Summer of the Mariposas Blog Tour

After reading and loving Guadalupe Garcia McCall's Pura Belpré award winner, Under the Mesquite, I am excited to be a part of the blog tour for her second novel, Summer of the Mariposas. The book jacket describes, "Summer of the Mariposas is not just a magical Mexican American retelling of The Odyssey, it is a celebration of sisterhood and the true meaning of family and home." With well-known cultural references that my students know and love, La Llorona and the chupacabras, I am excited to see how they enjoy the book.

In the following guest post (originally written around Thanksgiving), Garcia McCall shares insights into how she thinks her book can be powerful for adolescents. I noticed how her statements, such as a focus on reading like writers and writing like readers closely aligning with workshop philosophy. Enjoy!

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"Looking at Books through the Eyes of a Writer" 

—Dreaming Up Teaching Ideas for Summer of the Mariposas as the Turkey Roasts in the Oven—by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

There are so many critical thinking skills a teacher can develop in her students using a novel, especially one dealing with a different culture. One skill that I think students need to develop as readers is to look at text through the writer's lens and explore the what, how, and why of the choices the author made as an expert writer. As both an English (writing) teacher and an author, this is something I think about a lot. Reading and writing are wedded. They are connected in a way that is natural and organic and therefore should be taught together, as two sides of the same coin. Students should read as writers and write as readers. 

One interesting element of Summer of the Mariposas that students can explore in this context is plot. The plot structure of Summer of the Mariposas is based on The Hero's Journey, the ancient form used by the Greeks to develop the plots of such fantastical stories as "The Odyssey" and "Jason and The Argonauts."  First, I would ask students to research The Hero's Journey and outline the form and structure of that basic plot in a graphic organizer of their own design. How does the plot of "The Odyssey" or "Jason and The Argonauts" fit into that basic structure? How does the plot of Summer of the Mariposas fit? 

Next, I would have students think about why the author of Summer of the Mariposas would use such an archaic plotting device to create a contemporary novel. Here are some questions to help guide discussion:

• Did the author change the structure, play with it, move pieces around, or reformat it in any way? If she did change or play with the structural components, why do you think she did it? 

• What Greek supernatural elements were replaced with something in the author's culture? Can you correlate characters from "The Odyssey" to characters in Summer of the Mariposas based on their names, descriptions, or actions? 

• In your opinion, which structural pieces from The Hero's Journey were well suited for the plot development of this novel? Which pieces didn't fit as well? Research other plot forms and structures. Would any of them have served the author's purpose of developing the story of the Garza girls? Which one? Why? How?

I hope these ideas help educators teach students to think critically about books and help them grow not only as readers but also as writers. There is so much more I could say here, but the Thanksgiving turkey is almost done, and my family is stirring awake. Have a blessed Holiday Season!

Reading Logs: This Year

Different years I have played around with and experimented with reading logs. I even had a year when I tossed them out and went by books read or pages read after reading resources from Nancie Atwell and Donalyn Miller, as well as reflecting on my own reading life. Nonetheless, I have realized that in my teaching context, reading logs are part of the school wide culture from kindergarten to fifth grade and it made sense to continue that on through 8th grade.

In addition, juggling reading in two languages and knowing that kids sometimes read multiple books at a time, I noticed that reading logs are a valuable tool in tracking students' reading lives. This summer I was reading resources by Lucy Calkins and colleagues (Pathways to the Common Core and the reading PDFs). I appreciated the way that they highlighted reading logs as a tool for student self reflection in addition to a teacher tool. As I reconsidered reading logs in preparation for the new school year, those ideas influenced my thinking.

This year, based on having students doing their independent reading in three different classrooms, I decided to have students record both their in school and at home reading onto the same log (rather than the log being for at home reading and doing a status of the class for in school reading). Even if they were all still in my class, I appreciate the way that having their two reading times side by side allows for a better snapshot into their reading lives. It also allows students to be more accountable for their reading lives and the decisions they are making as readers.

Students are expected to read the 35 minutes of independent reading at school Monday to Thursday and 30 minutes at home Monday-Friday. I include Saturday and Sunday on the reading log as optional days. Before I tried to be as efficient as possible with paper, such as getting a quarter long reading log set up; however, this year I decided to go week by week in order to preserve that record by reducing the chance of students losing a reading log that had weeks worth of data on it.

Instead, each Thursday they file their complete reading log into a folder that stays in the classroom  and receive a new one. There is a self-assessment on the back of the reading log where they assess themselves in two categories: time reading and engagement while reading.

If students meet the minimum reading requirements and are engaged while reading, they earn a 90% A. If they go above and beyond by either reading over 30 minutes during the week or by reading on the weekend, they earn a 100% A. If they miss reading sessions the grade decreases (i.e. 1 session B, 2 sessions C, 3-5 sessions D, more than 5 F). Their grade for the week is calculated first by time spent reading, but then they have to have the reading engagement behaviors to maintain that grade. For example, if the reader met the minimum time requirements but frequently switched books/grabbing random books off the shelf, they would not earn an A.

The rubric has opened up conversations about what they can be doing in order to support their growth as a reader, as well as behaviors and habits that can stifle that growth. At the end of each quarter students will revisit all of their logs so far and write a reflection on their reading lives, including goals for the next quarter.

Common Reading Time: Data and QRIs

Yesterday I started an update of how our shift to a 6th-8th grade common reading time is going so far. I explained what it was like the first couple of days. Today, I am going to continue on by sharing what my push-in colleague and I did next.

On the third day we took what we had observed in the various classes, as well as our background knowledge of the various students and met to map out a plan for starting QRIs. From previous years, we knew that conducting QRIs could end up taking a large portion of classroom time. We did not want it to stretch out over a period of a month and a half as it easily had before (or worse, even longer as a result of having all three classes at the same time).

Previously I had administered QRIs on my own to all 6th graders (since they were new to me) and to a select group of 7th and 8th graders since I had already had them for a couple of years. Instead, this year we prioritized students and mapped out a plan. We narrowed down to new students and students that we want to monitor more closely. Once we got to that point, we still wanted to think about efficiency. When we considered how long it would take us to complete the QRIs if we did multiple passages with students, we both agreed that we would want to avoid that length of time.

Instead, we chose one passage to use with all of the students in order to get a general snapshot. We know that we can always go back later and do more in depth QRIs with some of the students if needed. The fourth day we were able to begin the process. Because each of the grade levels was in a classroom with a teacher, we were able to pull students from the classroom to conduct QRIs and we were able to be fully present to the students, rather than also being in a supervisory role of the rest of the class. We also did not have to worry abou the interference of students overhearing responses of students before them. Walking in the hall we were able to have quick asides with students about the books they were reading.

By having both of us conducting QRIs, by being able to fully focus on the student that is with us at the time, and by going in with a plan for one passage, we have been able to move through our lists efficiently. Most likely, we will be able to finish up next Monday or Tuesday. At the end of each session, we typically have a little bit of time where there is not enough time to check in with one more student, so we have been quickly debriefing about what we are noticing so far.

And we are still observing... As we go into classrooms to get students, we notice student engagement. Even though it slows down the QRI process, we make sure to have quick check-ins with students who really need it in order to find the right book. As a team, we talk about what we are seeing and the possibilities of our next steps now that we have a little bit more flexibility in what we do. We consider how we can best meet the needs of the students in the different classes.

