Back at it Again!

Four Months.

Four months is how long we have left until we will be student teaching. I can't help but take this moment to stop and think back to 250. Wow, how things have changed! I sat listening, ready, and eager to learn, yet with not a clue what was actually going on. Over the past three years I have learned so much, and I can only imagine what this semester has in store.

In my last blog I wrote that my goal was to blog throughout the summer. Yeah right.. That didn't even cross my mind, but I really wish that I had taken the time to do so, because it can be a really great and even relaxing time. I look forward to blogging especially this semester and next so that I can reflect on my clinical experience throughout the year. It will be especially interesting to go back and read them once the year is over!

This semester I plan on being in the classroom all day on every Monday and Wednesday and occasional afternoons on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. This will give me the opportunity to see what a full day of instruction looks like and spend as much time as I can getting to know my students. Tuesday and Thursday mornings I will be taking a yoga class at my local community college. Even though it is a required PE course for me, I'm thinking that it will be pretty beneficial. I have no yoga experience at all however, so it's going to be interesting. I'll keep y'all updated.


Now to the good stuff.

Last year when I was teaching Pre-K, there was a lot of controversy about what style of handwriting we should teach. Some elementary schools in the county are currently teaching D'Nealian, where as others are teaching standard block. I the school that I am placed in this year, they have always taught D'Nealian in the past. However, this year they have adopted a new phonics system called "LetterLand" that teaches standard block. This will be quite the transition for teachers like mine who have been teaching D'Nealian for the past twenty years.

So what is the overall consensus from teachers?

I found a website that allows teachers to discuss back and forth about issues like these. There are honestly mixed feelings about the overall topic. Teachers use to love D'Nealian because it was preparing students to learn cursive. However, cursive has been thrown out so there is really no need for it. The biggest reason that teachers tend to lean towards standard block lettering is that books, internet, newspapers, and most print that we see and read is printed in block style letters. This isn't a huge deal with most of the letters, but for letters like "k" it makes all the difference. In my opinion, we need to all be on the same page. If a student moves schools right now, it could be quite confusing. It would be beneficial to all students if they all were being taught the same method.

This topic mainly applies to standard 3 of NCTCS. Teachers not only need to know the content they teach, but they also need to make teaching relevant to students. If D'Nealian is no longer benefiting students and isn't relevant to their 21st century lives, then we need to make changes.

Check out what teachers are saying in the website below:
http://forums.atozteacherstuff.com/index.php?threads/dnealian-vs-block-style.107931/