Synthesis 1

     Upon enrollment in a class titled “Teaching for Reading”, I admittedly scoffed at the idea of a future Industrial Technology (IT) teacher required to learn skills to teach children to read. It did not take long however for me to realize that this course is not designed merely for English Education students, rather is vital for all. I had never considered teacher reading to be my responsibility until committing myself to Tovani’s ‘Do I Really Have to Teach Reading”.  Tovani tells a story of asking an Industrial Tech teacher how students are to learn to read schematics and blue prints without the guidance of an IT teacher. Certainly that role is not the responsibility of the English teacher. She later explains that we are masters of reading within our content area and often take that skill for granted. In tandem these concepts are what fully made me realize that this class was intended for all Secondary Education students for good purpose, and I became engaged.      
      With purpose as a motivating factor, I began to wonder: what is it that I do when I read a basic text to form understanding? Often times when I am reading, as an assignment for a class or throughout my daily life, I continue to ask myself this burning question. I have come to realize comprehension is an inherent result of active reading. Sometimes active reading entails following the words in a text with the tip of a pen and other times highlighting significant details. Some people choose to use sticky notes or simply jot notes in the margins. But for me, more often than not, active reading is merely keeping my conversation voice busy and my reciting voice in submission.  Like active listening, my internal conversation voice helps me attend to the text. I paraphrase sentences, paragraphs and pages to test my comprehension when necessary, I reread. I have never been a fast reader, but have learned to accept and actually appreciate my leisurely pace for what it is. Not worried about speed as an underlying determinant of ability, I am awarded time to engage in deeper thought about the text which allows ample opportunity to commit what I deem necessary to long-term memory.    
      As I previously mentioned, there are several forms of texts that an IT student will encounter exclusively in such courses. Like reading a map, there are skills necessary to understand technical drawings. I have been exposed to and interpreting these drawings for nearly ten years, to the point where I have difficulty realizing the skills involved as they have become second nature. I cannot assume children will have acquired these reading skills from other sources; it is my responsibility to enlighten my students. From the more basic concepts such as visualization based on a ratio scale, to interpreting finer assembly or finish details, my students are novice readers, and I am their coach. By modeling the processes I use to form comprehension, I will be able to impress skills that I formerly took for granted.    
      Teaching with regards to diversity can also be a challenge, but nevertheless is imperative to assure as teachers, we are teachers of ALL students. Also, approaching the issue promotes inter-student acceptance. I have learned the best method to approaching cultural diversity is to embrace uniqueness rather than kick it under the rug. In digging deep enough, we can find something commendably unique about each student. Prompting students to discuss their diverse backgrounds and experiences in a classroom and opening discussion or developing lessons in specific regard to that student/culture is a great way to display importance of such differences. Acceptance of cultural diversity, in such a diverse country and in an exponentially globalizing economy, is vital for all students’ success. In IT classes, this can be achieved quite easily. In a woodworking class for example, I will promote indulgence in culturally significant projects such as a totem pole. Such a project not only teaches a student the skills of the content area but also promotes a deeper understanding of a culture more worldly than they were familiar. Several other cultural projects would contribute similarly to the overall development of students.     
      My main goal in this course is to arouse personal excitement in reading a text I am asked to read that I would not otherwise choose. If not excitement, I would like to at least be able to establish purpose when I am otherwise struggling to find some. Finding purpose within a text makes reading with an active voice much more plausible. When I am asked to read a dry text with no personal motivator, I try to establish purpose by asking several questions in the beginning with the intent of answering those questions by the end. Usually within the first few paragraphs of a chapter or an article, I can determine what is most important that the author is intending to impress on me as the reader. With that in mind, I have found I have to literally write down questions to continually revisit while reading. This process is helpful, but certainly there are other ways to establish purpose in order to better comprehend a boring read. If I can conquer this goal, I will be able to extend my skills to future students, making me a better teacher overall.