Fostering an environment where mistakes are welcomed is one way to build reading skills, writes guest columnist Michael Strickland. (Getty Images)
“Dorothy, I’m so glad to see you. I saved a book especially for you.”
It was the voice of Mrs. Luex, the librarian at the neighborhood branch library that my mother, Dorothy, visited regularly in Union, New Jersey, where she grew up in the early 1940s. Mrs. Luex reached down under her desk and pulled out that special book and handed it to my mother with a smile that seemed to say that the librarian had been waiting all week just for her. The library in her part of town was located in a storefront nestled among several small businesses, including a delicatessen, dry cleaners and drug store.
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At age 11, my mom was old enough to walk to the library all by herself, and Mrs. Luex had become one of her favorite people in the whole wide world. She was perfectly round – round body, round face, and hair that was pulled back neatly into a perfectly round bun. She was always welcoming and pleasant. To think that she would select a book just for Dorothy made her feel very special. Whatever she selected would be read along with the books my mother selected on her own.
Born into an African American working class family with grandparents who migrated from the South with limited educational opportunities, my mother didn’t recall ever seeing either of them reading a book. My grandfather, however, read the daily tabloid newspaper with enthusiasm, and often quoted portions of it to the rest of my mother’s family.
Fortunately, my grandparents indulged Dorothy’s love of reading and seemed to know how important it was to her. Little did anyone know that she would one day become president of the International Literacy Association, a member of the Reading Hall of Fame, the Arthur I. Gates Chair at Columbia University and the Samuel Dewitt Proctor Chair at Rutgers University.
All individual literacy journeys and formal education systems share a common goal: fostering a love for reading and learning. Just as Dorothy’s passion for reading was nurtured by her family, Idaho’s teachers and librarians strive to create structured and supportive environments that cultivate literacy and academic growth.
“Our Idaho students deserve a learning environment that is rich with resources, including books, and replete with opportunities for exploration and discovery,” Idaho State Librarian Stephanie Bailey-White said. “Those environments are not confined to the classroom, but extend to the local library, museum, and even community center where the young can benefit from the wisdom and experience of others.”
The best educators create emotionally safe spaces. They foster belonging and support student well-being. Organizing instruction involves many complex tasks. Scheduling time and activities, planning lessons, and grouping students for more personalized instruction are only part of the challenge. All of these things should take place in an atmosphere where students feel a sense of community and where they feel free to ask for help and take risks.
In years of research and collaboration with my mother, it has become clear that a classroom that is socially and emotionally supportive has a generally friendly atmosphere. It is a safe and caring place for all learners, regardless of their cultural or linguistic backgrounds or their abilities.
Students know that learning involves both making mistakes and experiencing success. Strategies that foster a safe emotional climate include establishing classroom rules; being aware of verbal and nonverbal behaviors, such as allowing enough “wait time” for students to respond to questions; organizing diverse small-group instruction; setting up the physical environment so that students can work in small groups and pairs comfortably without disturbing others; planning for student-to-student as well as teacher-to-student interactions.
In an age when the sheer amount of information available on any subject is overwhelming, the ability to frame important questions, use resources efficiently, and think critically with the information available is arguably more important than the ability to accumulate and store factual information to memory. Teachers who teach for thinking throughout the day not only will improve students’ competency in the specific areas under study but will also help them become self-reliant, independent thinkers in everything they attempt.
Consider two teachers who take their students on a field trip to the museum. Both teachers engage the children in planning for the trip. However, the first teacher spends most of that time in a discussion of the logistical arrangements regarding time, fees, and travel. Obviously, the second teacher must attend to those things as well. But, time is also spent discussing some of the things that the students are likely to see and do. Museum brochures are used to help frame an anticipatory set for students before they depart.
During the trip, the first teacher simply allows students to wander from exhibit to exhibit, touching displays and pressing buttons to hear recorded messages. Teacher number two allows some free exploration as well. However, certain preselected exhibits become the focus of guided viewing and discussion.
Through these discussions, the teacher serves as mediator for children’s thinking about the displays, helping children focus on particular elements of the display, interpret what they see, and relate it to what they already know. The particular displays or content selected for this kind of attention is far less important than the attention given to developing the underlying thinking processes in which the children engage.
Engage students with diverse activities that get them moving at least once per class to maintain focus and energy. Foster an environment where mistakes are welcomed, and students feel comfortable asking questions in the target language. Encourage collaboration through varied tasks that require communication in the target language.
As educators, we often seek the perfect learning environment. However, the answer may be simpler than we think. Perhaps the key is simply to follow the advice we give our students: If you’re unsure, just ask.
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