We Can Teach All Kids to Read (from Dick Allington)

Last Saturday, I got to hear Dick Allington speak at the No Child Left Out Conference in Charleston, South Carolina. I'm embarrassed to say that I've never heard of Dick Allington. He has served as president of the International Reading Association as well as the president of the National Reading Conference, he's authored over 100 articles and books, and he's in the IRA Reading Hall of Fame! What I heard this weekend about reading research was very powerful, and I'm sharing my notes from his presentation below. 

*My apologies on the quality of the pictures taken by my iPad. Also, the notes are taken from what he said in his presentation.

Dr. Allington said that there are a lot of what he called mythologies around reading: poverty, boys, ADD... He said there are lots of labels to say that not everyone can read, but he said that we can teach everyone to read.

--Two-thirds of teachers feel no responsibility of teaching kids in SpEd, ELL or Title I. (They think it's the specialist's job.)

--Girls reading on grade-level produce 1 baby for every 8 that are produced by girls who read below grade-level.

--You can teach kids to decode, or you can teach kids to read. They're not the same thing.

-->Researchers interviewed teachers who referred more than 5 students per year (high-referral) for SpEd and teachers who had not referred anyone in 5 years (low-referral) for SpEd.
-->When asking high-referral teachers about a struggling student, they get 3 sentences. "He can't read. He doesn't try. His parents are no help either."
-->When low-referral teachers were asked, they gave a 3-page description about the student. What they like to read, what their interests were, and more.
-->What do we as effective or ineffective teachers have to do with LD?

"Middle school teachers say they don't have time for reading intervention. Why would they put that student in any other class in middle school if 

he can't frickin' read." 

- Dick Allington

Principles for Intervention Design
1. Match Reader and Text Level.
**No one can teach kids science or social studies if kids can't read the books. Must be able to read with 99% accuracy and 90% comprehension.
2. Dramatically expands reading activity. 
*Struggling readers read less than those that don't struggle. They do more worksheets and have more testing.
3. Use very small groups or tutoring. 
*The only ones that work are 1:1 expert tutoring or 1:3 expert tutoring.
4. Coordinates Intervention with Core Classroom.
*Ninety percent of classroom teachers have no idea what kids are reading in the intervention program.
5. Intervention must be done by expert teachers.
*Period.
6. Focus Intervention on Meta-Cognition and Meaning
*Teach kids to think about thinking.

--Round-robin reading aloud should be stopped!

--Teachers have created an environment where kids don't read. Either the books are too hard, or it's things that the kids don't want to read.

What Dick Allington says is very thought-provoking, and I would love to hear your comments and responses below!

Please join me tomorrow when I will share how I plan to use and share this information at our school.

Motivation Monday #6 - Rise and Rise Again {February 10, 2014}

When I was 17, I pitched for the Alabama state softball team that won the Dixie Youth World Series softball tournament. 

Our team's "theme song" was Never Surrender by Corey Hart. 

We had a player on our team, Sandy, whose parents were deaf, and Sandy taught us the sign language to the song. 

In the field, in the dugout, during warm-ups, we would do the sign language for the two words, Never Surrender.

As I watched the video clip below, I thought of two things.

 

1. I thought of the past and a group of 16- and 17-year-olds who truly believed in never giving up. 

2. I also thought of the present and the courage displayed by Tim Dawkins. In my blog post from yesterday, I write an open letter to Tim thanking him for his courage. 

And to you, friend, reading today's post:

Never, never, never give up.

To a New Administrator: An Open Letter about Courage

As I sat it the airport waiting on my return flight to Birmingham earlier today from the powerful No Child Left Out Conference in Charleston, South Carolina, I scrolled through Twitter to see what my friends had been up to at the NASSP Conference in Dallas. In my twitter feed was a reference by Laurie Barron (@LaurieBarron) to a blog post by Tim Dawkins (@Tim_Dawks) titled "Breakfast of Champions and the Power of Yet."

To summarize (and I recommend you read the entire blog post), Tim is a new assistant principal with a background in counseling. When he went to breakfast Friday morning, he was placed at a table with another singleton at the conference. 

Here's what Tim said in his blog post:

"I definitely got more than I bargained for. As our conversation moved from introductions and general pleasantries to the business of the weekend, I was confronted with the idea that my background as a school counselor would not serve me well as an educational leader at the building level... My breakfast partner, a long-time principal from the West Coast, felt it necessary to tell me that I am at a pretty hefty disadvantage because I haven't spent time building lesson plans, writing curriculum, and instructing in a subject area, and unfortunately teachers would never really take my attempts to improve instruction and learning seriously because of this."

Tim goes on to share how he is choosing to respond to her comments. He had just heard Dr. Carol Dweck be interviewed the day before, and he took this opportunity to embrace a growth mindset. He is choosing to embrace the word "Yet" and give himself permission to grow and learn.

After I read Tim's blog post, I started typing a response in the comments, but I quickly realized that I have a lot of thoughts on this in response to what I read. So, Tim, here's my response.

Dear Tim, 

I commend you for choosing to hear words from a perspective that gives your breakfast friend the benefit of the doubt. It shows you come from a place of positivity and hope. That says more to me about leadership and respect than previous experience with lesson planning.

I also applaud you for choosing to have a growth mindset.  No matter where we are in our leadership journey, whether it's the first year or the twentieth year, when we feel like we have "arrived," then it's time to get out. We should all feel like we can and will continue to learn and grow.

And... I've learned that leading is leading. Period. I know successful coaches who never played the sport they coached. It wasn't about what that coach could do, it was about what that coach could get his/her players to do successfully. Leading has to do with relationships and trust. Sometimes trust can be built on a leader having "been there, done that," but sustaining trust and followership is built on so much more. 

So I respectfully disagree with your breakfast partner's statements. I wish she had taken time to get to know you. To ask you some of the questions you are asking yourself. To consider the meeting an opportunity to be a positive influence on a new administrator. To TEACH.

After spending a weekend with incredible educators such as Stephen Peters (who would have listened, encouraged, and given you practical advice), Dick Allington (who would have met with you after breakfast and mentored you), Cynthia Wilson (who would have asked you if you have a heart for leading), or Alfred "Coach" Powell (who would have told you, "You did not choose this job, this job chose you."), I can only believe that the reason you met and talked to the person you did was to deepen your commitment and resolve. The students you serve need and deserve an educator who is passionate and "all in."

Thank you for your commitment to leadership as well as personal and professional growth. Thank you for being open and honest. Your words remind all of us to be reflective and to persist even when the naysayers show up. Thank you for your courage.

Sincerely,

Motivation Monday #5 - Don't Let Anyone Tell You that You Can't {February 3, 2014}

On the heels of the Seahawks' 43-8 win over the Broncos last night in the Superbowl, today's video features Derrick Coleman, the first deaf offensive player in the NFL. He was told it couldn't be done. He didn't listen.

What do you do when someone tells you that you can't? Do you listen?