Time and time again, I am discovering that one of the aspects that I most appreciate about teaching alongside my colleague is the opportunity to have deep conversations about adolescents and reading and the history behind what we are doing and new possibilities.

In the future I will be doing posts about a shift in the way that we are doing reading logs this year and how that is working out, as well as a post about our post-QRI steps.

Scheduling Update

A little bit before the school year started, I posted about some changes in scheduling for this year. Now that we are two weeks and two days into the school year, I thought that I would give an update on how the shift to a common reading time for our 6th-8th grade classes (just one class/grade level) has been going.

We started school on a Thursday, but we did not begin our independent reading time slot until Monday. In some ways, my first two days of school felt rushed. Thursday was busy with First Day activity, and Friday I knew that I needed to make sure that every student checked out a book and was ready for Monday. I also needed to explain the new reading log to them that they will be using to log both their at school and at home reading requirements.

Monday mid-morning rolled around and each of the classes were reading - the building was silent. My push-in colleague and I quietly moved through the three classrooms to observe for signs of student engagement. We were able to have quick hallway asides about what we noticed as we were in the classrooms at different times. We began to formulate lists of students who we might be most concerned about, students who we would want to focus on in order to connect them with books in contrast to student who have already established a sense of the joy of reading. We continued doing so on the second day.

Those first days the reading block was actually longer than typical because of a 4th-8th grade common language development time that had not yet started. Teachers decided to use the time to facilitate talk about books. Each teacher did it differently with a mixture of talking about the books they were reading, whole class student sharing, partner sharing, and small group sharing. As I rotated between classes, it felt odd to be on the periphery of these interactions. Teachers had already set the stage for the conversations, so instead, I sat back and observed, taking notes on my iPad, highlighting what each teacher was bringing to the table to enrich the literate lives of our students. I thought about how seeing glimpses into each classroom would allow for common conversations of what seemed to be working really well.

By the end of the second day, we felt like for the most part, the various classes had settled in. We had checked in with some students about making sure that they were reading books that were a good fit for their interests and where they are at right now as readers. We were ready to move into a different phase, in order to get into a more active role, rather than observing and scaffolding the first days.

Tomorrow I will be posting about how we shifted to considering data and mapping out a plan on the third day.

Scheduling, Scheduling, Scheduling

As maybe all workshop teachers, each year is a new opportunity to consider how to maximize the time that I have for each class period, determining how to prioritize. Over the last three years that I have taught the amount of time that I have had has varied as our school has grown and schedules have changed. The third year when trying to squeeze everything in, I ended up not including word study or a read aloud with my 6th-8th graders. Nonetheless, I wasn't happy with the shift. It was just one possible way to try to provide sufficient time for students to read and write, balanced with instruction/discussions. I continued to reflect on the impact of those decisions throughout the year.

Last year when I took a leave of absence, I let the teacher who was filling in for me know about the rationale for my decisions but also about how I discovered that I would have wanted to try to layer both back in if I was going to be in the classroom again. She met the same challenges with time though.

This summer when thinking through how we could reconfigure the schedule, one option that came up was having a common time where all students are doing their independent reading. I had mixed feelings about it. On one hand it made me nervous. It was hard enough for me and my push-in colleague to feel like we were able to confer regularly enough with all students. How would that feel with all three grade levels in one common time? Nonetheless, when I looked past that nervousness and considered the alternative, facing the time crunch, I realized that it was time to also consider the advantages of the change in the schedule.

The top advantage is that students will have a guaranteed time and space for reading independently four days a week (Friday the schedule is completely different for PBLs and Electives). Another huge benefit that I love about it is that students will get to see all of their teachers as readers and adults who care about them as readers. In addition, students receiving special education services for reading were pulled out during my reading workshop and did not have an opportunity to have choice in what they were reading during their pull-out session. Now they will be able to participate in the independent reading portion of the day and still receive their pull-out services at another time.

I also thought about how while my colleague and I won't necessarily be able to interact with each student as regularly, we will have at least three other teachers to help us. Here is the initial vision of how it will look:

• 6th, 7th, and 8th grade will each be in a classroom. The fourth teacher on our prep school team who does not have her own classroom will be in mine. The push-in teacher and I will have flexibility to rotate around the three rooms. I recently found out that we will most likely also have one special education assistant who will push-in as well.
• Our first priority will be making sure that kids are engaged and motivated to read. As a team of 5-6 adults, we will be closely observing to see who already has an established habit of reading and a high motivation versus students who can use more support to make sure that they have a book they will enjoy.
• My push-in colleague and I will be able to provide support with conferring. The great thing about conferring is that it will not require any outside planning/preparation (other than conversations about it and time to reflect) - something that we wanted to be careful about when considering how the shift would impact other teachers.
• Eventually we will layer in book clubs. Having one common reading time will allow for multi-grade face-to-face book clubs. The groupings will be more flexible. Other teachers will have the option of opting in or to continue conferring, as facilitating a book club would require time outside of the independent reading time slot in order to read a book along with the students. Other staff, such as administrators are interested in seeing if they can participate in book clubs at times as well. 

Reconfiguring how the space for students to have choice and read independently shifts other aspects of my typical routines and procedures. I have been thinking through the check-out process for books as well as status of the class. I have been thinking about goal setting and students playing a more active role through self-assessments and reflection.

I look forward to seeing how it all emerges as well as the deep reflection that is sure to come with a shift like this. Sometimes in education, it is necessary to try something even though aspects of it make us a little nervous. Looking beyond those feelings to consider how there is the potential for something great and then problem solving how the logistics of a shift can have a big pay off.

Looking Back and Looking Ahead

This time last year for the first time since I started teaching I was not setting up my classroom. Instead I was helping a colleague set up her classroom as I took a one year leave of absence in order to fill in as a sabbatical replacement in teacher education. I have not blogged as much as I would have liked to as my experiences last year, possibly because the experiences were different than the general topics I typically write about on my blog.

In many ways, taking the leave of absence was a great way to stand back and reflect on my classroom practice while also revisiting my own teacher preparation program. Interacting with pre-service teachers and seeing education through their lenses reminded me of the dynamics of those in my teacher ed program. It reminded me of my passion and my vision for education before I stepped into my first full-time teaching position. It was a chance to reflect on which aspects may have been forgotten through the busy first years of my career, as well as to celebrate what I was able to do that aligned with my teaching and learning philosophy.

Tomorrow I will officially step back into my role as a 6th-8th grade language arts teacher in English and Spanish at a public dual immersion charter school. I have already set up most of my classroom library, including a new shelf for graduated students who have moved onto the high school. I have been thinking through what the school year will look like and how I will launch reading and writing workshop this year. I will also have the opportunity to provide one period a week of push-in support for a couple of Spanish immersion colleagues in the younger grades. I look forward to learning and growing with them, gaining familiarity with their 2/3 and 4/5 students. Fall term I will also have an opportunity to keep one foot in higher ed as I will be teaching one adjunct course.

Last year I savored the time to think, reflect, and grow through both the final year of my doctoral program and through the sabbatical replacement. I am energized to start my 8th year as an educator.

November - So Much to Look Forward To...

