Reflections on NCLB-please help me with my homework

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Reading First Chatboard

Reflections on NCLB-please help me with my homework

by first

Oct 9, 2008

For my ethics course, I am working on a research paper on the classroom and curriculum effects of NCLB. I would LOVE and appreciate hearing from you regarding changes you have seen as a result of NCLB - good and bad please

For example, but not limited to: how has curriculum and assessment changed? how has daily life/routines in your classroom changed? have you seen changes in student behaviors? how do parents respond to the demands placed on their kids?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and help!

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here goes how has curriculum and assessment changed? Curriculum is more research based. Based more on student need.

> how has daily life/routines in your classroom changed? There is no time for "extras". We strictly adhere to curriculum.

> have you seen changes in student behaviors? Most of the behaviors are still the same. Kids are k...See More

Oct 10, 2008

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emma On 10/09/08, first wrote: > For my ethics course, I am working on a research paper on > the classroom and curriculum effects of NCLB. I would LOVE > and appreciate hearing from you regarding changes you have > seen as a result of NCLB - good and bad please > > For example, but not limited to: > how has curriculum and assessment...See MoreOn 10/09/08, first wrote: > For my ethics course, I am working on a research paper on > the classroom and curriculum effects of NCLB. I would LOVE > and appreciate hearing from you regarding changes you have > seen as a result of NCLB - good and bad please > > For example, but not limited to: > how has curriculum and assessment changed? > how has daily life/routines in your classroom changed? > have you seen changes in student behaviors? > how do parents respond to the demands placed on their kids? > > Thanks in advance for your thoughts and help!

Our school has been under a Reading First grant for @ 2 years now. This is our 3rd and final year. It has been extremely difficult and frustrating to adjust to the tremendous demands of RF. I have had many sleepness nights and shed many tears over RF but am finally adjusting somewhat. The good things that have come out of RF:

1. I have learned many new engagement strategies with my students and have incorporated them into my classroom.

2. I feel that the balance stressed by RF between having whole group lessons and small group instruction is a very good thing.

3. I hated the increased assessement we are required to do but now see the benefits of progress monitoring my students to keep tabs on their reading progress. DIBELS testing is a snapshot but a pretty good indicator of how my students are progressing in their reading fluency.

4. One of the best parts of RF is the Tier system in which the students spend 90 minutes in the Core (Tier One), 30 extra minutes in which the Strategic and Intensive kids get extra rdg. instruction (Tier 2) and 30 minutes more for the Intensive students (really struggling readers) to get extra help and support (Tier 3). This extra time built into the day can't help but be a good thing for our struggling readers. > > Here are some things I very much dislike about RF:

1. LITERACY STATIONS!!!! I detest them because they take sooo much time and effort to set up and to explain them to the children so that they don't play around and abuse them. We are required to have stations that reinforce what we have taught in our Core Lessons, and to have them differentiated so that all different levels of readers can do them at their level. This is almost impossible to achieve so that it all runs smoothly. We are told we must have them so that the teacher can conduct small flexible reading groups during the core time. They also must be literacy stations that cover the big five components of reading: Phonemic Awareness/Phonics, Fluency, Comprehension, and Vocabulary.

2.The planning and prep time in a Reading First School is enormous. I am almost always exhausted. It is getting somewhat better but not a lot better. I spend hours planning small group lessons and literacy stations for my different levels of kids. I can't see that all these groups and levels are really justified but it is a requirement of RF that we do it so I do it. I have always been a concientious and hard-working teacher but this RF stuff is beyond the pale.

3. The Reading Coach, the State Reading Specialist, and our Principal (our school "Literacy Leader") tell us all the things we must do but give very little guidance or explanation as to HOW we should implement all the requirements. It's very much like government mandates. They tell you what to do but give you very few resources with which to implement it all.

4. We must use only an approved RF reading series (ours is Harcourt Trophies) and cannot deviate from this program. It is called "fidelity to the core". We feel very boxed in sometimes by this. Sometimes, I have materials that would work better with the children but I cannot use them unless they are approved.

5. We are observed quite often. Everything we say and do is written down and critiqued. We are required to post our objectives and must use visual verbs in doing so. We must make sure we restate our objectives during the lesson and make sure that the students repeat those objectives back to us. After every lesson, we must ask the question, "What have we learned today?" The students must repeat back, "We have learned......" and recall and restate the lesson. It really does get old.

RF has taken much of the joy and fun out of my teaching, even though I must admit I have learned some very good strategies. It almost seems schizophrenic to me. The "literacy leaders" will stress something one month and then act like that's not what they really wanted when actually we never knew what they wanted in the first place!! One month they may emphasize vocabulary and act like it's the all important part of reading and then the next month that goes on the back burner and it's on to comprehension. It just gets crazy! I will be so very glad when we no longer have the grant. It has been a true test of my love for teaching. So far my love of teaching and love of my students has kept me going. I hope I can recapture my fervor for teaching before RF hit our school.

Oct 18, 2008

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frack22 On 10/09/08, first wrote: > For my ethics course, I am working on a research paper on > the classroom and curriculum effects of NCLB. I would LOVE > and appreciate hearing from you regarding changes you have > seen as a result of NCLB - good and bad please > > For example, but not limited to: > how has curriculum and assessment...See More

Oct 19, 2008

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