Are we ready?

We are almost to the end of our Masters degree and I think about if we are truly ready for the myriad of problems that we will be expected to deal with and the many miracles we are expected to perform.

The role of the reading specialist in schools where many students struggle with reading is changing. As a group we need to discuss the evolution of the reading specialist's role to that of reading coach and research on how reading coaches meet an important need in teachers' professional development.

Recently, a new role for the reading specialist has been suggested for schools with large numbers of struggling readers. This role conceptualizes the reading specialist not as someone who works directly with students (Quatroche, Bean, & Hamilton, 2001) but as someone who works directly with teachers as a coach and mentor. In this new role the reading specialist supports teachers in their daily work--planning, modeling, team-teaching, and providing feedback on completed lessons in collaboration with classroom teachers in a school. In addition, the reading specialist assists teachers by helping them understand the assessment and instructional cycle and how that cycle can help them as they develop lessons and organize their classes for instruction. In the No Child Left Behind legislation, the Reading First Initiative views reading coaches as a viable and important professional development component for Reading First schools in the United States (U.S. Department of Education, 2002).

We need to be very clear on our roles, because we may be expected to perform miracles that are at times unreasonable. The technology learnt in this course will require serious changes in policy and assessment if we are to succeed. Not only must we be prepared to make fundamental changes in our readers abilities but, we must be prepared to advocate for change - some of us are to placid, taking whatever conditions we meet and at times undermining those who are prepared to advocate change. If we continue like this, divided, not standing up to represent our voices then, be prepared to take whatever nonsense the ministry may hand to us -and make no mistake hand it to some of you they will.