Earlier I posted about how I was excited for my first annual convention and the release of Notice and Note in November. Now I have two more reasons to be excited...

This week the July 2012 NCTE Council Chronicle with the annual convention preview arrived in my mailbox. As I was skimming through, there were plenty of reasons to know that it will be worth every penny. I loved this line from Sandy Hayes' welcome, "In reading through the mountain of session proposals, I realized that NCTE members share a kind of double vision with Bradbury's time traveler: we have the capacity to see things not only as they are but also as they could be. We aspire to change our world by embracing complexity, considering research, collaborating, working hard, and stretching toward an ideal" (p. 4). Right off the bat with the Preconvention Sessions the tough decisions will begin. All four sessions look amazing, but I will most likely either go to see Teaching: The Questions We Ask and the Answers We Find with Jim Burke, Penny Kittle, and Kelly Gallagher or Building Reading Communities Online and Off with Donalyn Miller, Sara Kajder, Teri Lesesne, and Franki Sibberson. See why it will be so hard to decide!

As if the regular components of the convention weren't enough for building anticipation, I decided that it would be worth it to stay the two extra days for the ALAN postconvention workshop. I have heard about all of the authors present and the box of books that comes along with it from one of my university professors. Originally I held back because of the additional expenses, but this week I decided that since this may be the only time I financially prioritize in order to go to the annual convention, I might as well get the full experience. Of course, as soon as I purchased it, I noticed the CEL Writing as Leadership postconvention with Penny Kittle, Tom Romano, Peg Tyre, Casey Olsen, Kelly Gallagher, and Harvey "Smokey" Daniels. So tempting, but alas, I can't attend both and have already signed up for ALAN. Like the Boothbay Literacy Retreat, this convention will be one of those dream PD opportunities.

When I was still buzzing with excitement over adding on the ALAN postconvention, I happened to stop by the Heinemann site again. Either this was just posted or I completely missed it last time, but an upcoming release for Penny Kittle is listed, Book Love: Developing Depth, Stamina, and Passion in Adolescent Readers. And yes, just like Notice and Note, I automatically pre-ordered it and can't wait for its anticipated November release. Just seeing Penny Kittle's name on it is enough to prompt that though, but I am really excited for the topic as well. It aligns well with my dissertation research and my intended continual focus on engaging and sustaining adolescent readers.

In the midst of the school year, November will be something to look forward to. Two weeks from today I officially start the school year with teacher work days, but between now and then I will meet with K-5 colleagues to discuss how the first year of reading and writing workshop went as well as thoughts for the upcoming year. Then I will also get together with some colleagues for our August for fun book club. Once the school year gets started, the months will be moving in fast forward.

November will be a nice month. The convention will fall a few weeks into the second quarter. The whirl of events that come with parent teacher conferences and the first quarter report cards will be complete. I will head out mid-week and when I return we will be on Thanksgiving break. A nice chance to let ideas from the conference settle and to savor time with family after being away. Both the convention and the quick break immediately after will be a chance to recharge and savor what has happened so far in the year and glimpse ahead to the possibilities for the remainder of the year.

Who else is planning on going to NCTE?

What upcoming professional books are you looking forward to their releases?

Math Exchanges

Math Exchanges: Guiding Young Mathematicians in Small-Group Meetings by Kassia Omohundro Wedekind isn't the typical professional book that I would read. I don't teach math, nor do I teach in the primary grades. And yet... I was intrigued. When I heard brief mentions of math workshop in Catching Readers Before They Fall, I wondered what math instruction would look like when aligned to a workshop approach. I smiled as I read the first pages of Math Exchanges and saw a mention of Katie Keier being one of Wedekind's colleagues and shortly after saw connections to Pat Johnson as well. Not only was I going to see an overlap of ideas from Catching Readers, but I could envision a dynamic team of teachers working together. Considering how the thinking behind both of the books was occurring at the same school, before I even got to chapter 1, the acknowledgements had me excited for the thinking and teaching discoveries through a collaborative process that I was going to encounter.

Aside from curiosity about math workshop, I also wanted to get ideas as a parent. At home I support my girls' (ages 9 and 6) reading and writing development much more than I do their mathematical thinking, mainly because of my personal levels of understanding about supporting kids in those content areas. For both purposes, I really loved Kassia's book. While waiting for a chance to sit down and read it since it was published, I started following the posts she put on her blog by the same title and will continue to do so.

Much like Catching Readers, Kassia provided a strong, clear conceptual background for a rationale behind the way she sets up her classroom. There were also plenty of connections between the underlying workshop philosophy that is consistent between reading, writing, and math workshops. As a math outsider, this helped me to better understand her motivation to teach the way she does. The book provides a glimpse into Kassia's journey of wanting to teach some way other than a traditional mathematics instruction approach but not being quite sure how to do so. She provides a background of how she co-constructed her thoughts with colleagues and mentors. She includes ideas such as, "Math workshop certainly is not the easiest path to take. We have plenty of outside resources willing to tell us exactly what, when, and how to teach our students. And yet, none of those resources has the intimate knowledge of your community of mathematicians that you have" (p. 23). The concept of valuing teachers as professionals and their capacity to make decisions about their own students is prevalent throughout the book.

The book also provides a clear picture of various ways to set up math workshop in the primary grades, as she highlighted both her own work and that of her colleagues. There were plenty of examples of dialogue throughout the book, as well as explanations into the intentional grouping. I especially love her mathematician statements that I first heard about on her blog and was interested in learning more about through her book.

Though I won't be implementing math exchanges into my own classroom because of my position, I will definitely be sharing the book with colleagues at my school and she has left me with plenty to think about as a parent. It was just what I needed to be more competent in understanding my daughters' math development, as well as being more intentional with providing support. One of my favorite parts of the book are charts that she provides (such as Figure 4.2 on p. 71 and Figure 4.4 on p. 74) sharing problem types, examples, modeling strategies, counting strategies, and facts and derived facts strategies, as well as strong explanations for how to put the ideas into action. I am starting to see more examples of every day mathematical thinking than I typically would have. For example, as I was teaching my daughters how to play Uno for the first time last week, various problems were running through my head that I could later pose to my daughters.

With so many books to read and so much that I want to do before the school year starts, it would have been easy to not pick up Math Exchanges with the rationale that it wasn't really as relevant as some of the other books in my pile of professional books waiting to be read. I am glad that I treated myself to something outside of my typical content areas as it was so powerful.

Opening Minds: Chapters 7-9

I have enjoyed participating in cyberPD as a means to reflect to participate in a collective response/reflection/conversation about Peter Johnston's Opening Minds: Using Language to Change Lives. Laura Komos is hosting the last section of the book. The conversation is already well underway as it started Wednesday. Johnston's thoughts are also featured on Stenhouse's summer series this week. I highly recommend his post as well as the others in the series.

My thoughts on chapters 7-9...

Development Links
While reading the book I have been thinking a lot about implications for my 6th-8th grade classroom as well as college courses that I teach, specifically a development class that I will be teaching this fall. Last fall as I was teaching it for the first time, I began to align some of the previous assignments with InTASC Standards as play a role in our university's re-accreditation process. In Standard #1: Learner Development, the following areas are highlighted: cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical. One obvious shift in wording is the lack of specifically highlighting moral development. I am not sure why that is the case, but as a result, I brushed over it rather than going in depth with it.

