#ReadingWars and Equity

Following the #ReadingWars on social media? If you are, you may feel like me - lost and confused. Although I teach middle school English, reading instruction is near and dear to my heart because I teach in a school where many of our readers are considered striving readers. (Please note the phrase "striving readers." It is intentional - focus on student assets rather than deficits.) In fact, last year 29% of our students in grades 6-7 met proficiency on our state standardized reading test. (On a side note, I am not a fan of standardized tests and don't believe they represent our students' true capabilities and brilliance.)

According to our Department of Education, my middle school looks like this:

• 69.1% of our students attend school on a regular basis.
• 44.9% are Black or African-American.
• 23.5% are Asian.
• 18.0% are Hispanic or Latino.
• 6.5% are Two or More Races.
• 6.2% are White.
• 1% are American Indian or Alaska Native.
• 78.9% receive Free/Reduced Lunch.
• 4.8% are Homeless.
• 18.6% receive English Learner Services.
• 18.0% receive Special Education Services

Take another middle school, farther out of the cities, with 86.4% White students and 11.4% receiving Free/Reduced Lunch. Can you guess what their reading proficiency rate is? I bet you already know the ballpark figure. Yes, it's 75.7%. As experienced teachers, we know that standardized test proficiency rates can be determined from zip codes. 

Like I mentioned before, I am not a strong believer in standardized tests. In fact, we have opted our children out of them for many years. But . . . our district knows, our administrators know, and our teachers know that our kids have not and are not receiving the proper education in reading even without including the scores of the standardized tests. This is maddening. We all know this, yet nothing much changes in reading instruction K-12 for my students.

Reading is an integral part of society - academic, social, economic, and civil. Knowing this, my students are at a severe disadvantage compared to the middle school with 86.4% White students and the much lower percentage of students receiving Free/Reduced Lunch. 

Now take into consideration, the #ReadingWars. One side is adamant about teaching phonics. One side is adamant about teaching reading workshop. Teachers are forced to take sides because, ya know, you can't think having a balanced approach is best for students, right? You must take a side. While I know that people on both sides (phrase is making me cringe if you know what I'm talking abut) have students' best interests at heart, teachers are caught in the middle. There is research to back both sides. (Let's be honest. Data can be manipulated to prove any point.) This leaves teachers wondering what to do in their classrooms, which leads many teachers to stick to what they know because that is what has "worked" for them, the research is confusing, and time is precious.

I believe a balanced approach is necessary - both phonics and readers workshop (in grades K-8, with more focus on phonics in grades K-2). It can be done if we truly believe all of our students matter, especially our Black and Brown students who, historically, have been left behind by those with the power. For this to happen, though, it is imperative we commit to "reducing the predictability of who succeeds and who fails, interrupting reproductive practices that negatively impact students, and cultivating the gifts and talents of every student" (A Conversation About Instructional Equity with Zaretta Hammond, Part 1).

Currently, our middle school English curriculum consists of materials created by us, which encompasses a majority of our time and doesn't always hit the target. It's difficult to admit this, but we need a guiding curriculum, hear me say - not scripted, for our scope and sequence and to best help our striving readers. Also, we have 50 minutes for our English classes. I know this is the case for many schools around the country, but it's not enough, especially when we have a majority of students who need more intensive help with reading and the testing scores fall on our shoulders in which we are deemed worthy or not worthy. Finally, we do not have resources to help all of our striving readers with phonics. (And, yes, I do have 8th graders who are in need of phonics/decoding skills.)

With the struggles listed above, I do have some ideas on what I believe should change, so we can better meet the needs of our students who have not received the education they need. 

