Today's blog post is an open letter to Lucy Calkins written by Angie Sullivan, a second grade teacher in Las Vegas, Nevada. We are helping to share her thoughts far and wide. Writer's Workshop is one of the many tools that have shifted - and not for the better - under the Common Core State Standards. Does Angie's experience strike a chord with you?
I'm doing some homework. I currently teach 2nd grade. For a couple of decades I have taught grade levels K-2.
I love writer's workshop. Used it throughout my career having learned about it initially as an undergraduate at BYU in 1987 - a realm of whole language at the time. Writing was impressed on me as integral in reading literacy and I never forget the basics of that theory.
That said - and to the point - I view Common Core as a political manipulation.
It is very difficult for me to embrace it - since I consider it malpractice at the K-2 level. I use it because it is mandated but it would be difficult for me to even pretend that common core does anything but harm my at-risk language learners as applied in the state of Nevada. Scaffolding is not enough when there are not enough hours in the day and children need time to learn English. I teach in spite of common core which is disjointed and bizarre.
There is one writing Common Core writing standard for Kindergarten students in Vegas - write a fact and opinion paper.
Yep.And that is all. Children who have never picked up a pencil have one global standard - write a paper.
I'm weeping as I read through these pages in your book up to 13 as you describe fine tuning your writer's workshop research and somehow expressing a loving common core at the same time.
I'm having a very difficult time thinking something as beautiful, powerful, and developmentally appropriate as writer's workshop works smoothly with the terribly inappropriate, developmentally gross common core. I appreciate that this program is an attempt to try your best to fill in the holes with solid examples and sample lessons, but question why we would accept this as professional educators.
While Common Core meets the needs of a few - in my experience it ensures the failure of the many.nBad standards - are still bad - as we try to spackle best practice in layers over the top of them.
So as I teach my kids to do - I will write you now through my tears and weep for the best practice writer's workshop bundle that shoved into the cavernous hole that is K-2 common core writing.
What have I learned? We are all victims of the monied lobbying that became standards for most every state.
Even the stalwarts of the finest practice like yourself. And that makes me weep some more because I understand but it is still a travesty.
Angie Sullivan
2nd Grade Teacher
Las Vegas, Nevada.
Angie also sent us this - When researchers have to put disclaimers like this right in their product - something is wrong:
I'm doing some homework. I currently teach 2nd grade. For a couple of decades I have taught grade levels K-2.
I love writer's workshop. Used it throughout my career having learned about it initially as an undergraduate at BYU in 1987 - a realm of whole language at the time. Writing was impressed on me as integral in reading literacy and I never forget the basics of that theory.
That said - and to the point - I view Common Core as a political manipulation.
It is very difficult for me to embrace it - since I consider it malpractice at the K-2 level. I use it because it is mandated but it would be difficult for me to even pretend that common core does anything but harm my at-risk language learners as applied in the state of Nevada. Scaffolding is not enough when there are not enough hours in the day and children need time to learn English. I teach in spite of common core which is disjointed and bizarre.
There is one writing Common Core writing standard for Kindergarten students in Vegas - write a fact and opinion paper.
Yep.And that is all. Children who have never picked up a pencil have one global standard - write a paper.
I'm weeping as I read through these pages in your book up to 13 as you describe fine tuning your writer's workshop research and somehow expressing a loving common core at the same time.
I'm having a very difficult time thinking something as beautiful, powerful, and developmentally appropriate as writer's workshop works smoothly with the terribly inappropriate, developmentally gross common core. I appreciate that this program is an attempt to try your best to fill in the holes with solid examples and sample lessons, but question why we would accept this as professional educators.
While Common Core meets the needs of a few - in my experience it ensures the failure of the many.nBad standards - are still bad - as we try to spackle best practice in layers over the top of them.
So as I teach my kids to do - I will write you now through my tears and weep for the best practice writer's workshop bundle that shoved into the cavernous hole that is K-2 common core writing.
What have I learned? We are all victims of the monied lobbying that became standards for most every state.
Even the stalwarts of the finest practice like yourself. And that makes me weep some more because I understand but it is still a travesty.
Angie Sullivan
2nd Grade Teacher
Las Vegas, Nevada.
Angie also sent us this - When researchers have to put disclaimers like this right in their product - something is wrong: