Top Ten Theoretical Thoughts

As I was thinking of my top ten, it occurred to me that I'd had 10+ instructors this summer. So, I thought I'd use a little wisdom from each one to review what I've learned about literacy.

#10 (Make a YouTube video in your mind as you read this):
If you ever feel like you're drowning, look for the lead fish and follow him to new ideas. Remember, the teacher is not always the lead fish!

#9 (Pun intended)
Gee, teaching doesn't have to be difficult! Immersing students in a Discourse makes the process natural and the mastery easy. Create an identity kit for students to become scientists, historians, writers, readers, artists, etc.

#8 (Choral reading by Jeremy and Rachel)
"Show us how to shift genres between reading texts and oral presentations so we don't end up lost in an assignment. Help us understand that literacy is not an isolated skill focused on surface knowledge."

#7 (Read with a British accent)
Provide a framework for students to access the curriculum by building upon their strengths rather than their weaknesses using the academic literacies model.

#6 (Assume an aesthetic stance)
The heart of reading is going beyond the text to find meaning in the exchange between the author and the reader. (How did that make you feel?)

#5 (Written with the audience in mind)
Give students an opportunity to work within all three writing genres: transactional, expressive, and poetic. Don't let the demands of testing restrict students to transactional writing only.

#4 (Imagine this one set to music, with an artsy layout)
Blogging with a class of art teachers is addicting!

#3 (Spoken by a squid with a French accent)
Never let a child's potential go unnoticed. Reading is a miraculous journey to a perfect island, a parallel universe.

#2 (The voice of "The Moderator")
Invite students to come into the Discourse and play in it together. Be "liberatory pedagogues". Keep exploring and keep reading.

And the #1 thing I learned this summer . . .
(From my family, between 9 - 10 on Wednesdays with no breakfast in sight)
If I ever decide to quit my day job, I look pretty good in a headset.

Thank you each and everyone!