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Dorothy saw that the teacher understood the power of naming, as well as of establishing habits of mind early in the school year, to provide a foundation for continued opportunities for getting to know more about each other in the future. Dorothy played the central role in creating the Whole Language Umbrella (WLU), an organization designed asa community of communities; under the Umbrella was a consortium of teacher support groups from across the United States, Canada,Australia,and New Zealand. Vygotsky defines the zone of proximal development as "the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers" (p. 86). Dottie King was preparing a piece for a state English journal issue focusing on writing and suggested I submit an article focusing on Vygotsky and the little strategy lesson that could.
While preparing for the wonderful memorial Carol Gilles organized to honor Dorothy Watson (Figure 4), I revisited a number of Dorothy's publications, looking for quotes that might be included in the event. I began with Making a Difference: Selected Writings of Dorothy Watson (1996).1 reread the personal inscription Dorothy had written on the title page; it was like a warm hug. Next, I turned to the Dedication and it took my breath away:
I've heard that by our fortieth year we have the faces we deserve. Not only has my fortieth birthday come and gone, but my fortieth year of teaching has also passed. I hope I deserve what I see in the mirror, for it is a face surrounded by dozens of other faces. This book is dedicated to all those friends, colleagues, and family who are reflected in the mirror, those who never fail to encourage, inform, and make me smile.
I dont remember ever having read this. I was struck by how beautifully it captures Dorothy's collaborative nature and her generous spirit. Dorothy situates herself in the center, encircled by her people; she can only see herself surrounded by those who have influenced her. Dorothy's lived a life free of artifice and ego, and her humility comes honestly. Without question, Dorothy, you deserve your place at the center of that mirror, as well as a place of honor in the countless mirrors of those you never failed to encourage, inform, and make smile.
Dorothy was a master at envisioning, building, and sustaining community. At the start of a conference presentation, she would often ask the participants to raise their hands if this was their first time attending this conference. She would then invite experienced attendees to reach out and chat with a newcomer about how they had each found themselves there. When visiting a fifth-grade classroom in the second week of the school year, she observed that the American-born students not only knew the given names of the recently arrived Cambodian refugee students, but could pronounce them as well as any native English speaker could. When a student slipped and said you or pointed, the teacher stopped everything and asked them to use their classmate's name. Dorothy saw that the teacher understood the power of naming, as well as of establishing habits of mind early in the school year, to provide a foundation for continued opportunities for getting to know more about each other in the future.
Dorothy played the central role in creating the Whole Language Umbrella (WLU), an organization designed asa community of communities; under the Umbrella was a consortium of teacher support groups from across the United States, Canada,Australia,and New Zealand. Dorothy operated effectively and efficiently at all levels of community building: from the theories and beliefs driving the overall vision, to the nuts and bolts that keep it all running. She relied on the support of her team members' efforts in defining and achieving their shared goals.
Dorothy was adept at using language to reframe how we might think about a particular topic. For example, in a large WLU planning meeting, Dorothy asked folks not to say, 'Dorothy, if you need me to do anything, please let me know." This statement put the burden on Dorothy, and I've never known anyone who perceives that to be an authentic offer. Instead, she asked them to say, "Dorothy, here's what Im willing and able to do: (list)." Dorothy's deftness with language was on display when a first-grade teacher expressed concern when her students left her whole language classroom and found themselves in a commercial program-driven, skill-and-drill reading program. Dorothy simply responded, "If you knew you could only go to Paris once, would you not go because you knew you'd never go again?" Her use of metaphor shifted the emphasis away from a non-issue she had no control over, and back to what really mattered: providing kids with a powerful meaning-centered literacy curriculum.
