Finding my Religion with Sharon Taberski

Sometimes we get lost in education. Seems you can't go a day without hearing how public education is broken. We face massive budget cuts, further devaluing our efforts. Is it any wonder that occasionally even the strongest educator can feel defeated? Who is out there speaking for the teachers?

Sharon Taberski

Personally, I find Sharon Taberski is a voice for teachers. She writes with honesty about teaching reading in the primary classroom. Taberski calls herself a “teachers' teacher” with her work supporting her words. Ten years ago her book On Solid Ground made a difference in my understanding of Readers Workshop. In the fall of 2000, six months after On Solid Ground was published, I began my first coaching assignment. Her words helped put into perspective how various pieces of the workshop model came together into a cohesive whole.

Fast forward ten years later. I am still coaching and I am still referring to On Solid Ground with great regularity, quoting pages and passages like a preacher from a bible. It was with great anticipation that I marked Sharon’s session on my must attend agenda for IRA’s Conference in Orlando. It was time for me for go back to the well for inspiration.

In the exhibit hall I purchase Taberski's new book, Comprehension From the Ground Up. The subtitle, Simplified, Sensible Instruction for the K-3 Reading Workshop, reassured me that Sharon was continuing to look out for teachers. I waited eagerly for a new shot of inspiration. It has been a dark time for me professionally. My coaching position eliminated, educational funding cut, and teacher bashing abounds. I was in need of light in these gloomy days.

Finally, on the last day of the conference, it was time for her session: Re-Envisioning the Five Pillars of Reading. Rather than simply following the medical model of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension, Sharon realigned and combined them with missing elements to create a new structure that supports comprehension. After all, as Sharon says in her blog, 

“Reading and writing. Talking and learning. It's ALL about comprehension."

 Building on analogies, stories, and examples, Sharon spent the hour guiding us through her new thinking. I have been blessed over the years to hear Sharon speak on several occasions. Each time she shared more of her current thinking. At one point during the session she brought up cognitive dissonance, stating, “I don’t care if you think like me. I care that you think.”

So here I am, just a day later, thinking. I have yet to read more than the introduction of Comprehension From the Ground Up. I want to be able to focus and reflect, not rush through the learning. Truth is, I can’t wait to read every chapter and verse. After hearing Sharon speak I know her words will continue to lift up the profession of education. Its about time to practice some sensible instruction in reading, don’t you agree?