1. Honest conversations about curriculum - Without a guiding curriculum, we are not aligned in our teaching and the left-hand doesn't know what the right-hand is doing more often than not. While this might be unpopular with some educators, I purchased two Lucy Calkins/TCRWP middle school reading units: A Deep Study of Character and Tapping the Power of Nonfiction. The kids are showing great growth in their reading abilities, are actively engaged in the scaffolded learning, and are able to read and think at a higher level once the scaffolds are removed. Some educators believe Calkins's units are scripted. They are if you want them to be; I focus on the mini-lesson and use my own wording. While I won't know if this curriculum helps my students with our state test until this spring, I can say that my students are improving based on my own formative and summative assessments, and I truly believe I am reducing the predictability of those who succeed and who fail. 
2. Honest conversations about scheduling - Students need more than 50 minutes of English class to become better speakers, readers, writers, and thinkers. In my ideal world, we would have 90 minute class periods for English. At our school, this would mean thinking creatively about our current schedule, but it can be done. There are many effective scheduling models out there. We need to interrupt our current system. 
3. Honest conversations about resources/intervention time for our most-striving readers - Every year about this time, I begin fixating on my 8th grade students who cannot decode well and who we are sending on to high school next year. I worry, and I worry, and I worry. Then I get into this mode of trying to help all of those students with decoding. I own the first four levels of Barton Reading and Spelling (purchased on my own), so this year, I'm working with a student before school and running an after-school program to help them as much as I can before they leave me in the beginning of June. We don't have anything in place that truly works, and that needs to change. We cannot accept that we are sending some our our students with the most severe decoding issues on to high school where they will likely not receive the help they need. 
4. Having honest conversations about and dismantling racist policies - This is where the most work is needed, but it is ignored over and over again. We need to talk about redlining, school district boundaries, rates of suspension and disciplinary referrals, and the fact that the majority of our students live in poverty. There truly is no reason for our Black and Brown students to be struggling in reading, but access to opportunities is lacking. Our school boundaries encompass one of Minnesota's Racial Concentrated Areas of Poverty. This is unacceptable for our students and their families. The school district and city need to figure out how to dismantle the racist policies that cause this opportunity gap. Talking about it is not enough; action is needed.

In the end, it's not about only-phonics or only-readers workshop. It is about creating a learning environment and school community (inside and outside of the school) where we are "reducing the predictability of who succeeds and who fails, interrupting reproductive practices that negatively impact students, and cultivating the gifts and talents of every student."

We Talk Equity

Mission/Vision Statements from School Districts Near Me

• "Every child college and career ready" (Minneapolis Public Schools)
• ". . . inspire and prepare all students . . ." (Osseo Area School District)
• ". . . effectively educate each of our students for success." (Anoka-Hennepin School District)
• " . . . meets the needs of each individual student" (Monticello School District)

Now that you've read the above statements, please read them again. Slowly. What do all four have in common? If you guessed every child, you are correct. In seems school districts all over my state of Minnesota talk about meeting the needs of each and every student, but, alas, it's only talk. Words. Put down on paper to make it sound like we are doing what needs to be done for our students. It takes meeting upon meeting upon meeting to create effective mission statements (or vision statements, whatever districts call them). 

The mission/vision statements aren't cutting it, folks, but we hear things from districts like, "Oh, but we spent so much time on these statements, talked to staff, community members, parents, and students. Everyone had a say." That's great. I truly am glad that everyone had a say in what our missions are. Really. Truly. Honestly. But . . . 

I have students who are in 8th grade who are not reading at the middle school level. I have students who are reading at about the fourth grade reading level and below. 

• Is this "EVERY child and career ready"?
• Do we "inspire and prepare ALL students"?
• Do we "effectively educate EACH of our students for success"?
• De we "meet the needs of EACH individual student"? 

No. No. No. No.

Talkin' About Equity

In the last 15 years, I have taught in a few different districts, which means I have sat through quite a few staff meetings, professional development meetings, workshops, etc. In the last 10 years, most of these meetings have focused on equity - learning about race, racism, implicit bias, whiteness, privilege, micro-aggressions, cultural relevance, teaching strategies, etc. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard the same information - just in a different way. (Heck, I even read professional books on my own about the topic.) It is THE topic right now, as well it should be. We have not done right by our students - of color, of religion, of ethnicity, of sexual orientation, of gender, of immigrants, with learning disabilities.