Ata TAWL (Teachers Applying Whole Language) meeting, I shared a strategy lesson that I thought had some potential. Ironically, the lesson emerged from an attempt to rescue my students from an incredibly weak writing assignment. I was able to salvage the experience by having each group member pass a piece to the person on their right, read the piece they received, and write one question they had after reading it. The process continued until each writer received their piece back with five questions below it. We then redrafted our pieces, keeping the readers" questions in mind while creating a second draft. The second drafts (including mine) tended to be more cohesive and to have a more focused voice. I thought it was a process worth sharing. I did not anticipate Dorothy's enthusiastic response, though. She talked about how this was an example of Vygotsky's (1978) concept ofthe zone of proximal development (ZPD). Cool. I had never heard of the guy or his zone, though. I did have a great primer on the ZPD from Dorothy before I went on to the man himself. Vygotsky defines the zone of proximal development as "the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers" (p. 86). I love the fact that Dorothy challengedVygotsky's specification of "more capable peers," arguing that she is confident that kids can help kids in many ways, regardless of their designated "capability"
The fact that Dorothy saw more in the strategy lesson than I did meant something. I trusted Dorothy's judgment and knew she would never give false praise. I wanted to better understand what interested Dorothy, so I read Vygotsky and tried the strategy lesson with different kids and a range of writing topics. Dottie King was preparing a piece for a state English journal issue focusing on writing and suggested I submit an article focusing on Vygotsky and the little strategy lesson that could. Admittedly, my understanding ofVygotsky was a bit shallow, and my experience with writing an article for an academic publication was nil. I convinced myself, though, that I had produced a draft that could be tweaked here and there, and voila-I"m published.
I asked Dorothy if she'd look over my piece and give me feedback. We met for lunch atWendy's near campus, and, after salads and some chit-chat, Dorothy asked me for my piece. She took out her pencil, and I watched as she pointed at each individual word with the tip of her pencil, pausing partway through the first sentence and then going back to the beginning. She put a line through some words, inserted a phrase or two, and, after getting to the end of the third sentence, put down her pencil and turned toward me. Looking me in the eye, she said, "You didnt sweat bullets over this, did you?" I looked down a bit sheepishly and said, "No." Dorothy chirped back, "OK," and turned back to the paper, picked up her pencil, and started reading and marking where she had left off.
A few sentences later, she put down her pencil and said, Paul, you're smart and you're funny. Just because you re writing for publication doesn't mean you have to sound like a bad textbook." Brilliant. Dorothy's assessment was exactly on target and laying it out there with no recrimination, no shaming, and not a hint of disappointment. I was elated that she knew me so well that she could name what was getting in the way of what I was trying to accomplish and that she cared enough to show me how to move forward, avoiding the roadblock I had created for myself. Dorothy picked up her trusty pencil, scratched out the opening sentences, and wrote an introduction that sounded like me and actually said something worth saying. I was in awe as I watched her edit the remainder of the piece, pointing at each word as she made her changes (grant this woman sainthood!). I learned more about writing that afternoon than I could have ever imagined. It wasn't until sometime later that it hit me. Dorothy moved me through my zone of proximal development by talking me through the process and by how she carefully examined each word, phrase, and clause as she rescued a piece that was on life support. Dorothy embodied the theories, beliefs, and practice that define and describe whole language.
As I wrap this up, I have to ask myself, Did I sweat bullets over this?" The answer is a resounding yes, even if it's not evident in the quality of the final product. My attempts to find just the right words to honor Dorothy, and to clearly capture who she was and why, left me sounding worse than a bad textbook. Dorothy would tell me to get back to work.
The greatest personal struggle I had with this piece was my repeated use of the past tense in my descriptions of Dorothy. It was not a rhetorical choice, but, rather, a harsh and brutal reality.
It's a tough time to be a teacher. So much noise. So many distractions. So many divisions. Schools are too frequently the battlegrounds for people to push their political agendas. There are no easy answers, and we can't ignore attacks on the informed curricular choices we make. If Dorothy were here, she would want you to put your energy into what you do best.
Be like Dorothy! Here's a short starter list:
* Read (or reread) any of Dorothy's books and articles.
* Create your own support group, even if it's just two of you. There's power in numbers, and having colleagues who know and appreciate your work can help you keep your focus where it belongs.
* Do a miscue analysis. If you've never done it (or havent done it in a while): Record a reader reading an unfamiliar text and have them retell what they read. Reflect on what you notice. Talk with someone about it. Focus on the strengths you see and consider what your insights might suggest about next steps for the reader.
.. Oh, and go to Paris. Dorothy would want that for you!
References
Harste, J. C. (1990). Inquiry-based instruction. Primary Voices, K-6, 1(1), 3-8.
Vygotsky, L. 5, (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes (M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, & E. Souberman, Eds.). Harvard University Press.
Watson, D. (1996). Making a difference: Selected writings of Dorothy Watson (S. Wilde, Ed.). Heinemann.
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