I have been thinking about it a lot this year though, wondering if it was one of those areas that just because the standards do not specifically highlight it does not mean that I should not focus on it in class. I think that the rationale might be that it is woven into some of the other areas; however, it also seems like having it under umbrella terms rather than its own specific category can deemphasize the importance.

While reading chapter 7, Moral Agency: Moral Development and Civic Engagement I continued my thinking about this aspect a lot. When talking about the current context of education emphasizing academics, Johnston stated, "Whether we like it or not, children are acquiring 'character' and dispositions toward civic engagement (or not) as we teach them about history, literacy, math, and science. Their moral development doesn't just stop because we choose not to think about it" (p. 81).

Reading the book has come at a perfect time as I have been reflecting on how I will shape the development course this fall, what to keep, what to change, what to improve from last fall. Johnston's words have really helped me think about the course. I mentioned in my initial reflections that I would be reading aloud some excerpts to my class. I will definitely be sharing aspects related to moral development, such as:

• "Morals are largely normative. We learn what to attend to and what to ignore--what we value--and how to act. What we choose to discuss with children and how we discuss it shapes these norms" (pp. 82-83). 
• "Routinely raising for discussion issues of fairness in the world and in the classroom establishes a norm: It is something that we care about in the community" (p. 83). 
• "[...] but the extension to equity and race played an important role beyond helping the children to generalize and remember. It increased their moral reach--the breadth of individuals to whom our moral commitments extend" (p. 84). 
• "[...] the teachers's response framed as a request with a logic emphasizing the consequences for others, offers a more symmetrical relationship. While not eliminating the teacher's authority, it offers a moral choice that relies less on subordination" (p. 87). 
• "We tend to view conflicts in the classroom as simply distractions from academic learning, so we try to eliminate them as quickly as possible by invoking our authority as teachers. This might get us back to academics more quickly, but at the cost of reducing the moral authority and commitment of the students" (p. 91). 

Of course, there were other quotes that stood out to me, and I will be reading them in the context of a bigger section, but the quotes above provide a snapshot into what I thought was so powerful about his thoughts. Students in my development class this fall will continue on to a practicum and coursework in the winter and spring, both including a classroom dynamics course each term. Development really lays the foundation for how teachers set up the classroom community and the decisions they make. I want them to have Johnston's words tumbling around in their minds as they move forward in the program. 

Teacher Links

As a teacher, I continue to think about implications for better understanding my students and the impact that the words I choose and the way I set up the classroom has on them. Of course, everything that I mentioned above as being thought provoking for pre-service teachers has implications for my own teaching. The conclusion of chapter 7 stated, "These are the threads that we are morally bound to weave into classroom life. They are a foundation for democratic living" (p. 92). I like that image once again of threads, of thinking about how over time we set the tone for what we value. In chapter 6, I also appreciated that Johnston talked about the threat of stereotype impacting students who tend to envision themselves through a fixed mindset when it comes to testing. 

I loved the emphasis in chapter 8 on the power and role of thinking together. Through reading different workshop resource, I have already been thinking about the power of oral rehearsing and social interactions more in depth for the last few years of my career. Johnston once again extended my existing thoughts. As with other sections of the book the way that he wove in research studies to illustrate points was powerful. He has a way with sharing studies and highlighting why the findings are so beneficial. Needless to say, in this chapter, I have many notes in the margins. 

In chapter 9 I noted how Johnston is always thinking about the long-term, the impact of how we set up our classrooms on the futures of our students. This is so vital in education, supporting a vision for looking beyond standardized test scores into thinking about what really is important. Reading Johnston's words reaffirms the importance of this mindset. I especially loved Johnston's thoughts about inspiring students to be teachers in their worlds and how this links back to democratic thinking. He stated, "Imagine the implications of twelve (or eight) years of this instruction as these children become parents and teachers" (p. 112). I found the section Teaching for Economic Survival as particular powerful (starting on page 113). Once again this links beautifully with workshop mindsets, such as the saying teach the writer, not the writing. Johnston's words made me think of another layer of teaching students as people vs. content area. 

Concluding Call To Action

I smiled when I got to the last line of the book. I thought of the implicit ...What are you going to do about it? As such, he helped me to continue my thinking about my role in the grand scheme of the world of education, thinking about how my day to day actions will impact much more than my students lives as readers and writers. 

Opening Minds Chapters 4-6

This is my second post reflecting on chapters 4-6 in Peter H. Johnston's Opening Minds from Stenhouse as part of  the #Cyber PD. You can join the conversation at Jill Fisch's blog.

This year one of my research goals in the classroom will be to intentionally focus on opportunities for discussions related to reading and writing because of insights from my students during dissertation interviews. As ideas for enhancing what students identified as being aspects of class that motivated them as readers have been tumbling around in my mind, it was natural that Johnston's ideas with such a focus on words would inspire me to refine my thinking.

Globally, I am thinking about the concept of the teacher's influence on the classroom culture and the tone we set with our words. I loved this quote, "This feedback is not given by the teacher, but it is surely grounded in the kind of feedback the teacher gives," (p. 35). Our words and actions on a day to day basis send messages to students about what we value, as well as our expectations. Through the classroom examples, I thought about the teacher's role in stating expectations, modeling expectations (both explicitly through minilessons and implicitly through day to day choice of words), and providing scaffolding for students to work toward language and interaction expectations.

I especially loved the focus on students developing agency and whether our words support working toward that narrative or are counter-productive. It will be beneficial to go back to quotes like this again and again to reflect on the impact of my words and to critically examine whether there are aspects that do not work toward what I want, "When we make personal judgments of children, whether through praise or criticism, we teach them to do the same. They learn to judge themselves and others. They develop a sense of contingent self-worth--that they are able, good, and worthy when they are successful" (p. 39). While reading I have been jotting down notes so that I can create my own cheat sheet with ideas from the book, which has prompted me to think about my language in various facets of my life. The book definitely has me rethinking comments such as I am proud of you. Johnston continued to drive this message home for me as he continued to talk about the impact on multiple aspects of children's lives, including their resilience (p. 40). While reading, I could not help but think about how his suggestions complement workshop philosophy well. That basic foundation is there, but now it is about fine tuning on the word level in order to maximize the impact of instruction.

As educators, it is important to continually remember how we define the purpose of education. When Johnston stated, "We need to help them become lifelong teachers as well as lifelong learners" (p. 50), it made me think about how it is much more common to think about and hear others highlight the learner side. It makes perfect sense to also consciously focus on the teaching side, which complements aims of democratic schooling well. As I think about how I will demonstrate an appreciation for and welcome an analysis of different perspectives, highlighting the benefits of uncertainty, Johnston provided me with a lot of ideas to reflect on and shift my language to align. I also thought of other books that I have wanted to read to support my continual thinking in this area, such as Socratic Circles.

I look forward to learning and growing with others as I map out plans this summer and then revisit to reflect throughout the school year.

