Disclaimer: Sorry everyone that some of these posts are from chapters from a while ago.  I finally figured out what was wrong and why I couldn't post and now am a contributor!  Yeah!  Thanks to those of you who helped me! 

Reflection about Chapter 2 (9/25)  WHAT WE TEACH

From the moment I started reading Schmokers “Focus” I was hooked because I love the idea that how we teach and what we teach does not have to be super complicated.  I wanted to know what are these simple things that I can do that have more impact than when I spend all sorts of time planning something elaborate?!  In my own experience, I have recently realized how since we have so much (materials, resources, PD, best practices websites, etc.) here in America it often stretches us too thin because we are trying to implement too many things partially.  When I taught and had very few supplemental resources and only a textbook at first it was hard but later I found that I became a stronger teacher because of it.  I didn’t waste time trying to decide what to do with multiple methods or materials, I used what I had and made the best of it. 

I also really like how literacy is the “spine” of everything we do as teachers and that we have to be engaging students with reading and writing and the textbook!  When I think of my own college career, textbook reading and lectures were the ways that you gained almost 100% of the content area knowledge.  This is what we have to prepare our students for if we want them to be successful college graduates.  I admit I was very guilty previously of using picture books, video clips, or non-fiction trade books instead of the text many times because my students never found the textbook very engaging.  But now I have realized that instead of supplanting other texts I just need to use methods and strategies to make the textbook engaging and teach them how to comprehend it and push them out of their comfort zone.  I can still supplement with other materials but reading the textbook has to be more of my “focus”.