Reflection of Reading and Decoding Video

The topics of the first video clip were reading and decoding. This man talked about how many students in first grade are confused with reversals, such as: b, p, d and q. I remember when I was in elementary school, I would always mess up my bs and ds when I was writing, and I still find myself messing them up sometimes when I am reading off or listening to my students read off the answers when I am tutoring at Huntington. He talks about how before we enter school, we have learned that spatial orientation does not change an object, and he demonstrates this concept by positioning a watch in different ways, but in the end it is still a watch. He says, once we start school, perception now matters. He also talks about how we as teachers, should not say something is easy, when a student clearly is not getting it and cannot do it, because for them it is not easy, and this is how class clowns develop in the classroom, because they do not get the material, and the teacher does not facilitate anything to help them understand. He also says to not use rhetorical questions because all this does is hurt feelings, and it is intimidating because there is no “correct” answer; instead, it is simply a weapon that teachers use against students to close the lines of communication. The main point I took from this particular video was that teachers need to know that some of their students may be able to read the text, but they will not remember anything they read, because they spent all of their energy decoding, instead of taking note of the main idea, characters, plot, etc.

In the video on reading comprehension, this man pointed out that most teachers teach comprehension through vocabulary, and then they assume their students will understand ...

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... one who needs CPR, and it would save her life. It is sad that this is the example that he has to give, in order for teachers to understand the concept of fairness in their classrooms.

Seeing how this is the fourth time I have seen this video in an education class, it is difficult to write about my initial reaction. I do believe this is an excellent video, and I think everyone who wants to be involved in a student’s education should watch the complete video. It gives great insight to how students with disabilities feel in the classroom, along with why what some teachers are doing in their classrooms is not working. I really like this video because it is so simple, in yet, understanding students who have learning disabilities is such a difficult concept to grasp for many people, with not knowing exactly what it means or how to go about handling the situation.