Every Mark On The Page

Jared Weisberg
Article "Every Mark On The Page"
October 26th, 2014


"Every Mark on the Page" was a very interesting article with countless beneficial information for primary teachers.  I state this because in this specific article we were given examples of what kindergartener's writing would look like and how it effects parents.  For instance, it was clearly demonstrated that parents become very displeased and worried when their child has numerous spelling errors, fluency issues or grammatical errors.  As a result, this upsets parents because they feel as if their child should be succeeding at a higher level and it makes them think that their child won't be prepared for the next grade level.  Despite the fact, what the parents don't understand is that it's all about the development of the child as a writer and not how many mistakes they make.  Meaning, this is extremely common for students in the primary grade levels to struggle at first and it's important that parents understand that. If parents don't, then they may put to much pressure on themselves as well as their child and take the fun out of writing because they make it to serious.  Without mistakes, children are unable to grow as writers and learn from their errors.  I thought this article did an outstanding job of how to prepare primary teachers to react to parent's who seem extremely worried about their child.  Specifically, the idea of an open house.  Open houses are a terrific way for teachers to connect with parents and explain to them one on one were their child is and the progress he or she has made.  These conferences help calm and relax parents since they realize this is the norm and they get personal advice from the teacher on how to encourage their child at home with writing or reading practices.  As stated in the article, "good parent education is part of a quality spelling program.  However, I would like to expand that to say 'and a quality writing program as well'" (Cusumano 17).  As one can see, parents can help their child's building capabilities at home once they speak to the teacher at open house.  Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article because the author made some critical points.  I strongly believe that parents can have a major impact on their child's educational growth and it's important as future educators that we make sure that impact is on a positive way.  Just because their child may not be succeeding at such a high level doesn't mean that haven't progressed as a learner.  Parents needs to understand that mistakes are a great thing because it helps the student grow and become a stronger educator since they learn from their mistakes.