My issue is we get so focused on "teaching" what equity means and examining our own biases that we don't actually solve the inequities, and we still have lots of inequities in our Minnesota schools. I want to focus on the reading inequity since that is my area of expertise. 

So getting back to the many students I have not reading even close to grade level . . . I understand that there are multiple factors that come into play when kids are in school that affect reading: mobility, new to country, poverty, homelessness, language other than English, hunger, lack of access to books, etc. Trust me. It's hard being a teacher and trying to help each and every one of our kids. We want every one of our students to read at or above grade-level, but it's hard to do when the systems in our schools and districts are not set up to truly help ALL kids. 

Since one of our many school systems focuses on equity, why aren't we focusing on reading as being an issue of equity? We can understand our biases, learn strategies to help all students access the content, and talk about equity until we are blue in the face, yet our kids are not learning to read - specifically, being able to decode words at a middle school level. [FYI - I teach at a middle school with 80% F/RL (maybe higher), and large majority of students of color.] 

I'm tired of my students not being taught how to read. We are sending them to high school, and they can't read. I know saying, "They can't read," sounds awful. Like somehow I am blaming the kids. I am NOT blaming the kids. I am saying, "They can't read," because we have failed them. We have failed to teach our kids how to read. We are going to pass them into high school where they won't learn how to read. We will pass them into the "real world" where they will not be able to read at a level to participate fully in society, live life to their best, and make money (right?). That is NOT equity. That is INEQUITY. We are pushing some of our most vulnerable kids into a life of crime. (Trust me. Kids can't read. School is hard. Easier to not do school. Easier to be manipulated. Easier to do bad things. Easier to associate with the "wrong side of the tracks.") 

No amount of talking about race, racism, implicit bias, whiteness, privilege, micro-aggressions, cultural relevance, teaching strategies, etc. will teach my kids to read. Period. Can we just acknowledge that? Please? We like to avoid talking about reading and equity because it's easier to talk about all of the things we talk about in our equity discussions. It looks like we are doing something on the surface, but dig deeper. Below the surface, nothing is changing for our kids. They aren't learning how to read. 

No More Talk. More Action. 

Now, before you say I should be teaching them to read, I am. I am doing the best I can to meet the needs of my 25 students in each class with varying degrees of reading ability. I have an English teaching license and a K-12 Reading license. I do what I can in my 50 minute class periods to the best of my abilities. I will start tutoring an 8th grade student in the mornings before school starts because she has dyslexia (diagnosed) and reading is soooooo hard for her. She knows it. Her parents know it. Yet we don't have anything in place to help her. (BTW, I will be using Barton Reading and Spelling.) I am starting an after-school group to do the same thing for my 8th graders who find reading difficult and frustrating. 

While I don't have all of the answers to solve this issue of inequity, I do have some ideas - although they are vague at this point.

1. English class periods that are 90 minutes 
2. Looping grades with students
3. Teachers who value reading - all teachers, not just reading and ELA teachers
4. Schools that value reading - can see it all over the building
5. Orton-Gillingham program to teach phonics sequentially for ALL students in all grade levels
6. Specifically targeting students who are falling behind
7. Increase independent reading time
8. Classroom libraries funded by schools
9. School libraries with a full-time librarian
10. Lots of audio books
11. Recognizing that reading is an equity issue
12. Balanced literacy 
13. Appropriate funding
14. Expert teachers, who are passionate, working with struggling readers
15. Reading specialist in each school

It's Up to Us

We have allowed our children to fall behind in reading. Let's just put that out there. It's now up to us to shake up the systems we work in. Reading = Equity

Pick a Side!

