I had a nice summer. I spent most of my time working at DePaul, but that’s okay because I like my job. I taught two summer courses: Intro to Elementary Education and Intro to Middle School Education. Both groups of students will be spending this academic year in classrooms with mentor teachers in high needs Chicago Public Schools while continuing to take classes at DePaul. At the end of the year they’ll earn their master’s degree and licensure. It’s great that we have dedicated individuals going into the classroom at the time when so many people are running in the other direction.

One of the best things I had them do was read a novel appropriate for 4th through 8th graders. They answered questions about the book and author, and then created a technology response. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that most of them hadn’t had time to read a book for pleasure in several years. I also know it’s not an exaggeration to say many of them were NOT excited about this assignment. They had a lot of assignments to complete and it was just another thing to do, but they ended up absolutely loving the books they read. This of course was music to my ears—and I am sure they weren’t just pretending to like the books. Their reactions were too genuine, and the tech responses they made were too full of creativity and love.

The big winners were books by Jason Reynolds (Long Way Down) and Kwame Alexander (Crossover, Booked)

Others they highly recommended for the 4th-8th grade crowd:

– Stunt Boy
– The Stars Beneath Our Feet
– Lily and Dunkin
– New Kid
– Dragon Hoops
– Turtle Boy
– Roller Girl
– Dear Martin
– Dear Justyce
– Hurricane Season
– Step Up to the Plate Maria Singh
– Bird in a Box
– Finding Langston
– Patina
– Efren Divided
– Displacement
– Invention of Hugo Cabret
– Wonderstruck
– Epic Fail of Arturo Zamoras
– Pet
– Go with the Flow
– Benefits of Being an Octopus
– A Field Guide to Getting Lost
– Rules
– The Schwa Was Here
– Other Words for Home
– Absolutely Almost
– I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
– The Thing About Georgie
– Stargazing
– Starfish

We talked about Rudine Simms Bishop’s mirrors/windows adage that kids need books to be mirrors where they see themselves and windows where they see other experiences/worlds. It’s great if we as teachers have our old favorites, but we also need to be aware of books that have been published more recently and reflect today’s world. Many of the books listed above are great examples that definitely serve as mirrors and windows, and they are enjoyable to read as well.

Success Breeds Success, and Meaningful Practice of Skills can Lead to Success, Ergo: Skill is Not a Bad Word

For most us, motivation follows success, it does not generally precede success. If we sit around waiting to be motivated to do something, we could end up creating quite a dent in the couch with the increasing magnitude of our rear ends.

Success breeds success. Once we become better at something, we tend to want to engage in it more. When we see the rewards of our efforts, we are more inclined to continue with the endeavor. If we’re just bad at something, we are unlikely to want to engage in it. It will be very difficult to get started or to stick with it.

In the previous post, I wrote about being bad at a new unnamed activity and trying to be okay with that. It is completely out of my wheelhouse. I look really awkward doing it, and if you know anything about me, you’d know I hate looking awkward. It makes me very self-conscious, and has likely made me quit many pursuits in the past. I probably look quite goofy (defined in multiple ways depending on the situation) in many circumstances, but I am just delusional enough to believe that I almost always look polished and professional. Please don’t burst my delusion, thank you.

Through a series of events I’ll explain another time, I’ve decided to learn how to bowl. I believed that bowling was mostly a game of luck. You pick up the ball, give it a good toss, and hope for the best. Well, it turns out that I was totally wrong and bowling is not a game of luck. As many of you probably already knew, there are definite skills involved. It involves way more math and science than I ever imagined. And as with most things, coaching improves those skills (thanks Diandra Asbaty!) Studying techniques, watching role models, getting tips from others, asking questions, and practicing, practicing, practicing…all help a person to improve. I am now spending time mostly working on my approach. It’s basic, but key. I don’t worry at this point about how many pins I knock down (or don’t knock down). I’ll get there, but it’s not my focus yet.

Let’s think about the concepts of motivation and skills as related to literacy. Success breeds success, so if we want to motivate kids to read, we have to provide them with successful experiences–genuinely pleasant, engaging, positive experiences that help them to feel they have accomplished something. We have to build on their strengths and think about what is key to initial success. We don’t have to worry at this point about having them analyze Shakespeare.

How do we make that happen? We read all sorts of different materials with them, we talk to them about what they are reading, we bring in technology tools to spark interest in topics they didn’t know they would be interested in, and we use the arts in our classrooms. We help them practice skills in meaningful ways so that their success does not rely on luck, but on increased ability.

And sometimes we let ourselves look a little awkward as we’re learning new things, because it’s okay to not always look as polished and professional as I do. (Again, please do not disrupt my delusions., thank you.)
Roxanne F. Owens, PhD
Chair, Teacher Education
DePaul University
College of Education

I’m terrible at being bad at things. Do you know what I mean? It’s definitely more fun to engage in things at which we excel—or at least at which we aren’t awful. Given the choice between playing “Row, Row, Row, Your Boat” on the piano and doing a Calculus problem, I’m going to row that boat oh so gently out to sea every time, because I wouldn’t even know where to start with the Calculus problem.

I think many people feel that way. While some may be attracted to a challenge and will puzzle through the most demanding of tasks, others are more comfortable leaning toward the option more likely to lead to success. If I’m not particularly good at something, I tend to give up on it and move on to something else. I admit I can be a bit more of a giver-upper—especially if I think the task makes me appear goofy in some way. Oh, I’ll give it the old college try, but if it doesn’t seem like it’s going to come naturally to me, I’ll likely be moving on soon.

Recently though, I have committed to being okay with being bad at something until I actually do get better at it. Why am I willing to do this? It isn’t going to be easy. It is going to take hours of practice. It’s going to take mental and physical stamina. And the part that is hardest for me to reconcile? It’s going to mean looking quite unskilled and awkward in public while I am learning.

Here’s why: I have figured out through some experiences that the end result IS worth it. There are so many benefits I’m finding from this activity, that the hours of practice clearly outweigh any downsides of the awkwardness. When I am successful at the task, it’s rewarding. I sincerely enjoy the community that I’m part of when I am engaging in this new activity. Most importantly, I have a great support team encouraging me. They focus on what I’m doing right and help me minimize the things that are not helping me to make progress.

So, what does ANY of this have to do with LITERACY. It has everything to do with literacy. What child wants to spend time doing something at which they don’t feel successful?

What child wants to look awkward and unskilled in front of their peers?

What child wants to have someone constantly point out only what they are doing wrong?

What child is going to pick a calculus problem over a simple tune on the piano (so to speak)?

Success breeds success. We can’t expect kids to want to read and write when it is not something they are finding in any way enjoyable or meaningful to them. The process of engaging in literacy pursuits must bePleasant, Interesting, Engaging, and Challenging Enough. We will explore how to make that happen in future posts.

And the activity I’m pursuing, despite how awkward I look?

More on that later too.