Do Teachers Read Enough?

I like that Starbucks aims to enlighten and entertain by including on their cups the 'The Way I See It" series. Aside from the pleasure of a good, strong hot cup of coffee, it's fun to read these pithy statements--some of which stimulate genuine reflection. Today's cup began: "People don't read enough. And what reading we do is cursory, without absorbing the subtleties and nuances that lie deep within...” Then the author (the creator of the television drama House) omnisciently berates the reader for losing focus.

As is often the case, I immediately projected these words onto the educational landscape to see if there are any parallels or resonance. I think there is. I speak with education professionals often who will speak of 'having a Master's degree' as if it confers upon them eternal and updated knowledge as times and circumstances change in the world of (public) education. These teachers feel that the obtaining of a certificate many years ago proves that they are ‘good to go’ for a career of teaching children in an ever-changing world. Many of these teachers do not read enough. And of they do, they surely do not read educational research relevant to their teaching assignments and careers. This is the case even at a time when research on the brain and learning has revealed profound new insights into how we should teach in the last decade alone. We also learn from this same line of research why children may behave the way they do. Etc..

I learned the power, value and importance of reading while doing doctoral work where massive amounts of educational research was thrust upon us to read, digest and synthesize for use in our teaching practice. Never have I read so much. And never was I such an effective teacher as during that time. Since research findings (otherwise known as knowledge) were fresh in my mind, I considered all of my actions and decisions from this informed perspective. I continue to wonder why there is still a profound disconnect between research findings and practice but that’s the subject of another post.

It is true that good writing is provoked by reading. Since thinking is a pre-cursor to writing then it is also true that there is no (relevant and quality) thinking without reading. And if we substitute the word writing for teaching: There is no good teaching without reading. Of course this is a generalization. There are plenty outstanding teachers who don’t read constantly. But I’ll bet that exemplar teachers read more than average teachers.

The point is that continuous reading (and reflection) keeps us fresh and new and, well, informed. Books about teaching and learning, research about the subjects we teach, educational journals, newsletters and weblogs provide excellent reading and nourishment for our brains so that we may be the best we can be for students in an ever-changing world with ever-increasing information and knowledge. Still, even better reading material would be the thoughts and words of our students should we be bold enough to create opportunities for them to provide feedback about the classes we teach and the schools in which they inhabit. Through constant reading and reflection, we would be forever worthy of the teaching certificates and degrees we hold. We teachers and educational leaders don’t read and reflect enough. That’s the way I see it.

Choice Theory And How We Learn

I recently received the book...Activating the Desire to Learn and had begun skimming through it. Right in Chapter 1, we are reminded of Choice Theory which claims that we have genetic instructions for satisfying our basic needs which are: Belonging, Competence, Freedom and Fun.

We can infer that if these are missing from student's school routines, they are likely not to be engaged.

Of course the thorny issue is how they define these terms.

We also are reminded that reality becomes multiple realities as soon as we speak in class (explain concepts, etc..) because everything we say bumps up against student's prior experience and knowledge (and to an extent current emotional circumstances). If student's prior knowledge base does not match our perception of what that is, there is tension...........

Personal Growth and Teaching

My personal belief about personal growth/improvement is that it must come from within. One may be able to influence a person to change temporarily but these changes will not be long lasting and are not positive (fear of reprimand, intimidation, harsh criticism). I believe improvement of instruction must be preceded by a desire for personal and professional growth on the part of the teacher because they feel/see/understand that what they do impacts lives for the better or worse.
Action Research is an excellent tool towards this end.