Lynn Gatto makes me want to go back to fourth grade. I have a visual picture of Ms. Frizzle in my head. A teacher who wears dresses covered with dinosaurs or butterflies, wears matching earrings and hats, decorates the room from top to bottom to coincide with the theme of the week, and takes her class on exciting (sometimes scary) field trips that no other class could imagine. Perhaps I will Google Lynn Gatto when I am finished with this to see what she really looks like! I do not think that I am too far off though. Her explanation of how she grabs her students attention, reels them in, and has them begging for more is quite impressive. No wonder she has won umpteen awards and her colleagues don’t talk to her! The idea that when teachers take a test-centered approach, their students view literacy not as a process, but as something to test (Nystrand, 1997) is quite powerful and, perhaps, the underlying reason for her views. Gatto is, in my opinion, right on the target when she discusses how mass produced literacy programs are not productive. Authentic and meaningful learning practices are not found in basal readers (Gatto, 2007). They do not know that she has 14 African American, 4 Caucasian and a few ELL students in her class. They do not know what interests and motivates them, what spelling words they need to concentrate on or how they learn. Their teacher does, and it is their job to integrate subjects and motivate his/her students so they WANT to learn. I really believe this is the key...MOTIVATION! I see it with my students and at home with my daughter. When they want to do something, it gets done and usually well. But, for those areas where motivation is lacking, ouch!
Paulo Freire’s essay compares two types of education. He refers to them as: banking and problem-solving. Both terms are important not just because of what occurs in the classroom, but because they also they also incorporate the context, purpose, and effects of education. Most students would consider lecture halls, where facts are given and students are expected to memorize and return those facts as “banking”. “Problem-Solving” education could be described as: discussions are introduced, creativity is involved and opinions are shared. Gatto clearly follows the latter and I am guessing most of her colleagues are “banking”.
Gatto states that she is preparing her students for life not simply to take tests. Freire sees the world as the “process of becoming” where students are part of that process. He believes that the dialogue between the teacher and students, as well as, students with each other, allows people to develop fully. That communication takes into account the relationship people have not only with each other, but with the world around them. This dialogue leads to further exploration and allows for change. Gatto clearly incorporates this into her lessons.
As a future history teacher I love the idea of guiding my students using interactive and creative techniques, but I think I will wait until I am tenured!
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