Literacy According to Lisa #1
by Lisa Schonhoff Ed. S. "My views are my own."
Editor’s Note: Lisa Schonhoff, is a wife, mother of 4 school-aged children, and a teacher with over 20 years of experience in the classroom. As of November 5, she is a Nebraska State Board of Education member, and will begin her duties to the state in January, 2025. Protect Nebraska Children-PAC is proud to have endorsed Lisa, and we celebrate with her.
Lisa is a bona fide literacy expert, not in the “I had a grant to study this” kind of way, but rather in a “I have been coaching teachers on how to teach reading for decades” kind of way. Literacy needs to be the first duty of Nebraska schools, and no one understands the issues better than Lisa.
She has started a blog about literacy on her website, and you can follow it here:
https://www.lisafornebraska.com/post/literacy-according-to-lisa
Alternatively, you may want to subscribe to this substack (it’s free) to follow along with me. The first 2 installments of her blog are reprinted here with the author’s permission. -Sue Greenwald, M.D.
My Journey Begins...
Updated: Nov 21
11/19/2024
Literacy is the foundation of any society. With declining literacy rates in America, everyone has an opinion. It’s the perfect opportunity to sell instructional materials and to sell the next story to America. There certainly isn’t a lack of opportunity, but we can’t get to the bottom of what’s causing the decline without thoroughly examining the root causes. As we explore the many facets of literacy in America, I will provide personal experiences and research that have led me to take on the very important role as a member of the State Board of Education, with the help of my constituents.
For the past 24 years, I have devoted my life to learning best strategies in teaching kids to read. I began teaching first grade in Kansas City, KS (also known as KCK) in 2002. I had spent my prior year teaching English to preschoolers through adults in Taiwan. When I moved to Kansas City, I was one of eight first grade teachers at ME Pearson Elementary school. 97% of my students were on free and reduced lunch and 93% of my students were English Language Learners. I have so many wonderful memories of these first teaching years, but one sticks out to me as we begin this journey.
I recall looking at my literacy data in December of that first year teaching and feeling absolutely devastated with my results as a teacher. My students were NOT learning to read and I was failing miserably as their teacher. I met with my Instructional Coach, who I grew to dearly love during my time at ME Pearson. I broke down in tears and informed her that I had made a horrible mistake. I was not cut out for teaching. I was ill-prepared and not willing to be the reason why my students were failing. I remember my Instructional Coach giving me the autonomy to scratch what I had been told and to do what was best for my students. Because of her, I went back to obtain a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction, and I devoted my life to learning best strategies for all students. Because of her, I was able to feel success as an educator. Please follow along with my blog posts to learn more about my experiences with education in America.
Following is a list of just a few of the topics to be covered in upcoming blog posts:
Sound Walls and Vocabulary Walls
Anchor Charts
Thematic Teaching with a Language Experience Approach and EL
Differentiating for Dyslexia
Sold a Story and What Could go Wrong with the Science of Reading
Research Based Strategies…What Does that Mean?
When to Level Books and When NOT to Level Books
Progressive Technology in the Classroom: Advantages and Disadvantages
Curriculum Makers with a Green Rating on EdReports: The Implications for Your Child
Nebraska ELA Standards
The Casel Framework and SEL
Is it a Teacher Shortage or a Teacher Exodus?
Selling the Next Big Story in Education
11/26/2024
Our classrooms are becoming more diverse at increasing speeds. What does a diverse classroom look like? Although readers might reflexively think of one’s race or ethnicity, there are a multitude of factors to consider. In Nebraska, there are more children from single-parent households than ever before. A teacher may have a class in which multiple children have diagnosed learning disabilities, as well as children from families of immigrants and refugees who have experienced trauma and may have limited education. Many teachers are not equipped to teach such diverse populations, and it is the responsibility of administrators to provide adequate training and resources. When sending their children off to school for the day, parents cannot fully comprehend the challenges faced by the teacher. This can all result, unfortunately, in a well-meaning but misguided attempt by administrators to address the challenges by spending more on materials that do not work.
It is imperative that we continue to enhance our instruction to meet the needs of our students. The experts, aka the teachers, need autonomy to do what is best for the students in their classrooms. We need to be very careful about telling educators that everything they have been doing is wrong and that there is only one right way to teach reading. Educators across our nation have been listening to a podcast called Sold a Story. While I agree with a number of points made throughout much of the podcast, I have many concerns and questions about it. I notice many of our top curriculum publishers are using the “Science of Reading” narrative from the Sold a Story podcast, to sell their materials that are flying off the shelves at exorbitant costs to those who fund public and private schools alike. When we talk about the science of reading, we are talking about a body of age-old scientific research that proves we need systematic, structured phonics. Here are the questions I have:
Why did educators across our nation stop teaching phonics?
What was the research that educators bought into that resulted in the widespread teaching of the “Whole Language” approach?
Why are so many shocked about the old science that shows that systematic phonics works?
Why are the same curriculum publishers who have failed so many students across our nation now on board with the “science of reading” narrative like it is new information?
Aren’t we doing the exact same thing to educators when we purchase new materials from these publishers and tell teachers they MUST teach these materials with fidelity?
I will delve more into these questions and the “science of reading” in upcoming posts. As we explore deeper, it is important to remember that students today are NOT the same as students of the 20th century. Technology, social media, the breakdown of the nuclear family, and the changing demographics have resulted in diverse needs within the classroom walls. My upcoming articles will not only help to unravel the education narrative for the general population but provide a framework for teachers that helps to differentiate literacy instruction for the ever-increasing demands in today’s classrooms.