Chapter 3

Reading about text-book based big ideas reminds me of how things were when i was in elementary and middle school.  My teachers ideas of us learning was reading the chapter, doing a worksheet, answering the questions at the end of the chapter, looking up the vocabulary words, and then testing us on it.  One good thing about NCLB is that now teachers have to use research based technology to teach and are held accountable for what they are teaching and most importantly what their students are learning.  The fact that the teachers are responsible for teaching the state standards and using them as their "big ideas" to pin point the intimate details in the subject has renovated teaching.

Something else that jumped out at me from this chapter was the small paragraph on critical literacy.  This is something that first crossed my path in the 9th grade.  When my teacher was helping us dissect the material that we were reading, it gave us an understanding of the depth of the text.  Often times when students, and even adults, are reading, they are unable to realize the multiple meanings that the text can contain.  As an effective teacher, no matter which subject, the teacher should help the students dig into and comprehend the many different angles that text can contain.

The other thing I noticed that caught my eye is the small paragraph on building community.  I think that building community is possibly one of the most important things the teacher can do in the classroom.  It is important to realize that building community is important inside and outside the classroom.  It also must involve the parents of the students.  Getting the parents involved in the students academics is not easy, but very necessary.  The teacher can do things such as giving the parents things to do to help their child with homework.  Not all parents are able to come into the classroom so it is important to provide them with the same opportunity as every other parent.