ABSTRACT
One ofthese teachers, Ms. Le Blanc, had been a student of mine 8 years before at The University of Texas, Austin, in a course on literacy acquisition. She had taught in a variety of inner-city settings in Texas and brought a practical, down-to-earth perspective to her classroom. Although she embraced many of the ideals of literature-based curriculum and wanted students to engage in meaningful tasks while reading and writing, she understood the reality of preparing students
for the state tests. She compromised by combining the TAAS skills with her reading workshop:
Ms. Le Blanc had many objections to the Reading Renaissance program but believed she had to go along with the principal and her colleagues in using it:
She did not believe in rewarding students for reading and, unlike many of her colleagues, did not think that Reading Renaissance was a sufficient language arts program. She compromised by going along with the school guidelines but adding other features to her language arts program.