What side are you on? No, I'm not talking Trump and impeachment. I'm talking about the READING WAR. Phonics vs. Whole Language. Pick a side. You aren't allowed to be in the middle. You are either for phonics or against phonics. There is no middle ground in this war. You MUST pick a side!

This is a war that must be won because egos are at stake. It's not about the kids - even though many say it is about the kids. In my humble opinion, these education gurus, reporters, and even some teachers and parents aren't actually in it for the kids. It's about them being right. To be fair, we all want to be right, but when it comes to our kids, we need to consider their individual needs. Instead, some are saying it must be phonics. That is the cure for all of our reading problems in this country. 

I am a teacher. I'm not an educational guru with scientific research under my belt. I'm not a reporter with access to professors, parents, educational experts, doctors, and school district administration. I'm just a teacher, but I do have 20+ years of teaching experience working with KIDS, which should count for something. 

With that being said, I truly believe this whole reading war is a joke. I'm tired of arguing with people about it because I don't care about being "right." I care about helping each of my students, wherever they are in their reading when they come to me at the beginning of 8th grade. Some kids need lots of phonics, some need some, and some need very little. We need to meet kids where they are. 

Let me tell you a story about two sisters, two-and-a-half years apart - my sister and me (I'm the oldest). From what my parents tell me, reading came easily to me. I didn't need reading instruction because my brain just read automatically. I don't remember receiving phonics instruction, even though many folks my age say they received phonics as children. I just read, and read, and read. 

Reading was easy for me. Because reading was easy for me, I read books, which helped me to grow in my reading skills and continue to love reading. Practicing reading helped me get better at reading. I didn't need teachers' help. 

My sister, on the other hand, did not grow to love reading right away. Reading was hard for her from day one. She always had to work extra hard at school, and she did well in school because my parents gave her the support she needed. In tenth grade, my parents decided to have my sister tested. Turns out she was dyslexic. My sister needed support with reading, but she hadn't received it during her educational career. Her high school didn't help her either. They put her in a resource study hall, which she didn't need. Instead, she should have had teachers who taught her with an Orton-Gillingham program to help her brain with reading. My parents pulled her out of the resource study hall because it was a waste of her time, and instead they hired a tutor for her.   

Both of us are avid readers now, and the point I'm trying to make is that we all need different instruction to get us where we need to be. But . . . my sister didn't only need phonics. She needed to read on her own as well, which she did, which helped her to get better at reading even if she wasn't getting the help she needed at school. Yes, she has dyslexia, but she still learned to read. She didn't have phonics, but she still learned to read. I'm not saying that kids don't need phonics. My sister definitely needed it, and as a teacher I have kids who need phonics - even in 8th grade, but it is not the end-all-be-all. 

Following the Reading War on Twitter and on Facebook wears me out. I'm not on one side or the other because I believe kids need a mixture of both phonics and reading time based on their individual needs. Here's the deal, though, a kid can decode and still not be able to comprehend what they are reading. 

There are so many variables to reading, but education gurus and news reporters sometimes forget that. There are many variables that affect reading that have nothing to do with actual reading, like being hungry, mental health, health issues, poverty, homelessness, etc. But teach them phonics and they will learn how to read proficiently. Ummmm . . . nope. Ever heard of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs?

Now, while I cannot solve this issue on a large-scale, I do believe I can have an impact in my classroom, which is the only thing I can control. I believe in reading, lots and lots of reading. How will my students ever get better at reading if they don't have lots and lots of time to practice? Stealing from Donalynn Miller or Kylene Beers (can't remember who it was who said this), kids in band practice their instruments to get better, kids in sports practice to get better. If they are not proficient at their instrument or sport, we say practice. Heck, even in math they practice math. We need to allow our kids to do that with reading as well.

