New Elementary Teachers and Reading

Question: What should new elementary teachers be asked about teaching reading?

Answer/Quote: “…if beginning teachers who go into schools where they are expecting to use core programs with fidelity and are told what to do and how many minutes to teach, all of which is monitored, they end up three years later as stupid, lazy teachers. However, if they go into systems where the first question they’re asked  is what do you need to become successful at teaching reading?, three years later they end up being successful at teaching kids to read.” Richard Allington

Question: How would you characterize a teacher preparation program in college?

Answer: As a teacher education program, not a teacher training program. P David Pearson.

Comment: Both these answers contain ideas that need to be thought through. The problem with a canned program in reading is that the teachers cannot grow beyond the specified reading program. They are “canned,” meaning “trained.” “Education” is distinctly different from “trained.” RayS.

Title: “The Casualties of Policy on Early Literacy Development.” Richard Allington and P. David Pearson. Language Arts (September 2011), 70-74.