Skip to main content

On "I Read It, But I Don't Get It"


I Read It, But I Don’t Get It  by Cris Tovani was a brisk, though at times repetitive and droning, read about different strategies for reading better. These strategies are applicable for teachers, students, and casual readers. Tovani isn’t a necessarily a poor writer; the book was easy to read and understand and every strategy was laid out clearly and practically. However, I felt the portions in which she interacted with her students and provided anecdotes were stilted and awkward. The students’ dialogue felt forced, artificial, and inauthentic. The way she portrayed her students felt like stereotypes and a middle-aged woman’s crafted view of typical high school students. I’m not going to doubt the accuracy or truthfulness of some of the situations she presents, but the manner which she writes the students and her interactions with them just felt unrealistic to me. At times, it almost felt like she held a slightly negative view of her students as a whole, which put me off a little.

Another thing I found lacking and disappointing was the near-absence of any relevant examples of her students making real progress. From a rhetorical standpoint, I can’t be expected to buy into her claims and techniques if I’m not provided concrete examples of it working. I can only think of a few examples in which she does this effectively. Also, most of the strategies she presents, though real and effective in their own right, are aspects of reading I’ve been surrounded by and taught my whole life. I’m sure many others can benefit from reading the book and take away tips they never knew before. But for me, at least, a lot of this is just common sense to me. One of the main reasons I want to be a teacher to begin with is to pass on these strategies that I already knew and have been practicing. So, overall, despite it’s harmlessness and brisk style, the book felt like an honest waste of pedagogical potential.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Freire's "Pedagogy of the Oppresed"

I find “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” to be a fascinating document because of how widely read, shared, and discussed. That specifically, is fascinating because from my own personal experience (as well as observation from and of others), there many teachers who still follow this “banking” method of instruction. This material and philosophy has been around for a long time, yet some teachers don’t see the problem with the banking dichotomy. The idea of rejecting that notion is something that I’ve been very passionate about. So much so, in fact, that it’s one of the main reasons that I have decided to pursue teaching. I don’t believe for one second that my intellectual capability and intelligence is above any of my students. Nor do I believe that my knowledge is superior. I think where the superiority complex stems from improper cultivation of teachers is many of them were trained during a period of curriculum that was based on knowledge of the world and facts, as opposed to skills and un...
Post a Comment
Read more

Common Core State Standards

My experience with Common Core begins with my high school education, where I was able to see firsthand the standards reforms happening in Washington State. At the time, the idea of Common Core State Standards was off-putting for a majority of my fellow students. We seemed to collectively agree that the standards appeared to be restricting our learning and creativity. But over time, as the standards have continued to be developed, and the implementation of those standards evolves, Common Core has become more palatable for me. The reading explains the goal of Common Core best when they quote, "standards provide a definition of what is possible, but standards are not curriculum documents". I think this sentiment is extremely important in understanding what the goal of Common Core standards are. Though my personal philosophy about education wouldn't include something like the state standards, they are a necessary and deeply integrated part of the public school system. Future...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mass Media and Popular Culture in the Classroom

I thought this article brought up some really interesting and important ideas regarding popular media in the classroom – specifically, how to incorporate it in a useful and engaging way for students. The text’s ultimate purpose seemed to evoke Freire’s ideas about students using their literacy as a voice to enact social change. In the context of the article, this relates to mass media (books, news, film, television, social media, etc.) because the text makes the point that it is not neutral, and that there are messages being conveyed to the consumers of mass media from all perspectives and points of view. Learning to navigate a world in which information is constantly being poured into us through mass media is difficult and confusing, even for an adult. It must be even harder for adolescents, who are growing up and being cultivated by this mass media. However, I don’t think this should be the main focus of incorporating popular culture into classroom. I would choose to teach pop...
Post a Comment
Read more