A MESSAGE FROM THE OKLA CHAIR: SHERI VASINDA
As I think about the influencers on my life as a reading and literacy teacher, my first thoughts are stories of people who sparked a wonder into the processes of literacy. The first story is of my brother. Even though we have different biological parents, we’ve been siblings since he was seven and I was eight. He is a genius about building things, understanding the land, animals, plants and the impact of kindness. Growing up, my bio sister and I breezed
through school and we are both voracious readers. My brother struggled. This was always a puzzle to me because he could take apart a broken lawn mower engine and put it back together like a magician. He understood everything about every animal on our small family farm. He won ag awards for land judging and air layering propagation. His struggle with text was always
a mystery and always a backdrop of our growing up and impacts me to this day.
I also had students like my brother. My first year brought Phillip. Even as a first grader, he was a horse expert, but struggled to read. Joseph, a fabulous storyteller, but cried when it was time to put those stories on paper because he defined himself as a writer by his ability to spell. So, like many teachers, I have spent my career continuing to learn and support all readers and
writers, but especially those who struggle. Even though my undergraduate teacher preparation prepared me to be a great beginning teacher, reading is such a complex and personalized process, I have never stopped learning more and more about it. Early in my career in Texas, I became a reading interventionist and dyslexia therapist in the 1990s using an Orton-Gillingham
approach and discovering I could teach students to decode, but my students, such as Hillary and Chris, still needed more focused work in reading comprehension, reading engagement, and like Joseph, written expression. So, I went to graduate school in the late 1990s and earned a master’s in reading and began to put together all I learned to develop comprehensive,
personalized approaches to reading and literacy. I became fascinated with research and continued on to get a doctorate. Much of my research focuses on supporting readers and writers who find alphabetic literacies difficult.
I encounter many teachers with stories like mine, who are continual learners focused on helping all students become fluent in and with the literacy skills that will bring enjoyment and success to their lives at every stage. A goal of the Oklahoma Literacy Association is to help all teachers continue their lifelong literacy learning journey and help each other along the way.
Through our annual conference, we bring in national experts and highlight local trailblazers. We publish research in our journal, which is open to all and sponsor book studies, some for members only and some for everyone. We host virtual events so that you can continue your learning from the comfort of your living room. We partner with sister organizations to let you know of as many learning opportunities as we can. Please join us in this effort and join OKLA and ILA.
Here’s to a great new year! Be sure to join us at the 2020 Conference in April!
through school and we are both voracious readers. My brother struggled. This was always a puzzle to me because he could take apart a broken lawn mower engine and put it back together like a magician. He understood everything about every animal on our small family farm. He won ag awards for land judging and air layering propagation. His struggle with text was always
a mystery and always a backdrop of our growing up and impacts me to this day.
I also had students like my brother. My first year brought Phillip. Even as a first grader, he was a horse expert, but struggled to read. Joseph, a fabulous storyteller, but cried when it was time to put those stories on paper because he defined himself as a writer by his ability to spell. So, like many teachers, I have spent my career continuing to learn and support all readers and
writers, but especially those who struggle. Even though my undergraduate teacher preparation prepared me to be a great beginning teacher, reading is such a complex and personalized process, I have never stopped learning more and more about it. Early in my career in Texas, I became a reading interventionist and dyslexia therapist in the 1990s using an Orton-Gillingham
approach and discovering I could teach students to decode, but my students, such as Hillary and Chris, still needed more focused work in reading comprehension, reading engagement, and like Joseph, written expression. So, I went to graduate school in the late 1990s and earned a master’s in reading and began to put together all I learned to develop comprehensive,
personalized approaches to reading and literacy. I became fascinated with research and continued on to get a doctorate. Much of my research focuses on supporting readers and writers who find alphabetic literacies difficult.
I encounter many teachers with stories like mine, who are continual learners focused on helping all students become fluent in and with the literacy skills that will bring enjoyment and success to their lives at every stage. A goal of the Oklahoma Literacy Association is to help all teachers continue their lifelong literacy learning journey and help each other along the way.
Through our annual conference, we bring in national experts and highlight local trailblazers. We publish research in our journal, which is open to all and sponsor book studies, some for members only and some for everyone. We host virtual events so that you can continue your learning from the comfort of your living room. We partner with sister organizations to let you know of as many learning opportunities as we can. Please join us in this effort and join OKLA and ILA.
Here’s to a great new year! Be sure to join us at the 2020 Conference in April!
