Atwell Chapter 2

I thought it was very interesting to learn about how students watch a teacher for her implicit and explicit actions. This is definitely true. Teachers should be role models to their students. It should be a no-brainer that students should see their teacher reading. Teachers model during lesson plans, which shows students how to perform a certain task. What they don't always pay attention to is that their daily behaviors are also being modeled and watched closely by their students.

One thing I envy about Atwell is her curriculum. She was able to allow her students to read up to four and five days per week. The students were reading books suited to their interests. How do you get a school district to allow a teacher to let her students read whatever they want? Also, with all of this reading, would there be enough time for other areas studied in English class? Vocabulary, literary terms, writing, reading comprehension etc.

It would be amazing to have a class that is so interested in reading as Atwell's class. But how do you measure if students are really reading? A teacher would not be able to make assessments for all of the books her students chose. Maybe there would be no assessment... but what about the students who would then not read during the time they were supposed to?

I have so many questions about this strategy of teaching reading in the classroom. I wish I could talk to Atwell in person. She seems like a down-to-earth teacher who cares so much about the teaching profession.

My favorite part about this chapter was Atwell's idea of her classroom being a dining room table. Atwell said, "Somehow I had to get that table into my classroom and invite my students to pull up their chairs" (32). Atwell wanted her students to laugh and cry over literature. This is what I want in my classroom.