Opening Minds Chapters 1-3

Returning to Opening Minds: Using Language to Change Lives by Peter H. Johnston after reading the first four chapters in March was on my summer to read list. Last night seeing Katie Keier's post about the #cyberPD conversations about the book was a perfect opportunity to pick it back up. Below are some of my reflections of the first three chapters, and you can see Cathy Mere's blog for a compilation of others' thoughts. As soon as I publish this post, I am excited to head over there and read through different lenses and join the conversations.

On page 1 I made a note in the margin, "Can already see why others read his Choice Words multiple xs." As I re-immersed myself in Johnston's thoughts I could feel the energy building. With lines like, "As teachers we choose our words and, in the process, construct the classroom worlds for our students and ourselves," (p. 1) I found myself seeing the power of coming back again and again. I remembered loving the first chapters back in March but it was even more powerful than I recollected. I thought about Katie's mentions of reading his Choice Words every summer. I can envision a new summer tradition for myself to re-energize with his words.

While reading, I was thinking about myself as a teacher, as well as a parent (my reflections last night prompted my slice for today). I was thinking about the range of influences on the children's lives with which we come into contact in order to understand our role in influencing the narratives of their lives or the potential need to overcome influences of narratives toward fixed learning. While reading Johnston's thoughts about fixed vs. dynamic learning theories, I think of so many connections - to workshop philosophy, to conversations about democratic education, to literature such as Fullan's about teachers as professionals, to Ali Edwards' nudges to explore and create enjoying the process without being solely focused on the final product.

I am thinking about the importance of on-going dialogues among staff to remind each other about the language we are using and the messages we send with the way we influence the culture of our schools. Specifically I am thinking about being intentional about the language I use with workshop mini-lessons, including sharing experiences about myself as a learner and focusing on the process of not allowing fear about the outcome of attempts to get in the way of learning or visions of the future. I am also thinking about book clubs and inquiry questions related to reading to focus on the dynamic nature of learning and growing.

I also thought about implications for older learners. Next fall, I will be teaching one course as an adjunct, development. I am planning on reading some excerpts for setting the tone for theories of learning and perceptions that kids have. I want them to have Johnston's ideas tumbling around in their  minds as they get ready to engage in a Kidwatching Kit assignment.

Johnston makes me think about myself as a teacher, as a pre-service teacher educator, as a parent, and as a learner. The implications of his words are vast. Johnston stated, "I help you make productive choices, because the language we choose in our teaching changes the worlds children inhabit now and those they will build in the future," (p. 7). I am excited to continue on with the rest of the book, ready to be continually inspired...

Notice and Note - So Excited

Today I was on Heinemann's site seeing if there was a book that I would be able to get in order to use up my extra credit points that I had accumulated before they phased out that program. I was thrilled to get What Readers Really Do. It had caught my attention previously, but after reading Pat Johnson's thoughts about it on the Catching Readers blog, I knew I would want to read it.

Needless to say, finding out that I had enough credit points to get the book had me excited enough. Then I was skimming the new books and was even more excited to see that Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst is now officially on the page, providing the first glimpses into the front cover, table of contents, a Notice & Note flyer...

I first heard about the ideas behind the book when I attended the Boothbay Literacy Retreat two years ago. I loved the concept from the start and their thoughts about what to notice while reading have changed the way that I read and have influenced mini-lessons that I have taught to middle schoolers. By looking over the flyer, it seems like Beers and Probst have continued to refine and craft the book. I noticed the subtitle is a clear link to the buzz about close reading with the common core. I look forward to see how it all came together.

I am going to go ahead and pre-order the book now (estimated publication of November 15, 2012). I will also be attending my first NCTE annual convention later in the month, so there's some fun treats in store for November!

Pathways to the Common Core: Accelerating Achievement

On Sunday I finished Pathways to the Common Core: Accelerating Achievement by Lucy Calkins, Mary Ehrenworth, and Christopher Lehman. It is amazing! I would highly recommend it as a starting point for deeply understanding the underlying values behind the standards as well as some research-based suggestions for implementing them. 

In contrast to some resources out there, one of the most valuable assets to this book is the prevalence of teachers as professionals with knowledge about their schools and students. This is one of many sections from the book that I loved, highlighting teacher knowledge, "Any educator who wants to play a role in shaping what happens in schools, therefore, needs a deep understanding of these standards. That understanding is necessary for anyone wanting to be a co-constructor of the future of instruction and curriculum and, indeed, of public education across America," (p. 1).  

Rather than trying to sell a rigid, one-size-fits all implementation, the authors provide experiences for teachers to understand the standards and then consider what would be the best for their schools and students by collaborating together, rather than working in isolation. They also highlight the advantage of gaining a deep knowledge of what the standards do and don't entail in order to critically examine what others market as Common Core aligned implementations or resources. 

In the introduction they also provide a nice overview of common statements against the CCSS (reading as curmudgeons) as well as tapping in to what is positive about them (reading as if they were gold). I appreciated the way they set this acknowledging that there are concerns, but then moving into a solution oriented framework for making some positive changes given our current context of education. Embedded in related discussions throughout the book, the authors provide background of where we have been and where we can go with this reform effort if we have sound implementations that rely on teachers as professionals. In my summer reading list, I mentioned that my doctoral program sparked my interest for school reform and cultures of change, especially for authors such as Michael Fullan. The type of professional cultures that Calkins, Ehrenworth, and Lehman advocate align with what I love about the literature in general, including some quotes from Fullan. 

One can read the book for personal understanding; however, also embedded is a nice layer of suggestions for leading discussions and experiences among staff in order to have a collective understanding of the standards in order to develop school-wide goals. I especially loved that they referenced many free resources available on the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project site.

Pathways to the Common Core will surely be one of those books that I will read again and again. As I continue to gear up for the school year, thinking about how I will improve my practice with the values of the Common Core in mind, I also want to revisit Supporting Students in a Time of Common Core: English Language Arts Grades 6-8 published by NCTE.

Summer Reading

Yesterday I emailed my post-defense revised dissertation to my chair, and last week I finished up with the last of my commitments for my sabbatical replacement year. It feels like summer has arrived now. Aside from spending more time with the girls, blogging more regularly, and having more time for scrapbooking, I am looking forward to PD-related summer reading. This evening I saw a post from Katie over at the Catching Readers Before They Fall blog, and I thought it would be fun to also blog about books I would like to read.

Many of the books in my TBR pile are from favorite authors, as well as books that I started at least partially throughout the year but then for one reason or another did not end up getting to read fully. My plan will be to start and finish books in the pile rather than dabbling here and there as I have been for much of this year.

I decided to follow Katie's lead and post a picture of my book stack!

Right now I am reading Pathways to the Common Core: Accelerating Achievement by Lucy Calkins, Mary Ehrenworth, and Christopher Lehman. It is a must read for sure! I was excited for it from the time that it was first announced on Heinemann's site. Then reading Stacey's thoughts on the book earlier in the year made me even more excited. I have already been sharing some initial thoughts about the book with some of my colleagues. I told them that it is a much better starting point then the time-consuming process of unwrapping the standards, something that did not seem to be the best way to achieve the goal of deep understanding of standards with previous standards.

I am also excited to get back to Peter Johnston's Opening Minds. I mentioned reading it on my other blog back in March. At that time Stacey mentioned that she had read his other book multiple times, and I noticed that Katie had both of his books listed for this summer as well, noting that she always re-reads his Choice Words in the summer. I am thinking that I am going to have to get a copy of his first book.

