Visiting Harvard: Day 6

I visited a literacy class and also spent the afternoon at the library delving into the online databases, saving PDF’s to my removable disk. I find I have to print out hard copies of articles to really analyze them well. But, I’m going digital for now so as not to have to buy an additional suitcase to take them all back . I’m working towards writing a literature review on the topic of Chall’s perspectives and research on the impact of the fourth-grade-slump on students of poverty. It really boils down to, in terms of classroom instruction, developing skills in “reading to learn” and increasing a productive use of academic vocabulary. Snow and colleagues write more about the social contextual factors that are at work in upper-grade student’s literacy learning (or not learning) in Unfulfilled Expectations: Home and School Influences on Literacy. It’s amazing how often learning doesn’t take place due to ineffective instruction and/or “down time” in the classroom. I’m also reviewing the literature on summer reading loss as an explanation for why students in poverty seem to regress in terms of achievement.

I had a great breakfast at the cafe in the Design School. I also appreciated the open layout in the student workspace; there was an entire floor (or what seemed like part of a floor) above the cafe where the layout was wide open, with semi-partitions (not quite cubicles, per se) and an amazing amount of sunlight flooding in through the open windows. I liked the open concept-it seemed very appealing–not just the literal light, but the ability to see and visualize the work that one’s peers and colleagues were doing (work-in-progress). It was kind of like the chairs that are permanently in circles in Harvard Yard arranged to intentionally foster dialogue. We need more of that.

I visit another class tomorrow and then spend the afternoon at Gutman library. I had this Borges-like image earlier this evening. I’m spending my time surrounded by books that have influenced a major figure in literacy and reading instruction. The ideas of Chall and the literature she read shaped instruction and policy both nationwide and with those she worked with more directly. As I consider each major work in her collection (selectively, of course), I’m wondering if there is some other collection of books belonging to the major writers who in turn influenced Chall. Like a backwards regression, e.g., in looking at Chall’s 1913 copy of Thorndike, what did Thorndike’s book collection look like? Who influenced him? And so on….

A lot of what Chall writes about just makes so much sense. I can feel the passion in her writings and in hearing others speak of her. She wanted children and adults to be able to learn how to read well, effectively, and ultimately, independently. She avoided and advocated against extremism in terms of theoretical orientations to methods of teaching reading–yet, she valued the code. Who could be against the alphabet?

Visiting Harvard: Day 5

I was glad for Monday to roll around.

Highlights:

1. Discovering Jeanne Chall’s marginal notes and “coding” of her reactions to the texts she read. I also learned she read quite a bit of research that was considered historical at the time. I wonder why?
2. It was so interesting to see her series of “X’s” for ideas that she seemed to critique.
3. I attended a linguistics/literacy class. It was really interesting. The small group dialogue was great.
4. I got a tour of the Jeanne Chall reading lab. Impressive! I learned there is a basal reader series developed by Catherine Snow and colleagues that focuses on character education, diversity, and social justice themes. It also infuses accompanying trade books. Very cool! http://www.zaner-bloser.com/educator/products/reading/comprehensive/voices.aspx?id=246
5. I was “initiated” into the culture by partaking of the famed Hot Chocolate across the street from Gutman library. It was beyond good–it put me in a trance.

Day 4-The Nor’easter

I stayed inside in the Turner House today. I braved it the whole two blocks of cobblestone streets to the Broadway Market to get a cranberry chicken salad sandwich and coffee. I was going to get some “chowda in a bread bowl” at the regatta; that would be good right about now to warm myself up. It’s about 29 degrees with the wind chill, gusts, and snow flurries. It was a good staying-inside-day.

I’ll get up early in the morning to head over to the Gutman library. Every minute counts here.

No pics–maybe tomorrow!

