0:00
[MUSIC]
Well, it looks like Coach Hare is already off and running.
Boy, that guy moves fast.
And now, let's turn our attention to Coach Tortoise,
who I believe is coming into view.
There you are.
Come on over here, let me ask you a few questions.
Great.
0:22
I know I'm not as speedy as Coach Hare is but
I certainly have helped thousands of students myself learn how to read.
>> Yes and I think what is on all the minds of our listeners out there is this,
what is your general philosophy of teaching reading?
How do you do it?
>> Well, it is simply really.
While Coach Hare believes that students can all sit by themselves and
learn how to read just by spending a lot of time staring at books,
I believe that many students struggle when you just throw them a book.
A lot of students need you, me to be their guide, their helper.
And you need to carefully, slowly,
thoughtfully teach them certain principles and ideas about reading.
Good readers need to develop strategies for success.
And to be honest some of those strategies take time.
1:18
Pleasure is a wonderful goal, but no one is having fun
when they don't understand what is going on in the book they are reading.
So fun is not a good primary goal.
The primary goal should focus on a student's ability
to understand the reading.
1:36
>> So for you the goal of reading is understanding?
>> That's it precisely.
[APPLAUSE] >> Understanding is exactly what leads
to an enjoyment and a feeling of success.
So many of Coach Hare's students have come to me frustrated and
sad because they can't read as quickly or as well as Mr.
Hare's speedy students.
He thinks he is teaching all of his students well.
But he doesn't spend the time to know about those struggling students who don't
read or say as much.
They sit there quietly while other students have discussions,
share presentations, give reports.
And in fact some of his students end up cheating because they feel so dumb.
>> That is scandalous.
>> Truly it is.
>> So what do you do to help your students learn how to read?
>> Take my time, of course.
I break things down for students.
I ask them to pay attention to transition words, prefixes, suffixes,
to notice major ideas and minor ideas.
I might scramble a paragraph and have them reassemble it.
All so that they can start to make sense of the words and
how they all fit together.
I teach them to pay attention to folded text, to look up words in a dictionary,
to predict by noticing pictures, I do reading puzzles, reading comprehension
questions, we often read together so that students can help each other.
Excuse me, I'm speaking too fast.
>> Take your time.
3:18
>> I ask them to get in groups so that they can support each other.
I invite them to rank different ideas and place them on the board.
I have literally hundreds of strategies for them to become successful readers.
Take that, Coach Hare.
>> And beg my pardon.
What would you say to the criticism that Coach Hare has often publicly stated
that your method is simply too slow?
3:46
>> I am quite familiar with coach Hare and his beliefs.
I would say that while my students may not read as much, what they do read
they understand better and deeper, and thus their experience is richer and
to be honest they end up becoming better readers in the long term.
Slow and steady wins the race.
That is what I always say.
When my readers learn how to become good readers it simply creates more passion,
more knowledge, and more success.
Coach Hare's students simply get lost,
think that reading just means getting through something quickly,
they never get to savor the flavors of a well written paragraph or a poem.
The truth is, proficiency fuels passion.
>> Interesting.
Isn't that exactly the opposite of, what?
Hm.
Food for thoughts?
And one more question, Coach Tortoise, you have given me a lot to think about.
Some people also believe that you might well, over coach your students.
In other words, you're giving so many details and so
much instruction that students well, get bored.
>> And that is where Coach Hare is so wrong.
He thinks his method is student centered and that mine is teacher centered, but
that isn't true at all.
My method is even more student centered.
I spend more time with the students in small activities,
in individual readings, and helping them to understand how to read.
Student centered doesn't mean that a teacher simply goes away.
Student centered means that a student is carefully helped along the way.
I am a guide helping students to understand each reading and
giving them colorful and exciting ways to improve their reading.
My students, in the end will be faster and
more accomplished than any of Coach Hare's learners.
5:53
I know it seems impossible to go fast by going slow, but I have seen it myself.
And let me remind you, who won the last most important race.
>> Well there you have it,
two legendary coaches giving different opinions about how to teach reading.
I have to admit the reason I became a teacher was when I watched a careful and
knowledgeable teacher like Coach Tortoise,
help me to understand language that I didn't get.
I couldn't believe that she could make Shakespeare so fun and so amazing.
If she hadn't been my guide I wouldn't realize how hilarious,
how insightful even life changing Shakespeare could be.
Thanks so much to my beautiful teacher.
This is Joe Axle signing off.
[MUSIC]
Jessica CincoInternational Educator
Dr. Shane DixonSenior International Educator
Dr. Justin ShewellSenior International Educator
