1. I am committed to the belief that the function of teaching begins with validating a learner's ability to learn. I think not validating their ability to learn is, in large measure, why we lose kids in elementary school. They are what we think they are, capable or not. If we think they can or if we think they can't, we're right and so that's what they come to see themselves as - able or not able to learn. I think this is as much about focusing on the content rather than the learner......
2. Why can't so many of our second language learners read (comprehend) in third grade when they have been in our classrooms since Kindergarten? They can decode (sound out) words, but then have little idea what the words mean in the text. I think this is similar to issue one..... We need to focus on the learner not the content. If we would build meaning first (with pictures), then we can connect the symbols (letters and words).
What do you think?
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