Friday, September 9, 2011

C4T #1--- Breaking Education Barriers by Annie Palmer

Post/Comment 1


     The most recent post by Annie Palmer was an excellent reflection on a book that she was reading called Difficult Conversations. Ms. Palmer talks about how results are strengthened in the business world when problems are identified and talked about with the right people. This should also be the case in education.  She said that if we truly want what's best for our kids, we must learn to collaborate and have difficult conversations. She talks about how principals are so important in creating a safe environment for teachers to have those difficult conversations.  She said, and I definitely agree, that all teachers deal with this issue.  Teachers do great things with subject matter but actually avoid the very thing holding their students back.
     In my comment, I discussed and agreed with many points of Annie Palmer's reflection. I added that teachers are absolutely great at practicing the difficult conversations in the teacher's lounge. I emphasized that it is time to stop practicing and take the next step, in order for results to be strengthened.  Again, the difficult conversations must take place if we truly want what's best for our kids.This is a great post for anyone in the field of education
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 Post/Comment 2


child      The second post I commented on had a very intriguing title. It is called Mrs. Palmer changed my Life. It was a reflection on how she was able to implement a program that sparked the interest in reading for her students.  It gave great incite on how we are drilling the love of reading right out of our children.  She said that it doesn't have to be that way. The approach she tried was based on the book called The Book Whisperer.
She implemented the program and had excellent results. In short, this program got rid of book reports and assigned reading. The focus was on facilitating the love of reading rather than forced activities and quizzes. Annie Palmer made a difference in the life of at least one child by her courage to try this program. She has an e-mail to prove it.
     My comment revolved around the fact that this approach should be made known to many more teachers and tried by as many as possible.  I discussed the AR program that my children do at their school.  In the AR program, students are forced to read for points and grades.
      I completely agreed and restated with her opinion about the importance of sparking the interest and enjoyment of reading.Annie Palmer has really made me think and has added to my educational experience.
      This was also a great post for pre-service teachers.

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