Please give me some feedback!

especially with all the scientific research going on that shows a balanced program includes a foundation, of phonemic awareness, and phonology to learn a logic of the code to learn the alphabetic principal so that he can get comprehension. Universities have to keep up with the times in regards to cranking out teachers who can meet the state mandates. I was thinking about getting a certificate as a reading specialist but the professor discouraged me from applying because he knows I am becoming an SLP. He could tell I knew a lot when I took the elementary reading course for my special day class authorization.

You can be creative when you are teaching if you have the LD licensure. As a LD specialist you would be teaching a variety of things and much more than just reading. What would you like to do more than anything else? I would suggest that you follow your heart.

Depending on the specific school, you may have more ability to teach the way you want to than you think. It’s pretty easy to tell in an interview where a principal and department head stand on reading instruction and whether you’ll get support for what you’re trying to do.

I took a fair # of courses at U.VA. myself — yes, some courses were rather out of step with… oh, reality, in my opinion. I still learned from ‘em and got some ideas to incorporate. Down in South Carolina, the elementary curric class was taught by an excellent teacher… who was a *very* strong supporter of whole language. He had this idealized version of it in his mind (I did my paper for the class on it — when I’d cite research observations of things missing from WL classes he’d have responses like “this can be part of the WL class” — and other big ol’ sections, well, he just didn’t comment, one would have to assume because he didn’t have an answer — his comment at the end of the paper was “you know how I feel about this.” Gee, I wouldn’t want to hurt his *feelings* and his love for WL — so let that group of kids miss the skills foundation, okay?… I got an A in the course, he didn’t put a grade on the paper ;))

Anyway, the point is, grad school is still different from real school — there are lots of principals who are bucking the WL thing and you just have to find the right one.

I’m a parent not a teacher but thought you might find what has happened at my son’s school interesting. The principal this year hired a resource teacher who had been trained in both Phono-graphix and LIPS. Now the previous person was pretty bad—barely could implement the county’s programs of choice. I raised a lot of trouble in the district last year due to lack of appropriate programming for my son which I am sure made the principal very aware of these sorts of issues. Still, I know the teacher has received some grief from district level people for not using county programs but the principal and others are thrilled.

So I think local support is critical and as long as hiring decisions aren’t centralized you can end up in acompatible situation even if you don’t match the county’s agenda.

Beth

Patti:

What I want to do more than anything else is to teach reading!!! I’m just afraid I wouldn’t be able to find a job. I kind of have a reputation in the county since I fought so hard against whole language a few years ago. Maybe people have forgotten?

I am not young anymore and I followed my heart about 20 years ago and it didn’t work out too well. I stayed home for 10 years with my children and now I’m working as a preschool assistant teacher. At the time I knew I had to follow my heart, though. Maybe you are right — maybe I should.

Even though the course I took was mostly whole word (language), I still did very well. I don’t have my final grade, but I received an A+ on every paper I wrote and an A on my presentation. It did help that the instructor knew me and she didn’t know that I thought most of what she was teaching was bunk :-).

The other reason I think I did well is because I have been reading about teaching reading avidly for about five years now. I do feel very strongly about teaching reading and I’m sure it came out in everything I did in the course.

Thanks for your feedback, Patti. This is not going to be an easy decision.

Margo

Honestly, it will not only vary from county to county but from school to school. In my experience, LD resouce teachers had great latitude in the materials they use. Typically, special ed teachers are given $200-$400 per year to order any materials they choose. At that rate it may take awhile to get everything you want, but some materials, like Phono-Graphix, are not so expensive. Our Chapter 1 reading teachers, however, are given the programs from which they are expected to teach. Apparently there are a lot of people who do not bother to read the current reading research, though. Our Chapter 1 reading classes are using a hodge podge including a good bit of whole language. No one seems to screen for phonemic awareness, etc. It amazes me. But my school and a couple of others did buy Saxon Phonics for regular K and 1st grade classes which does indicate that somebody has done some research.

You could always work privately. You should get plenty of business from all the poor readers produced by whole language. ;-)

Janis

Are you in the southeast now? I am from Columbia but live in NC now.

Janis

Just ask Sue J…she has been a wonderful internet friend who encourages me in gradschool when I am ready to throw in the towel.. I am old enough to be some of my classmates, ahhemmm mother…did I say that?? Oh, my gosh…don’t tell anyone that I am really the ‘olde gray mare, with dark auburn Ms. Clairol in her back pocket…:-P

Margo, you have a lot to offer, don’t sell your self short. Heck, you want to hear a hoot! The district I took to due process a year ago has hired me back…I kid you not… They respect my judgment and what I can do to help kids so that old stuff and ruckus is water under the bridge.. Where there is a will there is a way.

I like teaching reading, but I like teaching the whole kit and caboodle, encompassing learning and language and I especially like working with middle and high schoolers..the kids that are by far the most challenging. I am going to become an SLP but with SDC authorization so that I can be a teacher in a classroom working with kids who have reading and language problems. I have followed my heart and I don’t regret it. I am older than everyone else but with AGE comes WISDOM and CONFIDENCE… I am still chugging away one day at a time and changing my life along with the kids I come in contact with. Follow your heart you will find yourself…

Margo,

As a parent I know the schools are failing our kids in reading programs. My 9 yr. old son is even in sped class I finally followed my heart and knew I couldn’t trust them to teach my son to read.

I hired a reading teacher for two sessions a week this summer and the improvement is amazing. There is no one size fits all reading program. She uses some phonics, some whole word, lots of word and comprehension games, has him write me a note about each session.

I am so proud of his hard work and he is so proud of himself. The sped teacher continues on with the phonics program she uses. I sent her reports from the tutor which she never aknowledges. She wouldn’t even let my son read her a story he did with the tutor and he was crushed.

Keep your spirit and you mind open good reading teachers aren’t easy to find.

Best to you.

Hi Margo,

I’m with Patti, you should do what you love and believe in, and you will find a way to make it work, I believe. I am an LD/Resource Specialist with Lindamood training, and I’ve found a way to make it work in my district (LA) even though they have gone whole hog into Open Court (which is way too “balanced” toward whole language for me), and don’t want the kids pulled out for more than 30 minutes at a time. I had told the principal when I was hired that “this is what I do, so if you don’t want it, don’t hire me” so she’s supported me all the way, despite pressures from the district. The other thing I did was my own research study, on the 17 kids who were with me throughout last year, I did pre- and post-tests on them that showed they made 1.8 years gain over the nine months of the program… that got some attention, I can tell you and has helped a lot in defending the program the way I have set it up. We get over $700 for special ed. materials, and I’ve spent less than half so far this year, but then I do make many of my own materials, I don’t buy all the expensive kits that Lindamood puts out.

Anyway, the bottom line is, you are on the right side of the research, and more and more parents, principals and eventually district administrators will be getting smart — it’s the universities and faculties who are behind the times, ironically! You probably won’t be able to change their minds anyway, so don’t bother trying, but with the people at whatever school you are at, you can be a big influence if you handle it right. Educate yourself about the research that’s out there, look for articles by G. Reid Lyon, for starters (many are on the internet), and slip them to the right people at the right time. I’d say hang in there and forge ahead, this field needs more people like you!

Sharon