Book Review: The Essential Conversation

The Essential Conversation - What Parents and Teachers Can Learn From Each Other by Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot analyzes the relationship between a child's parent(s) and teacher and discusses how to make this relationship productive and collaborative. The backdrop of Lawrence-Lightfoot's argument is the theory that both teachers and parents have emotional baggage regarding their own schooling experiences and that they bring this baggage to the table during parent-teacher conferences. In addition, Lawrence-Lightfoot also stresses that society's view of school as an institution to cure all that ails Americans - racism, sexism, classism - also casts a shadow on interactions between parents and teachers. While Lawrence-Lightfoot discusses both of these influences extensively, the primary focus of the text is to answer the question, How can the teacher-parent relationship be one that provides the foundation and supports for the child's success? By profiling several teachers who have a record of positive feedback from parents, Lawrence-Lightfoot provides several important strategies for teachers and parents to use not just at the semiannual parent-teacher conference, but throughout the whole school year.

I found this text to be both inspiring and useful when considering how to structure one's parent-teacher conferences and other interactions throughout the year. Lawrence-Lightfoot does an excellent job of emphasizing what parents want to hear at a parent-teacher conference, what teachers need to say, and how to bridge the divide between these two perspectives. The strategies she suggests for connecting with parents are not laid out in 1, 2, 3 fashion but folded into the text instead. This does not mean, however, that they are few and far between. I found myself underlining, starring, and bracketing something on almost every page. One of the suggestions was to have a sit down interview with parents at the beginning of the year in which the teacher listens to the parents talk about their child. Another strategy was to open a conference with an anecdote (as opposed to the usual platitudes). Lawrence-Lightfoot also fervently, and convincingly, argues that the child should be present at and preferably lead the conference.

While the book does have its slow points, it is, overall, a very thought provoking and useful text for thinking about how to build meaningful relationships between parents and teachers in the interest of the student at the intersection of this bond.

Lawrence-Lightfoot, S., (2004). The Essential Conversation. Boston: Twayne Publishers.

Teacher Book Wizard at Scholastic

As a teacher I find that while leveled libraries are a key element of any reading program, they can be difficult to accurately put together and maintain. In the past, I used the hard copy Fountas and Pinnell Leveled Book List. This list, while comprehensive, does not have texts that have been published since 2009. It is also time consuming to search through its 683 pages looking for a text or texts. Not to mention it's $47 price tag. This past year, I discovered the Fountas and Pinnell leveled books website. This was an improvement over the hard copy text since you could use a search engine to find a text in the database which saved time, however the price tag was roughly $1 per login. Not the best solution ever.

Well, hold the phone. The Teacher Book Wizard at Scholastic.com is a search engine which links to a database with the level information for over 50,000 texts. You can find out the Grade Level Equivalent, Lexile Measure, Guided Reading, or DRA level of a text, and you can also search for texts that are about a similar subject and/or on a similar reading level. That means that if I have a student who loves Key to the Treasure by Peggy Parish, I can search for similar books that are on his guided reading level. Alternatively, if I have another student who would love to read Key to the Treasure but hasn't reached that reading level yet, I can search for books that are similar but on a lower guided reading level as well. In addition, there is a forum for teachers to post text sets and reading lists of books they enjoy and read the posts that other teachers have put up.

But, wait, there's more! All of this comes to you for the low, low price of...FREE. That's right - FREE. You can't beat that. I totally recommend that you go and check it out today!

My Educational Philosophy

In order for instruction to be successful, it must be founded upon one’s knowledge of how students learn.  It is my belief that students are most successful when they are immersed in learning experiences differentiated to accommodate ability levels and interests and applicable in real world situations.  

    I believe that teachers must determine learning objectives and activities by studying the needs of each student.  Every child comes to the classroom with individual strengths, challenges, and preferences.  The role of a teacher is to take this invaluable information and carefully construct a program of instruction that will encourage and nurture development and success.  To adapt to the needs of a diverse student body, instruction must be differentiated to suit the needs of each individual student to the greatest extent possible.  By adapting curricula to student needs, I ensure that my students will be engaged in appropriate and meaningful ways.  Their chances for success will also be greater, which will encourage a deep love of learning and foster future successes as well.  Differentiation should not stop at student needs.  Instruction should also be differentiated to recognize and celebrate students’ interests.  What are students naturally drawn to?  What inspires them?  The answers to these questions should also be used to inform the course of study in the classroom. Students must feel that their ideas are important enough to be the center of classroom life or else they will never truly feel invested in the classroom community.

    I also believe that the role of an educator is to promote the cultivation of skills that are applicable to the real world.  First, teachers must determine what skills will be useful to each unique student in the real world.  For some students, this will mean life skills such as counting change or preparing dinner.  For other students, it will mean reading, writing, and math.  Whichever of these is true, the lessons and materials provided must challenge students to think outside of the classroom.  Students must be brought to different workplaces and shown various jobs in action.  Teachers should bring in real world texts like newspapers or pictures of grafitti to facilitate learning about real world literacy. Writing should be introduced as a tool of social action and students should be taught to use the written word to speak out on topics they believe in.  Indeed, everything that is taught in the classroom should have a greater meaning outside of the classroom and students need to be informed of each skill’s significance.  In order for education to be successful, it must reach beyond the desk, chalkboard, and playground.  

    In accordance with my student-centered teaching philosophy, the role of a teacher is that of a scaffolder who is constantly responding to student learning by continually extending the student’s ideas through inquiry, facilitation, and modeling.  Teachers must serve as inquirers in order to create an atmosphere of questioning and discovery.  I must ask my students questions like, “Why do you think that?” or “Tell me about what you’re working on” to challenge their current thinking and engage their higher-order thinking skills.  Teachers must also facilitate learning by providing easy access to resources, stable classroom routine, and flexible table groupings.  As faciliators of learning, teachers should focus on providing a learning environment where students can learn to be independent.  While independence is important, students must be able to look to their teacher as a role model.  I model the behaviors that I believe it is important for my students to cultivate, such as independence, empathy, and respect.