Children+of+the+Code

If you did not do this workshop, it has a lot of great, interesting information. Check out this link: []

 Children of the Code Wiki Workshop  For this workshop I read the home page and looked at a few videos addressing the role of shame in relation to children’s reading difficulties Then I began watching the video chapters and have completed so far: Causes and Contributing Factors: Shame and A Brief History of the Code: 5A. The questions from the workshop on the issues of Shame: // What do you know about shame in relation to teaching and learning, via your own experience or someone else's? // In the videos on shame the children and adults recalled their feelings about reading aloud at school. The responses included being “nervous,” “shy,” and “scared.” One little girl even said that her “heart dropped,” when classmates laughed at her and she thought they “weren’t my friends anymore.” That is just heartbreaking to me. In my days as a substitute teacher I have found that not having a good plan for reading in the classroom can feel like an untrained dentist trying to pull teeth. While in most classrooms lots of children are eager to have a turn to read, there are those that act out, ask to leave the room for a made-up reason, “sleep,” and decline to read. Sometimes children are laughed at or corrected by other students.  In my own planning for reading in the classroom, I will keep the feelings and emotions that some children may have about reading in front of others in mind. Reading in front of others at school is not completely avoidable and probably should not be avoided completely. The ability to speak and read in front of others is a valuable skill. In teaching in the early elementary classroom this is something that can be practiced and planned. The teacher can set ground rules for respectful behavior before disrespect occurs. // What implications does the idea of shame have for us as we teach? How do we avoid using shame in our teaching? // The story one of the experts in the video about the “Power of Shame,” tells of a 6 year old that pretended to be deaf to get out of reading, then endured 3 days of surgery to avoid reading! This is hard to believe! How did none of the adults and professionals involved pick up on this? This case tells me that as teachers we need to be very aware of how shame may affect a student’s performance at school, in reading and other subjects. To avoid using shame a teacher can carefully consider the comments she will make to children about their work and class participation. The tone of voice used must be considered along with the carefully selected comments.  One first grade teacher of 25 years experience told me the most important thing children need to learn about reading in the first grade is “confidence that they can do it.” I have tried to keep this in mind when working with young children in reading. Rather than meeting the demands of the teacher, a child’s process of learning to read should be more focused on how it meets the needs of the child.