I've also recently started Readers Workshop in my classroom. Kids read a lot with Readers Workshop, and I can get around to kids and support them one-on-one. A Twitter follower reminded me of Kylene Beers book When Kids Can't Read, What Teachers Can Do. I'm pulling this book out when I get to school tomorrow and looking for strategies to help my kids improve their reading. It's not a quick and simple process. It takes time. What works for one kid might not work for another kid, but I am determined to give my students time to read - to practice this skill, to talk with one another about what they are reading, to write about their reading. 

In the end, there is not quick fix for teaching kids to read. I wish there were, truly, but in the end, it takes time, knowledge, and dedication from teachers to help each child grow as a reader, whether they are like me when I learned to read or like my sister when she learned to read. I'm not taking a side. I'm doing what is best for my students. 

Connecting, Learning, and Grades

We have been enjoying a beautiful fall break here in Minnesota for the past two days. The leaves are turning gorgeous shades of crimson, orange, and gold; the sun is shining; and the temperature is perfect - not too cold and not too warm. I've had the windows open at times and have heard the neighborhood kids enjoying this relative warmth - maybe for the last time. But, even with all of this beauty around me, I still think of school and my students. (I truly wish I could shut it off at times, but I can't. If you know how, please let me know.)

First off, one particular 8th grade student has stuck with me the last two days for one reason and one reason only - I haven't connected with her. Writing this does not make me proud, but it does make me honest. I take pride in getting to know my students and usually find it fairly easy to do, but this kiddo has me stumped so I've shied away from her, which is wrong, wrong, wrong. She is failing all of her classes, seems like a lost soul, and puts her head down in my class - all the time. When I go over and talk to her, she ignores me, so I walk away. That definitely sends the message of "I don't care." I can't let that message be the one making its way to her anymore, so I need to do something different - and it has to be very subtle. I'm thinking of putting little positive notes where she sits to start with and also setting books by her that she might like/find interesting. When she gets to the classroom door, I plan on asking her how her day is going, what plans she has after school, etc. Maybe these little things will help me be able to slowly get to know her. I don't know if they will truly help, but I need to try.

Secondly, I'm still questioning grades. There has to be a better way to have kids learn without making grades the focus. Sarah Donovan, @MrsSJDonavan, has helped guide my thinking about assessment and evaluation (follow her if you don't already), but I feel like giving feedback with assessment is impossible to do at out school. Kids and parents and admin and staff want to see grades in the electronic grade book . . . because how are the kids learning if they don't have grades? My question is: How are they learning with grades? One of my students has every single formative assessment as missing in the grade book for another class, but this students has "earned" a 3 on the only summative for that class so far so is passing that class with a decent grade. That summative has nothing to do with actual learning the content, but it's a way to make it so kids pass the class. (I'm not even upset with this teacher. This teacher does not want to have students failing, like the rest of us, so this teacher "adjusts" the grade book. If students are failing, that looks like the teacher failed the kids, right? No teacher wants to be that teacher.)

But that's just as bad as not giving grades - maybe even worse because the grade doesn't represent any learning. To help with this conundrum I'm in, I'm going to have students start self-evaluating themselves more. (Thanks, @mrskellylove, for your gentle reminder about self-evaluation. Readers, follow her if you don't.) To do this I need to slow down. Let kids enjoy their independent reading, think about their independent reading, write more, think about their writing more, share their thinking, writing, and reading with one another. I don't need to be the sage on the stage. I need my students to take ownership of their learning; to do that, I need to trust them more.

So . . . next week, we are going to slow down, have fun, and enjoy learning with each other - even though the kids need to take a pre-assessment on Reading Standards 1 & 2 for our PLC. At least it's a story they will find entertaining and creepy.

Grading Gives Me Gray Hair

Grading . . . the bane of my existence. In my perfect education world, we would do away with grades. I hate giving my 8th graders grades because grades don't encourage learning, they encourage earning points and don't encourage taking risks - like reading a book outside of your favorite genre, trying a new way of writing, making a hypothesis you know might not be correct once you prove it, thinking outside the box. Grades force kids to stay within their comfort zones because that way they know they can "get the points."