Thomas Newkirk's The Art of Slow Reading seems like it is going to be a great fit to consider the question of what we value in reading as we make the transition to the common core playing a big role in the educational landscape. I also just really enjoy Newkirk's insights.

Kassia Wedekind's Math Exchanges is one that I am reading out of fascination of workshop possibilities in the math context even though I do not ever see myself being a math teacher, as well as thinking about implications as a mom and how I can support and value math at home in a way similar to what I already do for reading and writing.

I love all of Kelly Gallagher's books, so Teaching Adolescent Writers will be a real treat!

Through my doctoral program, I developed a larger interest in educational reform, and Michael Fullan is one of my favorite authors. He mentioned All Systems Go in a book that I was reading earlier this fall and Professional Capital is co-authored with his colleague Andy Hargreaves, who also co-authored the first Fullan book that I read. It was amazing seeing Fullan participate as discussant at a couple of sessions at AERA in April, as well as hearing Hargreaves on one of the panels.

Robert DuFour's name came up often as well in class discussions during my doctoral program, but I have not read any of his books before, so I chose Leaders of Learning that he co-authored with Marzano.


I also have books that I just moved from my office back to my classroom that I will want to get to read. Off the top of my head, I know for sure that I will want to read Jeff Anderson's 10 Things Every Writer Needs to Know and Gretchen Owocki's The Common Core Lesson Plan Book K-5. Like other books, I have read a little bit of both but then got swept up in the day to day to-do list that I did not get too far into them.

So many great books to read... We'll see how many I actually get to read this summer. Regardless, any leftover books means great fall reads!

What books are you hoping to read this summer?

Stenhouse Blogstitute 2012

I was excited to see that Stenhouse once again has a free summer blogsitute in the works. Starting Monday, June 25, there will be posts from the following educational leaders: Mark Overmeyer, Jeff Anderson, Kristi Lattimer and Kimberly Hill Campbell, Peter Johnston, and Charles Fuhrken, as well as sneak peeks from forthcoming videos from Debbie Miller on Math Work Stations, Chris Confer and Marco Ramirez, and Cris Tovani. I look forward to learning from some of my favorite authors, as well as getting to know more about the unique voices of those contributors with which I am not yet familiar. 

Last summer the blogsitute focused on writing. This summer will still include writing, but topics will expand to classroom talk, assessment, and math. While waiting for the new posts to begin, it is a great time to revisit last summer's posts from Maureen Barbieri, David Somoza, Carolyn Coman, Julie D. Ramsay, Kate Messner, Ruth Ayres, and Stacey Shubitz. I was just glimpsing back to Kate Messner's when she mentioned it as part of her Teachers Write! posts and remembered once again why I had loved it so much when it originally appeared.

A post on the Stenhouse blog announcing the blogstitute also mentions a 20% discount and free shipping on contributors' Stenhouse books and videos, making it a perfect time to buy some resources. Summer is always a time to re-energize, while having a chance to reflect and consider implications for the new school year. I look forward to seeing how the Stenhouse Summer Blogstitute is going to influence my thinking as a teacher.

Teachers Write! Reflections So Far

Four days into the Teachers Write! summer institute hosted by Kate Messner, I wanted to pause to collect my thoughts thus far. After setting up my plan and writing about my childhood kitchen Monday evening, I have enjoyed the last three mornings starting my day by writing. I mentioned in my first post that I would want to reflect about what I am learning about myself as a writer in the process means for me as a writing workshop teacher.

Tuesday I completed the quick write related to location. I found myself writing about two different locations and then writing a list of other places that I could write about. I listed out different communities in which I have lived and listed out various locations. This process was the opposite of what I typically have my students do. I often lead them through a list before choosing ideas to do a quick write. I consider the list first as allowing them to think of many ideas and then having more thoughts collected to begin writing; however, now I am thinking about the possibilities of just choosing whatever first comes to mind and writing and how that process can prime the writer for then going to list out other possibilities. I am also thinking about mapping out/sketching the locations as I always enjoy.

This week is making me think about how often when I am in a timed situation that I do a quick list before transitioning to something else in order to capture all of those thoughts swirling around in my mind. I will also consider the implications for this in my classroom - allowing students to quickly jot down concluding thoughts before transitioning to the next class or to the next component of the day.

Yesterday I went back to the YA novel that I started a couple of  years ago. Each time I come back to it, I have to take some initial time to get to know my characters again and to remember what I even wrote in the first place! Each time this has happened, I realize how much I enjoy these characters. This time as I started re-reading I had my notebook in hand and started multiple pages - pages about characters, a page with questions I have, a page with areas I should research... I am finding that I am viewing the process different because of the entries on Ruth Ayres' blog and the way in which she talks about getting to know her characters.

Today I completed the quick write prompt from Margo Sorenson. It was related to a student in a library. I automatically knew that I wanted to write based on what a couple of former students mentioned in my dissertation interviews about their transition to high school. One did not go to the library all year because he was unsure of the whole process and another who disregarded it as not having his type of books after going to scan the shelves once. Both were avid readers who stopped reading because of access to books. I found that as I was doing my quick write, it seems flat. It does not have that strong voice yet. I realized that it was more about collecting the ideas.

As I was writing about how this composite character might have approached the library, I thought of how it would be nice to complement it with those who did go to the library regularly and who did find books that motivated them to read. One of my students did not go to the library until close to the end of the school year, but she mentioned another former student had been going since the start of the year. I started to imagine what it would have been like for that former student, considering it was probably a comfort zone with her transition.

I want to come back to these quick writes and develop them further - to consider their unique voices. I have always loved writing from multiple perspectives. Right now they are both in first person. I might even set it up where they see each other in the library. I am not sure whether or not they will interact. I will have to decide whether or not they know each other. So many thoughts and questions about who these characters are. That thinking will help lead me from my flat writing to writing with more voice. Part of the challenge is being inspired by the real life teens in my life but then disconnecting a bit in order to let the characters take shape as their own unique selves.

Thank you Kate, Margo, and all of the other authors who are contributing to the institute. It is definitely helping me stretch as a writer and reflect on implications for my classroom!

Teachers Write! 6/4/12

This has been a whirlwind year and I have been blogging far less than I would like to. Soon, I will be writing posts reflecting on what I have been learning this year, but for now, I want to get started on Kate Messner's virtual summer writing camp.

Today's Mini-Lesson Monday is about making time for writing. Here are my plans so far for the summer:

1. I am at a natural transition with the end of the school year coming up and also wrapping up my dissertation (almost there!). At this point, rather than cutting back, I am at the point where I am carefully considering how I will use the time that is freeing up. Writing will be at the top of the list (as well as focusing on spending time with my daughters as writers).
2. I would like to start each day with writing. I will set my alarm for 6 a.m., starting with a goal to write for fifteen minutes but will ideally build to a half an hour to an hour. This should allow me with some time prior to my family waking up in order to savor some writing time.
3. I will typically write at my desk in my bedroom if I need to type (my laptop recently crashed). If I am writing by hand then I will typically go to the love seat in my living room.
4. I have not had a chance to tell family and friends face-to-face, so announcing here on my blog is the first step to sharing my new plans. That seems like a natural step though as I am used to sharing with my on-line writing community for Slice of Life Stories.

I look forward to exploring and growing as a writer. There are so many choices as far as writing topics. I look forward to the prompts that will surely stretch me as a writer. I would also like to revisit Ruth Ayres' Discover. Play. Build. posts for inspiration, and I am also planning on doing the prompts for Ali Edwards' 31 Things class in July. Then there's my YA WIP (or maybe I should say WOP - work on pause as it has taken a complete back burner once I started my doctoral program). Throughout it all I will be reflecting on implications for my 6th-8th grade students and thinking about how I can foster a sense of passion toward writing.

And now because of a thunder storm, I better turn off my computer! A perfect reason to grab my writer's notebook and head for the couch. First, I will have to click over to see the prompt on Jo Knowles' blog as part of Teachers Write!

Parent Engagement Discussion

Welcome ED-CIFS 661 Group! For my self-selected book review, I chose to read Bicultural Parent Engagement: Advocacy and Empowerment, edited by Edward M. Olivos, Oscar Jiménez-Castellanos, and Alberto M. Ochoa. I look forward to discussing how we as professionals view and enact our visions of the role of parents in schools, as well as a close examination of values inherent in our actions. General blog readers that are not in ED-CIFS 661, please feel free to join in the conversation. We would love to learn with you!

In the book, the editors made a distinction between parent involvement and parent engagement, stating, "The generic term parent involvement therefore conjures up a passive one-way connection that benefits the school and places the accountability of student success and failure exclusively on the parent/family. In contrast, parent engagement, in our view, is a school-community process designed to bring or construct an open relationship between school personnel and the parent community in support of the student's social and academic development," (p. 11). 

Below are different avenues to consider/think about the content of the text. Please post one comment in order to respond to any of the prompts. Then post at least one reply to someone else's comment in order to engage in a professional dialogue. Feel free to leave links to relevant resources.

Questions to consider:

• How would you describe the role of parents in a school with which you are familiar? Does it seem to align with involvement valuing school-identified needs or does it seem to be an engagement model that fosters a collaborative process?
• Does the culture of parent-school interactions present "serve to replicate the status quo" (p. 4), or does it seek to empower parents and foster support for social change? To whose values are the interactions aligned - solely to the dominant culture or does it recognize the value of a range of cultures represented in the school community?
• What do you think teachers and schools can realistically do in order to improve school-family objectives?
• What is an idea that you have experienced or heard of that appeared to be especially beneficial? 
• How can educators build their capacity about the needs of parents and families in order to have culturally responsive models of parent engagement?

Video Responses:

What is your reaction to the way parent engagement is portrayed in either of these videos? Note that both videos portray public charter schools; however, the ideas shared are also present in some regular public school contexts, such as Taft Elementary in Boise.

A Model for Parent Engagement:

The UCLA Parent Curriculum Project is featured in Bicultural Parent Engagement (Johnson, 2011). View the following site providing background about the program. Reflect on the possibilities when such a program is in place or any other university-community partnerships that can support school-parent interactions. The link is to the general program overview. Once at the site, you can click on Who We Are and Programs Offered on the left hand side of the page for further information.

Response to a Comment in the Book Review:
Feel free to share any other thoughts about something that stood out to you or that you thought about while reading my review of the text. 

Johnson, M. (2011). A parent advocate’s vision of a 21st-century model for bicultural parent engagement. In E. M. Olivos, O. Jiménez-Castellanos, & A. M. Ochoa (Eds.), Bicultural parent engagement: Advocacy and empowerment (pp. 145-158). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Olivos, E. M., Ochoa, A. M., & Jiménez-Castellanos, O. (2011). Critical voices in bicultural parent engagement: A framework for transformation. In E. M. Olivos, O. Jiménez-Castellanos, & A. M. Ochoa (Eds.), Bicultural parent engagement: Advocacy and empowerment (pp. 1-17). New York, NY: Teachers College Press. 

Change Leader

This summer I first heard about Michael Fullan and read one of his books, What's Worth Fighting For in Your School?, for a course. His professional voice and insights automatically hooked me because I could relate so much. Earlier phases of my career clicked into place as I thought about why the difference between school cultures that foster a value of building capacity vs. those that focus on one-size-fits-all programs felt so different.

When I was recently searching Amazon for some PD leadership books, Fullan was one of the names that came to mind. Over spring break I read his Change Leader: Learning to Do What Matters Most. When I first pulled it out of the box, I thought that I probably had not selected the best of all of his available books for my purpose. I realized that there was a pretty heavy focus on the business world, rather than being mainly an education leadership book. However, as I started to read, I was glad that I got this book. The About the Author section stated, "Fullan bases his work on policy and practice drawn from both the public and private sectors, finding and increasing convergence in the best of this literature," (p. xvii), and that was apparent throughout the text. Even when it was a business example, there was so much cross-over into educational context relevancy.

After a brief preface to frame the book, Fullan broke this book, which is the third in a set of three books he wrote for Jossey-Bass, into seven chapters. Each chapter highlights core practices of change leaders. He illustrates why each is vital, while always emphasizing that the different components are interrelated and even though they appear simple, it can be complex. There were also links to texts that I have previously read, both directly (such as Pink's Drive) and indirectly. Fullan included a self-assessment on page 63 to support self-reflection and to facilitate implications for future practice. What I appreciated most about the book was the constant emphasis once again on the merits of building capacity, as well as highlighting the value in professional experiences to drive practice. He had many statements to prompt thoughts about the role of theory, research, and practice.

Fullan's books are direct and to the point, written in an easy to read/clearly organized format, thought provoking, and inspiring. While reading this book, I made a note of one of his earlier books that he referenced that I wanted to read, All Systems Go. Then I received a Teachers College Press catalog in the mail and saw that he and Andy Hargreaves (who was actually a co-author of What's Worth Fighting For in Your School? as well) have a new book that was just released in March, Professional Capital: Transforming Teaching in Every School. One of my colleagues who was very familiar with Fullan before this summer talked about how his books have a lot of cross-over or ideas that are restated. Based on the titles and thinking about core ideas in the two I have already read, I can see how that is the case. And yet, I still added both to my Amazon cart and will be receiving them this week. There's just something about his voice and the examples he uses that make so much sense. I know that there is still a lot that I can learn with him by reading his books.

Turning High-Poverty Schools Into High-Performing Schools

At the start of spring semester, a colleague in my doctoral program showed me a book that was just published by a couple of professors at our university, William Parrett and Kathleen Budge. While I have not been able to take a class with either of the professors, I have heard many positive comments about both as researchers, leaders, and mentors throughout my program. When I saw the title of the book, Turning High-Poverty Schools into High-Performing Schools, as well as heard what it was about, I could not wait to read it.

In the book Parrett and Budge synthesize research related to poverty and provide a framework for action in order to prompt high-poverty, high-performance (HP/HP) schools. Their framework is not a one-size fits all approach, but rather a foundation for building capacity and reflective practice in order to carefully meet the needs of students living in poverty. Various components of their book supported their vision, providing frequent self-assessments and questions to prompt a high level of reflection. Many of their figures provided continuums with descriptors to support careful analysis.

