I just started reading Howard Gardner's Disciplined Mind. My wife is reading it for her book group, comprised of former K/1 teaching teammates. I was struck by a passage in the opening chapter. Gardner said that the purpose of the book was not to talk about ways to change education in the present (the here and now) but to, instead, shift the conversation to what is best for students and learning. Instead of focusing on charter schools and teacher's unions, he wanted to focus on how kids learn and what they learn.
That chapter, as introductory as it may be, finally struck me in my current state. Education isn't about basal readers and assorted activities as much as it is about what is best for kids and their learning. I've been arm wrestling with a reversion to more basal reader usage during literacy time. This was a decision made with my MT, and one that I struggled with. The part where I struggle is that my thought process is going: "I want kids to develop a love of reading" and I am not sure the basal reader fosters that development. The competing line of thought is: "Students need to have the fundamental skills to read, and the basal reader helps develop fluency amongst other things." The question I should be asking is, "What is best for kids and their learning- long term."
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