Tap Tap, splash, splash, plop, plop!
As you walk the puddles splash up getting your pants wet.
Despite this, the sounds are soothing.
Tap Tap, splash, splash, plop, plop!
Tap Tap, splash, splash, plop, plop!
Tap Tap, splash, splash, plop, plop!
The cold sinking into your clothes as,
It sends shivers down your spine.
Tap Tap, splash, splash, plop, plop!
Tap Tap, splash, splash, plop, plop!
Your lips turned blue, the rain thickens,
Now running down your forehead and into your eyes.
You blink as you wipe your eyes,
Tap Tap, splash, splash, plop, plop!
Tap Tap, splash, splash, plop, plop!
As you return home, the warmth hits you.
A blanket wraps around you as you sit and listen,
To the tap tap of the rain on the roof.
Tap Tap, splash, splash, plop, plop!
Tap Tap, splash, splash, plop, plop!
The only job that matters,
The hardest one of all.
Coaching, guiding, loving and caring for you.
Praying and hoping for your future.
How do I know if I am making the right choices
How do I know you are listening to my words, my advice.
Why do I feel like I am failing?
Why do I cry for your future?
The only job that matters,
The hardest one of all.
Coaching, guiding, loving and caring for you.
Praying and hoping for your future.
Ghost of a Life That is Not Mine
What have I done wrong,
To keep me from your mind?
Forgotten and left aside,
A memory of one who came before.
A ghost of a life that was not mine.
A memory of one who shares my face.
Lost in an endless tide, reaching but never touching.
Summers in the sun, the surf at our feet.
Summers in the sand, drawing, and laughing.
Summers on the street, bikes and games and more.
A ghost of a life that was not mine.
A memory of one who shares my face.
Lost in an endless tide, reaching but never touching.
My childhood lost in a daze
My Innocence long since forgotten
My memories fade away.
A ghost of a life that was not mine
A memory of one who shares my face.
Lost in an endless tide, reaching but never touching.
Deserve to be Happy
Tears flow for freely
It's uncontrollable
I can’t stop the pain in my heart.
The world will never be
Sunny and cheerful again
If you are not part of it.
Darkness and gloom cover my existence.
As I gasp for air as I try to be calm.
But nothing calms me as I sit in the dark.
Why have I done the things I have done?
Why am I such a horrible person to hurt you so?
I don’t deserve to be happy.
I don’t deserve love.
But you, you deserve all of this and more.
Many professions use reflection in their practice. This includes the profession of Education. Reflective teaching is “an active desire to listen to more sides than one, to give full attention to alternative possibilities, and to recognize the possibility of error even in beliefs that are dearest to us. Teachers who are open-minded are continually examining the rationales that underlie what is taken as natural and right and take pains to seek out conflicting evidence,” Rodgers & Rodgers, (2007). This type of practice only works if both parties are open to change. The people involved must be open to new research, new technologies, and new teaching practices.
In the preview of teaching, many teachers already use reflection as a normal part of their teaching process. When a teacher plans a lesson, they look through the material they need to teach and “transform the material from a text (typically, although not always, a textbook) into something that can be instructed,” Rodgers & Rodgers, (2007). Then the teacher investigates how they can instruct their class, “Instruction requires the teacher to consider how the class, the presentation, and the material will be managed.”
Once this lesson is complete, the teacher then evaluates the lesson. Teachers review the lesson and how students responded to it. “…the teacher reflects on the whole experience thus far. Reflection can change the way the teacher conceived of the teaching along each stage of the process, form comprehending through transforming teaching and then evaluation,” Rodgers & Rodgers, (2007). Reflection is not an extra task, but a necessary part of the teaching process.
How can a Reading Specialist help teachers with this process? They can help teachers in many ways. First, they can “support the teacher in new comprehensions about instruction along each phase withing the model. It is in this last phase that literacy coaches may be able to take the reflections of teachers and support them in developing new possibilities as to how they might teach their students,” Rodgers & Rodgers, (2007). This is a team effort and both parties must be willing to cooperate and have a shared ownership for improvement. “A final rational for coaching reflection is that it is the kind of work that lends itself to exploration through conservation; reflection…,” Rodgers & Rodgers, (2007).
While observing a lesson, coaches should take multiple notes that will help them in the conference with the teacher. These notes have been categorized into five different categories: Hypothetical, Procedural, Methodical, Observational, and Theoretical notes. Using these notes, the coach can refer to things that happened in the lesson. By using open ended questions, they can promote a conversation with the teacher such as, “What evidence do we have that…and do you think…?” Rodgers & Rodgers, (2007). Why did that happen? How can we improve on this? “These (questions) gave teachers tacit permission to open up and theorize on the evidence before them as well as their own practices based on their theories.” Rodgers & Rodgers, (2007).
It is important to look at coaching and reflection to improve and not a way to investigate what the teacher did wrong. Each teacher should approach this process with an open mind so they can improve their profession; no matter how many years they have been teaching or how many certifications they have. The coaches’ job is to help facilitate this growth and empower teachers to want to improve and explore new research, new technologies and new teaching practices.
References
Rodgers, A., & Rodgers, E. M. (2007). The Effective Literacy Coach: Using Inquiry to Support Teaching and Learning. Teachers College, Columbia University.