Focus

Coming here is like a new beginning. If, when I finished my Ph.D. at UT Austin in August, 2008, I felt like a baby bird leaving the nest, now I feel like I am no longer a baby. I can take flight on my own. It’s nice to be able to map out research goals that connect with my past thinking and my current thinking. It’s even nicer to do it in a setting that is so powerfully historically and socially situated, amidst a context of as thoughtful a researcher as  Jeanne Chall (her legacy and books).  

What I plan on doing is building on the anti-deficit thinking that framed my dissertation study. I examined diverse and mostly low-income and lower-middle-class  families as well as  the social-collaborative natures of their household literacies.  I also plan on building on the ideas outlined in our TCR piece (Bomer, Dworin, May & Semingson, 2008) and the need to foster dialogue on the nuances and complexities of the many variables involved with working with students in poverty. Two overarching questions to my interest in the role of families to students who face challenges in education are: 1) What strengths do families in poverty bring to the learning of their children? 2) What needs remain in working on fostering achievement when working with low-income families? These are not simple questions with single answers.

The work of Chall and colleagues suggest answers to both questions above. I am focusing my research here on the issue of low-income students who face the “fourth grade slump”. I am currently rereading The Reading Crisis (Chall, Jacobs, &  Baldwin, 1990) as well as Unfulfilled Expectations: Home and School Influences on Literacy (Snow, Barnes, Chandler, Goodman, & Hemphill, 1991).

Visiting Harvard–Day 3 Pics

Visiting Harvard-Day 2: A Cool Friday in Cambridge

I’ve decided to stay close around here. There’s so much to see. Pics are below.

This morning, with map in hand (thanks, Ed!), I maneuvered through light rain and ground water to the Gutman library. Several landmarks also guided me as I am learning my way through the streets. I turned by the Design school, Memorial Hall, and then cut through Harvard Yard (always interesting), over to Harvard Square, past the Coop, and on to the library. Prior to my visit this morning, a pair of new galoshes were definitely needed to warm my feet and stay toasty and dry. The only kind available at the Coop had Pac-man like ghosts/owls all over them. They did the trick!

I spent the morning in Special Collections learning more about the unique resources in the special collections and at Gutman. What a great library and great librarians! I had lunch at Market in the Square and walked around a while. I checked out some Chall books (e.g., second editions not available elsewhere) from the Gutman collection, and then walked back to Turner House in the brisk Friday afternoon cold. I am thinking about going to J.P. Licks in the Square for ice cream and coffee as a Friday night treat.

Tomorrow and Sunday is the Head of the Charles Regatta. It says it is the world’s largest two-day rowing event.

Day 2: Photos

Visiting Harvard: Day 1

Winter seems to have arrived early in Boston/Cambridge. It’s cool in the 30’s.  I was so thrilled to see the Atlantic Ocean for the first time this afternoon as the plane descended into this New England town, into what seems to me to be the far north. The multi-colored leaves with hues of orange and browns across the panorama were breathtaking! I’d never seen anything like it on the West Coast or Texas, for sure.

After I arrived at the Irving House Bed and Breakfast, I found my room had one of those really old fashioned heaters–the kind that looks like an accordian.

Starving, I ran down Cambridge street, across Harvard Yard, to Harvard Square and found a Mexican fast food place where I “inhaled” a burrito. This place is amazing–all red brick juxtaposed with newer buildings, e.g., the design school. I packed the wrong shoes, of course. I will try and buy some proper ones tomorrow.

I’m amazed at the architecture. There are lots of multi-story Victorian homes. It’s uncannily like a few recurring dreams I’ve had of living in such places.

I can’t wait until tomorrow when I officially begin digging into the special collections of the Jeanne S. Chall collection at the Gutman library.

This whole visit is the best thing that has happened to me professionally. Every day here will be a new adventure!

Comments and connections are most welcome!

You are a book

true conversation between a  former third grader and myself when I taught third grade:

“Ms. Semingson, you are a book.”

“What do you mean?”

“Because you’re always telling us stories.”

“What kind of stories?”

“The stories of your life.”

“How do those stories go?”

“The ones with the happy ending.”