Who Will Help Me Write?

Who will help me write? I will if I know what to do.

In many classrooms through out the world children and adults struggle with writing exercises; this is particularly so for factual inscriptions. Raymond Hackette, 2010, reflects and asks what is the purpose of education and what is the purpose of schools? Most individuals will shout readily, the purpose of education is to get a good job; and the purpose of schools are to get a good education. Raymond Hackette, in his dissertation quotes from Roger Smith, Creating the Effective Primary School: A Guide to School Leaders and Teachers; "The purpose of education can be broken down into four purposes:

1. Intellectual Purposes

2. Social Purposes

3. Emotional Purposes

4. Physical purposes

Bearing this in mind I will epitomize the many crisis that prevent our Children from achieving excellence in writing competencies and endeavours. Now Writing has an intellectual component to it that is often neglected by educators. I do not believe that this is a deliberate act of our teachers but merely a lack of knowledge, skills and attitudes in the writing arena; being able to write proficiently is one thing but teaching writing proficiency is another ideology.

Writing also has a social aspect to it. In our classes we seldom encourage team work, cooperation and collaboration among our students. Just reflect for a while and picture the seating arrangement of students in your classroom. Human beings are social by nature, hence the reason we are dependent on each other for support, praise, motivation and advice.

Students in an emotionally safe writing environment will write without being told, and share their scripts with their peers. If this is done in some classrooms, it is deemed as copying and students are often degraded and demoralized for this act of kindness.

Writing also postulates a physical goal, which should be to allow students the opportunity to spend as much time as is needed to complete the writing process. In the real world educators seldom utilise the Writing Process for one reason or the other. In my conferences with teachers they perceive it as time consuming and infringes on their ability to complete the national curricula. In the Physical feature of writing students must be directed to write for authentic, purposes and audiences.

This might be a mouthful to chew on; however I would make several recommendations in an effort to improve the educational frontier of our country and raise the achievement bars of struggling writers.

1. I propose that the Ministry of Education participate in an educational drive to edify teachers on the intricacies of essay writing; the varying challenges students face when writing (e.g. writer's block, sentence construction and fluency); Instructional strategies that will work as well as demonstrations of these strategies.
2. Allow students to write for real audiences and purposes.
3. Utilise the Writing Process enhanced by the ideologies of 6 traits + 1
4. Encourage Writing Groups and socialization among students, as a means of support, scaffolding, building confidence and motivation.
5. Develop a library with literature and varying genre of readings for all individuals attached to the learning/teaching milieu.
   
6. Last but not least give students opportunities to write and read collectively and collaboratively. There are so many suggestions that can be giving to improve the writing environment but time does not permit this.
   

How Can I Create a Reading Environment That Meet the Needs of My Male Students?

Research in the United States of America has illustrated that boys are not doing as well as their counterpart, the girls. However,this phenomenon is not restricted to the United States alone but is a universal challenge; one that needs urgent attention and intervention.

Bill Brozo, 2010 believes that for boys to engage in reading practices that will stimulate and improve their reading competencies and achievements; their experiences must enable them to participate in meaningful reading activities that matter to them. Bill Brozo, 2010, went on to state that boys seldom read during the summer vacation when there are a host of outdoor activities going on right before their eyes. At present there are several music and sporting camps being offered by varying ministries aligned with governmental and non-governmental organizations. Among the activities being offered are football, table and lawn tennis, cricket and Pan in the Classroom.

Bill Brozo, 2010 in his article articulated that males are less motivated to read than girls and their reading attainment is significantly lower than girls in virtually every state in the United States of America. He also stated that encouraging reading among boys may seem daunting but it is a critical goal.

He ,(Brozo), believes that the only way for one to overcome this dilemma is to capitalize on the interest of boys. Once the males are not marginalized in one way or the other they will develop and foster a love and appreciation for reading. Educators need to pay attention to the materials that they select for boys to read. The articles, books or other genre must connect with the interest and previous knowledge of the male students. In other words there must be a marriage of association, where the students must be able to link their experiences and knowledge with the articles about to be read or read.

As a reading teacher, I would do an interest inventory for all readers (both males and females) and match the reading material selected with their levels, interests and needs. For example vary the materials read by both the boys and girls and allow them to share their readings via group activities, podcasts, story boards, blogs, wikis or graphic organizers. These reading could include newspapers, instruction manuals on phones and other interested devices. Once the reading activity and materials are interested, purposeful, motivational, empowering and engaging, our male clientele will improve rapidly in their reading endeavours.

In my reflection I can align myself to the perils of the boys due to the fact that, if the material presented to me for reading is not interested or purposeful; I do have a hard time reading and extracting the information from within it.

The Reading Environment and ICT

Does Information and Communication Technologies have a part to play in today's reading ambience?

Some individuals might say yes whilst others might say no. However, to respond to this question effectively one must know what is Information Technology as well as Communication Technology. It is also critical to compare and contrast their functions, advantages, disadvantages in the reading classroom. One must also be able to visualize how these resources will assist the accelerating or struggling learners. It is imperative to discuss their importance in one instructional and assessment designs.
As educators preach about the challenges they face within the walls of their classrooms, I.C.T. can be used as the vehicle to assist with the elimination of these problems. Many reading settings need dynamic and diverse strategies and technologies to enhance them. The use of the computer, graphic organisers, E-beams, wikis, Storyboards, podcasts and interactive charts and games will allow the learners to excel and comprehend well the concepts taught.
As teachers and students strive for excellence in the reading ambience, I.C.T is an important assets in an effort to maximize students attainment.

Differentiation a teaching and assessment tool to stimulate, appreciate and collaborate learners and teachers in the Reading environment.
In the twenty first century educational institutions are faced with several challenges that now plague schools and may be deemed as factors that contribute to high student underachievement and teacher ineffectiveness. The task at hand is to make schools an archetype of continuous learning; on-going professional and staff development initiatives; improved instructions that are tailored to suit the needs of all student; as well as the creation of an environment that adds value to the lives of learners; promote quality education and is also cognizant of excellence.
Today I believe that the dogma of Differentiated Instructions can positively change the teaching and learning environment of all individuals. As stakeholders in the partnership of education strive for improvement in reading; the utilization of Differentiation can bring about a new and creative dynamism to the school settings.
Differentiated instructions calls for an all hands on-deck philosophy(collaboration). One of its pillar is continuous modification of language and instructions to meet the needs of diverse learners(flexibility). This methodology appreciates and stimulates the learners, teachers and the learning preferences of students in an attempt to excite and stimulate their learning ambience.

What the Reading Environment Should Not Be.

Behind every classroom door lies a diversity of students, with multiple needs, interest and learning styles. Due to this assumption the reading classroom should not just cater for one type of learner but should ensure that the needs of all are met. The Ideal Reading environment should have a genre of literature that suits and meet every one's interest and needs. This scene should also have games, technological resources, research centers, writing centers, , audio tapes and centres, fluency cards; a role play corner that includes experiences with puppetry, charades and other games that will motivate students to learn. Do not forget that the environment should be print rich but not over done. As budding reading specialist we need to collaborate and consult inorder to ensure that we have a picturesque setting that appeal to to the learners of the twenty first century.