Final Reflection

Understanding and Application of Standards

I am privileged to teach at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic School (OLL) where
Christian values like the Viterbo Standards are infused into the curriculum and
school atmosphere. My own faith is an important part of why I choose to teach. I
appreciate working in an environment where faith is not treated as a taboo subject.
I have had multiple contemplative experiences at OLL. Each day, the morning
announcements begin with a modern praise song and students and teachers sing
along. It is a great way to begin the day and always reminds me of the higher
purpose in this service profession I have chosento love each student as if they
were my own and to teach them not only how to read, but how to believe in
themselves. I frequently attend the hour-long mass on Wednesday mornings to
support my own two children and to fully participate in OLLs faith community. I
found the in-school service reinforces that faith is a central part of our lives and isnt
relegated to Sunday mornings.
Being a good steward of the resources in my trust is central to my philosophy of
teaching. On the most superficial level, I am a good steward when I turn off the
lights each time I leave my office. I also demonstrate stewardship when I purchase
Title materials with scrip cards so a portion of the sale will be returned to OLL. A
more meaningful definition of stewardship for me is caring for the beautiful children
entrusted to me as if they are my own. I strive to be a good steward and love them
unconditionally. I have worked with many students for three years in a row and I
have watched them grow and develop. I take pride in their accomplishments and
ache when they struggle just like I do with own children. To me, that is what it
means to be a good steward of the resources in my trust.
Integrity is not only honesty but also doing what you say youre going to do, when
you say youre going to do it even when nobody is looking. It is the last part of this
statement that applies to me in my current position. I am a public school employee
but I work in a private setting. I have a level of autonomy that I have never had in
any other teaching assignment and I love that independence. It also means that
there is no one looking over my shoulder to see if I am doing my job. I take pride in
the school-wide literacy projects that I have organized at OLL. I write detailed
quarterly progress reports for all Title students and I show up for the second set of
evening conferences in the spring, even when I am not required to be there. All of
these things are over and above my job description. Integrity is a reward in and of
itself, but I sometimes wish one of my supervisors would see the energy and
passion I give to my students. Im just being honest!
Student Impact
Students are benefitting from much more individualized instruction and are making
significant gains. The kindergarten students have completed Barton Book 1, a
phonemic awareness program. They have learned all letters and sounds, and have
now moved on to reading and writing with Katie Johnsons Doing Words program. In

September, they knew fewer than ten letter names, even fewer letter sounds, and
couldnt name any words for each sound. By January, they scored 100% on Marie
Clays letter/sound identification, and they know seven sight words. We are at
guided reading level A and they can read and trace about ten important words
such as their families and pets names. Their parents reported at mid-winter
conferences that they love coming to see me and they proudly announce to
everyone at home that they can read books now! They are turning into readers who
have the skill and the will!
On the other end of the age spectrum is an eighth-grade student whom I never
thought Id be writing about in a student-impact statement. This is my third year
working with her and for the first two she came to my office unwillingly, mumbled
her responses, and hid behind her long, dark hair like Ally Sheedys character in the
movie, The Breakfast Club. Her reading progressed gradually, but not enough to
make up the almost two year delay. Although I tried many strategies with her,
nothing seemed to pique her interest or motivate her. I agonized over how to help
her.
This year has been different. She started the year by telling me she wants to learn
lots of hard words so she can show the teachers she can do more than they think
she can. She chose to read The Mighty from a selection I brought in and she
connected with it in a way I had not witnessed in previous years. She asked
clarifying questions, volunteered predictions, and groaned each time we had to stop
reading so she could return to class. Once, when a long-weekend fell in the middle
of a suspenseful part of the story, she asked to take the book home and she read
the next chapter on her own. I know she actually read it because she came in the
door and gave away the secrets. Her reading, which used to be monotone and full of
sighs, is now animated and dramatic. So dramatic, in fact, that I told her she was
meant for the stage. She told me shed always wanted to be in a play but that she
was never cast because she wasnt a good reader. I decided I could fix that and she
will now be reading the lead part in a readers theater production of Dr. Seusss The
Butter Battle Book.
Her dyslexia still causes her to drop endings to words, substitute little words, and
skip words, but most of her errors do not change the meaning of the text. To fulfill
her beginning-of-the-year request, she records unfamiliar words from our reading in
a journal along with their definitions. Each day she reviews the words in her growing
vocabulary dictionary and has begun to recognize them when they appear again in
later passages. Although her MAPS scores are still below grade level, she has made
better than average gains this year, and her vocabulary score was average, which
was a big improvement. Last week, she surprised me when she asked, If a bad
reader reads to her kids and says a bunch of words wrong, will the kids grow up to
be bad readers? Her question gave me hope. She is beginning to see herself as a
reader! If I had one more year with her before she went to high school I might
convince her that every reader is a good reader.
Professional Growth

At the completion of the Reading 316 Licensure Program, I feel much more
confident in my position as a Title 1 teacher. I realize the value of what I already
knew from my years in a primary classroom and I have added to it by learning about
current research and practices. Although my bag of tricks might not be as neverending as Hermiones suitcase, it is deeper and wider than ever before. It feels good
when a parent asks for a reading recommendation for their child or when a teacher
asks what I recommend for a student with a particular need. Now I feel confident
that even if I dont know the answer, I know where to go for the information.
Besides feeling more confident and having many resources to choose from, I now
have a much broader perspective on my role as a reading teacher. I realize that
even at relatively small OLL, the needs are far greater than a half-time pull-out
program can mitigate. If I had not taken this coursework, I doubt I would have felt
empowered address the wider problem of aliteracy and plummeting reading rates. I
now see that my job is broader than one-on-one reading instruction for struggling
readers. We Title teachers cant possibly solve all reading problems simply by
teaching phonetics, fluency, and comprehension to a few struggling readers. There
are simply too many children who cannot read proficiently. And many more who can
but choose not to.
Steven Layne, author of Igniting a Passion for Reading depicts a complete reader as
someone who has both the mechanical skill to read, but also the will. For as long as
I have been aware, the Title 1 program has targeted skills such as phonetics,
fluency, and comprehension. Despite the best efforts of many talented and welltrained teachers, were not catching up. I strongly believe that the promise of a cure
lies in fostering interest, attitude, motivation, and engagement with books (Layne,
6-7). If we can cultivate a culture of readers in our schools, the skills will follow. First
they need to want to read.
Through the readings, discussions, and written work, the Reading 316 program has
helped me define my dream job. I strive to be to be a Literacy Advocate, planning
school and district wide reading events to encourage students, teachers, and
families to read and enjoy books. I realized that there are things that I can do right
now at OLL to work toward that goal. The balanced literacy plan I wrote for EDUC
640 was a turning point. The principal and I are now collaborating to make many
parts of that plan come to life. I am currently preparing for our second annual
literacy night, which we are holding on Read Across America Day on March 2. I hope
to convince the school district to expand my hours to full time, which would allow
me to spend my afternoons promoting reading. This idea has rejuvenated my
professional interest at a time when I thought I might need to move in another
direction.

Bibliography
Barton, S. (2000). Barton Level 1 . San Jose, CA: Bright Solutions for Dyslexia.
Johnson, K. (1987) Doing Words. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Layne, L. Steven. (2009). Igniting a Passion for Reading. Portland, ME: Stenhouse
Publishers.
Philbrick, R. (1998). The Mighty. New York, NY: Blue Sky Press, Scholastic.