I've been struggling with the concept of grades for several years now, and I still have no way of making grading better for my students which will fit in with our school's system. Our school is supposed to be standards-based, but, let's face it, it's not. The kids earn a score of 0, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, or 4, but then those scores are turned into letter grades, which again makes the focus on letter grades and not learning. We have formatives (20% of grade) and summatives (80% of grade), but teachers do weird things with these. For example, finding three pictures for a notebook cover counts as a summative. Huh? (There are way more examples of summatives that shouldn't count as summatives, but I'm not going to out teachers.)

At the beginning of the year, I tried going grade-less. I wanted to give students more feedback on what they are doing well and where they can use some improvement, but that hasn't gone well. For one, I am expected to teach the same as my 8th grade English partner. We are different people. This isn't a good or a bad thing, but it holds me back from teaching in a way I want to teach. This isn't her fault, and it isn't my fault. Expecting two teachers to teach the same is not effective - at least for me. Thank goodness she understands my craziness and is accepting of my ideas, but I still am not teaching the way I want to teach my students.

My students know I have high expectations of them, which they have talked to me about, but what happens when my expectations are higher than other 8th grade teachers. For example, an assignment for another content area was left in the next door teacher's classroom. I happened to see it and noticed the student received a 3 (which converts to an A- and all the student cares about) but they were missing the required reflection. On our school's assessment scale a 3 represents substantial, effective, thorough. How does a student earn a 3 when they are missing their reflection? How is leaving out this essential part of the assignment substantial, effective, and thorough?

For the most part at our school, if a student completes an assignment (formative or summative) they receive a good grade because I feel we are forced to give good scores/grades. Over and over, I hear students say, "Why didn't I get a 4? I turned it in." This needs to stop. Our kids are expecting As because they completed an assignment - with no care about how well their thinking was demonstrated. Teachers are afraid to give low scores because we are afraid that we will be seen as bad teachers, but kids can re-do summatives so we should be giving feedback to help our kids improve their learning.

About five years ago, I taught Advanced Language Arts at an affluent middle school (for one year), and the kids were not happy with their learning in general. They were frustrated that their learning wasn't in-depth. They said they learned enough to pass the test in their subjects only to forget the material after the test. Part of this is because of grades. Grades are the focus for students and parents alike. It's difficult to learn something in-depth when we are asked to always have grades in the grade book. How do you really learn something well? By being graded on what you are learning all the time? Learning requires time, but we don't give kids time. We give kids assignments in which they must show immediate mastery of a topic because if they don't their grades go down. This means teachers water down the content - learning becomes more about breadth than depth.

Another struggle I have with grading is how grades become tied to rewards (think PBIS). I flat out disagree with taking away school privileges and activities because a student is not passing a class. I understand why schools do this. We try to incentivize good grades, but what actually happens is the opposite of learning. Kids who need to increase their grades to participate in the school PBIS reward complete their missing formatives or summatives as quick as they can just so they can attend the activity. They will earn enough points to get to the activity but will not actually learn the material. In this way, the school is promoting points and not actual learning.

I have more thoughts on grading, but this post has drained me. Will write more at a later date.

What are your thoughts about grading? Please share in the comments.

Welcome to Room 219!

Hello!

This is my attempt at a "thinking about education blog." To be honest, I probably think too much about education and drive my colleagues crazy, but I love teaching and thinking about what is best for kids. I'm in year 20+ of teaching and don't feel like I have this teaching thing down yet, so this will be my place for sharing what is making me think (or driving me crazy) at the moment.

About me:

• Began teaching career in 1997
• Most of that has been in middle school
• Love to read (Reading in the Middle - where I share what I've been reading)
• Believe reading and writing can change the world
• On Twitter @sirovy_allison
• Decisions should be based on what is best for kids

Thanks for following me on my journey!

Allison