Teaching with a Sense of Urgency

OK, so I got a bit of a response from my last post. From your the emails (hello Fairfax friends!) there is no doubt that RTI is a hot topic in schools now. I do like the book I referred to in the last post, "What Really Matters in Response to Intervention". But if you are just starting out like us, I would highly recommend this one by Mary Howard:

In it she writes, "In the last decade, dedicated teachers have watched with sadness as a testing culture has put a stranglehold on education. We are at a crossroads. We can either use response to intervention as an opportuntity to rebuild a positive climate or allow it to devolve into something that takes us even further from the reason most of us became teachers."

I agree wholeheartedly. Talk about a slippery slope... I hope we can use it as it was designed. I believe in it. How about you? What's your experience? I get to listen to Tom Jenkins speak on the topic on Tuesday at an inservice. Can't wait!

It is teacher and author Regie Routman (love her!) who encourages us to "teach with a sense of urgency". Someone sent me this article below. Reading this just reconfirmed this for me!

Third Grade Reading Goal