On 6/29/09, Tom wrote:
> Safe to say we know what side CJF stands on. The beauty of
> teaching is the fact you do it the way you feel best. There is
> always opinionated people for and against a certain style. I
> base my results on actual use and how I see my students grow,
> not a thesis or controlled group regardless if that research
> came from the company, a book or Donald Duck. Any story good or
> bad can show stats and results of many different sizes and
> control factors to prove their point. In my opinion, you need
> to see what works for youand what works for your students. The
> funny thing about any research paper or book is that they never
> really give you alternate solutions or the pros/cons of them.
> They all point towards their hypothisis or conclusion. So take
> each opinon (Regardless of the form it is published or presented
> in) with a grain of salt. There is no 1 perfect way to teach
> reading.

Teaching can not be about doing things the way you feel best, it
can only be about what's best for the students. As professionals it
is our responsibilty to make informed instructional decisions based
on research proven practices. We've had too many years of "doing
our own thing". Reading and reflecting upon non-biased, peer
reviewed research isn't really a choice we get to make as
educators, it is what we must do as educators.
Would you want a surgeon to operate on you if he or she isn't
current on best practices. I wouldn't risk my future with a Dr. who
is going to "do things the way it feels best to him", or because
he's confident that he knows enough already and doesn't need to
keep current with the advances made in medicine.
There might not be 1 perfect way to teach, but there are numerous
practices that have been proven to be the most effective, and we
owe it to our students to offer them the best instruction possible,
not what we prefer or feel best about.
Go to Heinneman.com and skim through professional books written
about reading and writing instruction. There really is more to
teaching reading than just doing what works for ya!

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