SIOP

SIOP or Sheltered Instruction etc. has been utilized in schools for many years. Training that I know of has been minimal with little follow up. Although teachers see the values of SIOP, it is difficult to stay enthused when there is no one to discuss the lessons, the benefits, or the student achievement. As the author of the article says, most teachers are either content teachers or language teachers. One of the biggest draw backs or barriers in using the SIOP method is the amount of planning time and resources needed. As I looked over the questions for MTSS or Multi Tiered Student Service implementation, the question that was asked over and over again regards planning time. The KNEA will go to the Shawnee Mission School Board with its requests and included in those request is more time for teacher planning. It is impossible to do a good job, much less an excellent job, without sufficient time and resources. Support and ongoing dialog about SIOP, is needed also to keep it in the forefront of teachers' minds. My experience has been that teachers believe SIOP training is not only beneficial for ELL students but for ALL students.

Brown's Redemption

H. Douglas Brown really redeemed himself in my eyes with his last section of Chapter 10 in the book. He encouraged teachers to trust their instincts and believes that we know our students best. I had been thinking this all along. The theorists have their place, but after awhile, the research seems redundant. Just get on with the business of teaching. Granted, there is probably better approaches than others, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it! From this chapter I garnered that Krashen is a bit pompous. I can see why others would get so worked up about his hypothesis. However, he at least generates dialogue. Once again, most of the remarks are pretty obvious to any educator and would cross over boundaries into other areas of learning. I'm glad I read this chapter: it affirmed my own hypothesis that I was doing the best for my students in every way I knew how.