judgment. In order for all of their philosophical ideas to come together and work to benefit students in a classroom, they join together, supporting, encouraging, and pushing each other.
I think that with any team, it is important to know each others philosophies. Typically, you all want to be on the same page even though you may differ in certain areas. If your philosophies are all over the place, I do not think the team would work effectively together. I thought it was great that you were able to interview Mrs. C with her teammates. It gives the interviewer a whole new perspective and insight to the dynamics.
ReplyDeleteKatie, your blog reminds me how important collaboration is among teachers (we expect it from our students so much...) It's true that many teachers hold the same philosophies, perhaps because they are simply based on good teaching. You bring up the question, indirectly, of what to do when teachers hold contrasting philosophies. It can be so hard to accept someone else's point of view when it competes with your own. Just as with collaboration, though, we expect it of our students and must also expect it of ourselves.
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