Literacy

1. Instruction

1.1. Teachers have to change the way they view literacy.

1.2. How can we give veteran teachers the motivation to "let go" of some of their old habits?

1.3. Instruction must be more relevant, more rigorous, and must include higher order thinking!

1.4. Instruction needs to explain the "why?" to the students to make learning valuable.

2. The 3 R's

2.1. Reading, writing, and arithmetic are still important.

2.2. These can be better taught with new and more innovative resources.

2.3. Students must be exposed to these in the form of real world examples.

3. Stakeholders

3.1. Teachers

3.2. Parents

3.3. Students

3.4. Administration

3.5. The community

4. Thinking about literacy reminded me about "The Daring Librarian" that I heard mentioned my own school's LMS.

5. Technology

5.1. Technology must become the norm instead of the exception.

5.2. Social Networking... why is it banned at school?

5.3. Teachers need more training to ease the anxiety of change.

5.4. Are students learning more outside of school because of their access to technology?

6. Real World Skills

6.1. Students often lack common sense.

6.2. Students must be able to interact with others in an effective way.

6.3. Students need to learn appropriate ways to share their ideas and opinions.

6.4. Problems cannot be separated from real world situations. By using real world examples in school, students will be better prepared for college and a career.

7. Barriers

7.1. Funding

7.2. Teacher Motivation

7.3. Student Abuse

7.4. Time

7.5. Administration Cooperation

7.6. Professional Development

8. Literacy is moving away from the traditional Three R's and more toward a technology driven curriculum. Schools cannot afford to ignore that technology is apart of everyday life and that it must be utilized to better prepare students for life.