[Understand] wait time and Ellin

[Beverlee Paul]

This was one of the most powerful posts I've ever read.  When I was done, I dried my cheeks and I hadn't even known I was crying.  I'm not sure whether it touched a joyous piece of my heart because of obvious reasons...or whether I was crying for the death of trust in children in some Americal schools today--or at least the terminal illness--from the frenetic "time-on-task" programs to the way Reading Mastery-type programs speak at our children to the "yes, yes, get on with it" to "How is that, exactly, going to raise our test scores?" without ever waiting to hear the answer!!  I mourn childhood.  The family has been increasingly susceptible to raising "hurried children" and now we, who are supposed to know better, are being forced into situations which will eventually cause the death of thought right along with childhood.
 
I couldn't help but contrast the lesson (well put!) with Ellin with the lesson that my daughter (who just went through her first day of Reading Mastery training today) demonstrated to the teachers in my school last year after she started teaching Corrective Reading.  I missed the first part of it where one of the teachers/students missed parroting back the correct phrase, so the entire group was made to revisit and revisit and revisit that until the teacher/student responded "correctly."  I talked to the teacher afterward and she said she couldn't even describe the mortification she felt and how all her reasoning ability and memory and confidence and flexibility and power just flooded away.  What was couched as support (having everyone answer because obviously she couldn't) [do we have punctuation for sarcasm?] was degrading, demoralizing, marginalizing, and cruel.  And she was 35 years old with a masters degree in education!  What about our little ones?  WHAT ABOUT OUR LITTLE ONES????
 
Contrast that "support" with the trusting support shown this little one by Ellin.
 
Ellin rocks!  That moment makes my heart soar.  Thank you SO MUCH for sharing it.  Keep infusing the discussion with moments like this for the next several months and we'll all treasure every little tidbit.
 
Bev, feeling hopeful in Nebraska
 
_________________________________________________________________
Got Game? Win Prizes in the Windows Live Hotmail Mobile Summer Games Trivia Contest
http://www.gowindowslive.com/summergames?ocid=TXT_TAGHM