I feel invisible. I am invisible.
As if life is passing me by and no one seems to notice or care.
You run around me asking for help, but my hand you do not see.
I am invisible. I am invisible.
You walk right past me as if no one was there.
I am a shadow of the way I was, a body with no host.
You walk right past me as if I was a ghost.
I am a shadow of my former self, as I try to hold on to things of the past
A shadow of the life that I used to share.
I am invisible. I am invisible.
You walk right past me as if no one was there.
I am a shadow of the way I was, a body with no host.
You walk right past me as if I was a ghost.
You walk right past me as if I am nothing.
The tears I shed, go unnoticed as you no longer care.
You walk past me as if I was never there.
Why is my self-worth wrapped up in what you think?
I watched everything go by but seeing nothing as nothing is left for me.
Trapped in a box I cannot escape,
The water pulls me under, but you do not see
I am invisible, I am invisible
You walk right past me as if no one was there
I am a shadow of the way I was, a body with no host
You walk right past me as if I was a ghost.
We worry so much about what others think.
We watch things happen and never speak.
We never speak our mind.
When we do speak, people become upset.
As if we have no right to speak our mind.
We have no right to stand up for someone,
As if our views do not matter.
I'm tired of keeping quiet and worrying.
What if I say the wrong thing?
What if someone gets mad at me?
I have always been worried about what people think of me.
Would people hate me? Would they stop being my friend?
Today I say, I don't give a fuck.
If you don't like what I say, stop talking to me.
If what I say, offends you so badly that you need to end a friendship,
Then you were never my friend.
I don't give a fuck.
I will speak my mind.
REBUILD
Tempers flared; our words hurt as
Our tongues lashed shameful insults
Faith destroyed as trust was broken
Others more important and the safety of a friendship
Tarnished by words
A poison of words hurt both
We licked our wounds
Bandaged ourselves up and went on with our lives
Were you feeling victorious after such a battle??
Did you hurt as I did?
Did it feel good to throw a friendship away?
Or perhaps it was not as important to you as it was to me?
Were you as lost and as broken as I?
Did you long to talk to me as I longed to talk to you?
How do we move on from this? Is there a way of getting back what we lost, or did we push all of that away?
Is there too much hurt and mistrust now?
Where is the friendship we had before?
Is the road back too difficult?
Covered with thorns and weeds of places long forgotten
Can we forge through and find our way back or become lost once again?
On the road to recovery.
Freeman & Freeman (2014) present three approaches to the study of language. The first one discussed is language as structure. Those who follow this approach want to learn the grammar and mechanics of the language. The second one discussed is language as a mental faculty. Those who follow this approach believe that the human brain is preconditioned to learn language. They believe there is a connection between one’s cognitive abilities and language acquisition. The final approach is language as a functional resource. Those who follow this approach view language as a way to function. They are more concerned with the social interactions to develop language. What are the key ideas of each of these approaches and what are the implications for teaching each approach?
Language as a Structure
Language as structure refers to grammar. Those who follow this method are concerned with various parts of language, for example they would teach sentence diagrams and have students identify words according to their part of speech such as a noun or a verb and so on. They study the Syntax of the language. The problem is we assume that all languages have the same parts of speech. This however has been the way many Americans have been taught language in the past and still currently in many cases. This method does not allow students to learn how to communicate in the language they have chosen to learn.
Language as Mental Faculty
Language as a mental faculty deals with the connection between language and cognition. Language is something that is innate to all humans and part of our cognition. It is something that is preconditioned it us. Humans have an innate ability to learn langue. Does this mean that humans only have this ability at an early age, or does this mean that we can learn language at any age? Does this mean that other species do not have the same ability? People who follow this method try to use this innate ability to teach language.
Language as Functional Resource
Language as a functional resource means language is about communication. Many have talked about how language should be inclusive. Which means when you study language you should be fully immersed in the language and the culture. This approach focuses on, “engaging in social interactions, humans develop the language they need” (Freeman and Freeman, 2014 p. 12). There are three aspects of this approach the field, the tenor, and the mode. All three of these aspects work together to in social interactions. However, things might be perceived differently in different cultures. What is accepted in one culture may not be accepted in another.
Conclusion
All three of these approaches have merit and all add something to the study of language, however on their own they are missing key components. While grammar is important when learning language, it cannot be taught as the only way to learn language. The same goes for language as a mental faculty. Even if language is an innate human ability, that does not mean that we can’t learn using the other approaches. Finally, language as functional approach is wonderful, but it does nothing to help someone read or write in that language. In conclusion all approaches have merit, but it would be better for teachers to combine them.
Page BreakReferences
Freeman, D. E,. & Freeman, Y. S., (2014). Essential Linguistics: What Teachers Need to Know to Teach(7th ed.). Heinemann.
What can be done?
When the motivation is gone,
When the drive is lost,
When you give up,
When you have lost all hope,
What can be done?
How do you motivate someone?
How can I get you to care?
Why do I care more about your future than you do?
What can be done?
When the motivation is gone,
When the drive is lost,
When you give up,
When you have lost all hope,
What can be done?
What can be done?
When you have lost all hope?
