Response to Chapter 14, 15, and 17

• In chapter 14, Ray discusses effective ways of having a conference with a student. She suggests having a record-keeping system so that one knows who he or she has met with during the course of a week. She writes, “They use this record to decide who will have conferences on a given day, their goal being to give students an approximately equal amount of teaching attention.” Obviously, it is important to meet with every student consistently and keep of record of what the teacher and student discusses. However, I do not agree with using it as a way to ensure that each student has an “equal amount of teaching attention.” In school, each student should not just have an equal education. Instead, it should be an education where students are given as much attention as they need to succeed. If one student has particular difficulty with informational writing while another does not, I will conference with the first student more often during an informational unit. I do agree that keeping a log will help with organization, it should not limit conferences with one student. Is that wrong?
• Chapter 15 mentions the importance of sharing time. I couldn’t agree more! While reading this chapter, I came up with a potentially brilliant idea for my classroom design… a sharing stage! In many elementary classrooms, teachers have a reading corner that invites children to want to read. Why not have a sharing corner that invites students to share their work? I will have a small platform with a black drape behind it. For added decoration, red pieces of tied fabric will hang for the ceiling to create a curtain effect. On either side of the stage, lights similar to spot lights will illuminate the writer. Finally, students will use a podium to ease their nerves and practice quality public speaking strategies. I can’t wait!
•  Grading intimidates me. How do I create a rubric that fairly and accurately judges the work of my students? If a student shows drastic improvement but still performs below the grading expectations, how do I reward the student’s accomplishments based on a universal rubric? Ray brought to light a simple but important concept in chapter 17. In evaluating students, remember the root word of evaluation: value. Of course! It seems silly to realize that I have never considered this principle before. It makes perfect sense! Set your values and make them known to your students. Depending on the teacher, these values could be correct grammar or whether a student organizes his or her writing appropriately. Either way, Ray’s simple observation makes grading writing slightly less intimidating.