'A Tale of Two Schools': Amanda Beideman

Amanda Beideman

Blog Entry One: ‘A Tale of Two Schools’

Students from many communities across the country are struggling with an incredibly important skill: the ability to read. The students, however, are not the only individuals struggling. Teachers, as well as the communities themselves, are struggling to both teach and support students on their reading journeys. The documentary we were introduced to in class, ‘A Tale of Two Schools,’ recognizes two urban districts who have implemented reading programs to better educate their students. Bearden Elementary in the Mississippi Delta utilizes a program referred to as Reading First or Project Read. Walton Elementary in Fort Worth, Texas uses a program called Reading Mastery. While both programs work to develop or improve the skills of these deserving students, one program certainly outshines the other.

The Reading Mastery program used in Fort Worth, Texas seems to be the better of the two in ‘A Tale of Two Schools.’ To further prove that this program is beneficial to students, the documentary has viewers follow an energetic first-grader, Tavares Gross, on his path to becoming a better reader. Tavares, as well as countless other students at Walton Elementary, learn a great deal from the tightly-structured program, which lends much of its focus to letter-sound correspondence and decoding (crucial elements of reading for beginners). It was incredible to see how willing the students were to learn new letters/sounds and how driven they were, with their dedicated teachers behind them, to learn to read. Even Tavares, a young boy struggling with the process, was ecstatic to return to school each day. Reading Mastery was displayed by educators at Walton Elementary as an organized program with an incredible success rate – in terms of each student’s individual success and the overall success of the school. I would absolutely consider utilizing this program as an educator.

Unfortunately, for myself especially, the Reading First or Project Read program used in Bearden Elementary did not live up to its full potential. While few students were benefiting from the implementation of this program, a majority of students did not seem to be doing so. Although it provided students with the opportunity to look at books, an aspect that the Reading Mastery program had lacked, it was unorganized and may have possibly allowed for too much freedom in the classroom (assuming that there can be “too much”). The teachers, as well as the school itself, were also lacking the resources necessary to fully implement the program. For example, the school received a grant late, thus they received all of their reading materials in the middle of the year. With more organization, better resources, and experienced/well-prepared teachers, I believe that this program, like Reading Mastery, could be an incredibly successful one.

It is difficult to consider whether or not these programs could be implemented in schools that rest within wealthier districts. On one hand, schools can easily be given the necessary resources and tools to carry out these programs successfully, including the training of educators. On the other hand, wealthier districts often have more-privileged children in terms of their educational opportunities. The question that has arisen for me is: Do wealthier districts NEED to carry out these programs? Are they more focused on the less-privileged? I think the documentary allows us to understand the success of these programs in urban districts but leaves us questioning if these programs can strive beyond them.