In order to consider the effectiveness of the framework, the authors conducted research of seven HP/HP schools in various regions of the United States. After providing a context for each of the schools in an early chapter, the authors continued to highlight specific examples of these (and other schools) while explaining ideas. Showing multiple possibilities of practice aligned to needs of the specific schools, communities, and students, strengthened the overall presentation of concepts in the text.

One of my favorite features in the book were illustrative examples of "Uncommon sense," framed by an explanation in the introduction, "Leaders in the schools we studied consistently considered the research base in the context of their own schools. They also used strategies that were uncommon but made sense in the school context. We call this out-of-the-box thinking 'uncommon sense,'" (p. 4). While reading I made frequent notes of ideas that I want to continue to consider and reflect upon as my colleagues and I continue to collaborate and think outside of the box for the benefit of the students in our school.

Bicultural Parent Engagement: Advocacy and Empowerment

With Bicultural Parent Engagement: Advocacy and Empowerment, editors Edward M. Olivos, Oscar Jiménez-Castellanos, and Alberto M. Ochoa compiled current voices considering parent involvement and engagement, through the lenses of additive multicultural perspectives, critical perspectives, and operationalizing transformative parent engagement to express concerns that frequently cited models of parent involvement do not meet the needs of bicultural parents. The contributors’ discussions prompt readers to carefully examine how we define parent involvement and who is in control when determining potential roles, and as a result, the messages that we send with the way that we encourage avenues for parent involvement. As the editors state, “One of the goals of this book is to raise critical questions that will problematize how the current conceptualizations about parent involvement in public schools serve to replicate the status quo,” (Olivos, Ochoa, & Jiménez-Castellanos, p. 4).   

While discussing terminology, the editors describe the intentional word choice of engagement, rather than involvement, in the title as they see a need for more than mere involvement when considering needs of bicultural families and students. They explain, “The generic term parent involvement therefore conjures up a passive, one-way connection that benefits the school and places the accountability of student success and failure exclusively on the parent/family. In contrast, parent engagement, in our view, is a school-community process designed to bring or construct an open relationship between school personnel and the parent community in support of the students’s social and academic development,” (p. 11). After framing the book with this distinction, as well as stating, “Our ultimate goal is the transformation of schools into authentic institutions of learning and tools for social growth,” (p. 13) various chapters present research of a range of communities and interactions between families and schools. 

The text provides an excellent resource for school communities to consider their own conceptions, considering whether structures are in place to support parent involvement or parent engagement and then determine whether avenues in place are sending unintentional messages based on the inherent values of those systems. As contributors explore underlying issues in depth, educators may be considering some aspects mentioned for the first time. For example, those who have frequently heard Epstein’s Model mentioned with high regard, might be surprised to hear about its shortcomings with relation to bicultural parents. 

However, the text does not just point out limitations of popular models, it explores and provides solutions. One team of contributors, Moreno, Lewis-Menchaca, and Rodriguez (2011) propose, “In addition to emphasizing parents’ role as teachers, we propose adopting a parallel model of ‘teachers as compadres,’ or teachers as co-parent. If schools embrace the notion of teachers as compadres, then the caregiving role of the teachers become explicit. Just as the notion of ‘parents as teachers’ implies a particular teaching role for parents, ‘teachers as compadres’ implies a specific investment in the well-being of the child,” (p. 34). They emphasize that parents and teachers work as a team to focus on the well-being of children. I appreciated this role, and in particular, I instantly pictured one of my colleagues, who is already living the role of "teacher as compadre". In addition to the overarching theme of democratic schooling ideals, contributors provided suggestions focusing on specific aspects, such as cultural proficiency (Lindsey & Lindsey, 2011) and parents as action researchers (Montero-Sieburth, 2011). 

At times, contributors portray a sense of schools vs. parents, a distrust that schools are not working in the best interest for all of their students, but rather seeking to maintain certain aspects to the benefit of White cultural groups. For example, Johnson (2011) states, “The empowerment of working-class parents of color often makes school authorities, including classroom teachers, uncomfortable, as is the case in our work,” (p. 149). Referring to one program that UCLA offered to educate and support parents in being able to advocate for their children, Johnson (2011) explained that one principal expressed that she would not have supported a program had she realized the content of the trainings. Johnson (2001) stated, “These are the attitudes parents of color often face when they try to become advocates for their children. As long as we are humble in our demeanor, meek in our requests, and obedient in our relationships with school ‘experts,’ we are accepted in the schools. When we ask hard questions, demonstrate frustration, and make demands for basic educational rights, we are often rebuffed, repressed, and resisted by school personnel,” (p. 150). As a result, at times there is a sense of fostering collaborative relationships among educators and parents, while at other times contributors describe a sense of organizations outside of the school empowering parents in order to hold schools accountable.

When carefully analyzing existing systems in place based on ideas presented in the text, it is vital to consider which layers of support are feasible for both educators and parents, specifically with balancing other responsibilities and roles. However, it would be unfortunate to use time constraints as an excuse to disregard the concepts. Instead, educators and parents can carefully examine parent models, aims of the models, and alignment to the needs of parents represented in the school community in order to work toward continual growth. 

Anytime educators are called to consider a paradigm shift, much discussion and debate is necessary to truly engage in reflective practice and thoughtful decision-making. This text provides teachers with multiple lenses and angles from which to consider the way that we conceptualize the roles of parents in contemporary education in the United States. Each school will need to determine where they fall in relation to the contexts mentioned in the text; however, educators will have plenty to ponder in relation to the various perspectives that the contributors present. By expanding our own understandings, we can then consider the specific context of our schools and the needs of our students, in order to think of means to work as a team with parents to foster collaborative efforts to work toward the overall well-being of children (not just academic success) as the text suggests. By critically analyzing our school communities, both teachers and parents can expand current capacity together.

Chapters Specifically Mentioned:

Johnson, M. (2011). A parent advocate’s vision of a 21st-century model for bicultural parent engagement. In E. M. Olivos, O. Jiménez-Castellanos, & A. M. Ochoa (Eds.), Bicultural parent engagement: Advocacy and empowerment (pp. 145-158). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Lindsey, D. B. & Lindsey, R. B. (2011). Culturally proficient school communities: Connecting Bicultural parents to schools. In E. M. Olivos, O. Jiménez-Castellanos, & A. M. Ochoa (Eds.), Bicultural parent engagement: Advocacy and empowerment (pp. 39-57). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Montero-Sieburth, M. (2011). Bicultural parents as transformative change agents through action research in schools and in the community. In E. M. Olivos, O. Jiménez-Castellanos, & A. M. Ochoa (Eds.), Bicultural parent engagement: Advocacy and empowerment (pp. 159-185). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Moreno, R. P., Lewis-Menchaca, K, & Rodriguez, J. (2011). Parental involvement in the home: A critical view through a multicultural lens. In E. M. Olivos, O. Jiménez-Castellanos, & A. M. Ochoa (Eds.), Bicultural parent engagement: Advocacy and empowerment (pp. 21-38). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Olivos, E. M., Ochoa, A. M., & Jiménez-Castellanos, O. (2011). Critical voices in bicultural parent engagement: A framework for transformation. In E. M. Olivos, O. Jiménez-Castellanos, & A. M. Ochoa (Eds.), Bicultural parent engagement: Advocacy and empowerment (pp. 1-17). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.