Terri Thrailkill: Debbie Miller’s Is There Enough Time? August 2015

 As a retired teacher, I often reflect on the many years that I spent working with first and second graders.  This especially happens when I meet monthly for lunch with a group of my retired colleagues. After a brief discussion of our most recent health issues and world affairs, we soon begin to discuss how things have changed since we were in the classroom—back in the good old days.  I completely agree that many changes in education have occurred, but I also know that just as many have remained constant.

One idea that has not changed is the priority placed on reading in the early grades.  As Debbie Miller reminds us, it is still the goal to help students become “thoughtful, strategic, proficient readers.”  Much of the school day is allotted to this lofty goal. Best practices may have evolved based on the latest research, but providing a time for independent reading is essential for student achievement.

Unfortunately, lack of time is something else that has not changed. There never seems to be enough time to get it all done. I think I probably ended every day of my career with something left undone.  Most importantly, I worried that I had not been able to spend enough time with my struggling readers. Often it is independent reading time that gets shortened or eliminated when time becomes an issue. I totally agree with the author when she suggests that we ruthlessly evaluate how our classroom time is being spent. Whether minutes could be shaved by improving transition times, tweaking routines and procedures, or eliminating redundant activities, just finding the time for independent reading is not enough.

Debbie Miller states that students “need to practice and to make their practice productive, they need the tools that we [teachers] provide through instruction.  This extensive independent reading practice framed by instruction needs to happen in classrooms daily.” Even more overwhelming than finding the time for independent reading is our responsibility to provide focused instruction in a way that will be effective for all students.  The author reminds us that teachers must model good reading behaviors and talk about how they make meaning of a text so that students understand. They must monitor student reading, offering feedback that will help them improve.  Teachers must guide students in selecting books that allow them to be successful, while challenging them enough so that they will grow as readers. The author challenges, “It’s our job to do everything we can to equip children with the tools they need to stay engaged and motivated when we’re not there.”  Independent reading with no instructional framework will not accomplish this goal, but providing that instruction is an ongoing challenge.

I am convinced that the most important element in helping students become proficient independent readers remains unchanged.  And that is the classroom teacher. Her decisions about how to manage classroom time each day and her skill in focusing instruction for all students will always be paramount in the classroom. Her understanding of children and how they learn coupled with her ongoing desire to incorporate practices based on current research into her reading instruction will continue to make her invaluable.  That will never change!