Reflections Chapter 6 and 9

One of the most important points that I think the author made in regards to designing literacy instruction is the idea that instructors should choose relevant contents taken from student interests and the larger social context. How many times have we come across curriculum that did not pertain to our students' interests or were relevant to them?
An example of a really good lesson that I read about involved a teacher who used the youth culture of her classroom to improve her students' ability to articulate who they were with poetry. Two aspects that were addressed in the process of using youth culture were the need for students to develop a critical lens with which to view youth culture and dominant society, and the need to incorporate academic skills, or traditional, authoritative literature, into the curriculum.
Appealing to the youth culture of the classroom, the teacher used several songs from the an important popular culture and hip-hop icon, Tupac Shakur, as his contested life as both an articulate poet and a "gangsta thug" exemplifies the "hybridity" in which many youth are drawn to and offers an important example of the way in which educators can design literacy instruction to best benefit students.

Chapter 9 I thought was a good reminder about the state of education in America today. The phrase "teaching to the test" seems to be synonymous with many public school curricula today. With NCLB policies being enforced in public schools, it almost feels as if these alternative assessment methods would at best be supplemental forms of assessment. When push comes to shove, teachers/students/schools get evaluated based on the students' test scores. Much of the different alternative assessment practices seem like they would best fit independent schools that weren't restricted by the NCLB policies that public schools are subject to.