Susie's Biography

Hello! I have taught reading since 1971, and I have watched instructional practices make a full circle. When I first started teaching, the "phonics craze" had just ended, reading educators had decided that there was little research to justify intense phonics instruction, and skill-based instruction was the choice of the day. Over the course of the next decade, reading educators realized that they were teaching reading skills but students weren’t reading, so the whole language movement grew. Then, students became "readers," but they didn’t seem to be able to spell or answer skill based questions. So, those who govern decided we needed to return to phonics and skill teaching. Consequently, we have entered a new age of accountability, or standards based teaching, with jobs and funding precariously balanced on the standardized test scores of students.

I was fortunate to have a wonderful mentor, Dr. Harold V. Graham, Professor Emeritus, California State University, Long Beach, who stressed throughout my graduate training that the best way to teach reading is though an eclectic approach. In other words, there is no one way to teach this process; rather the best teachers combine methods, realize the uniqueness of each child, and facilitate all students as they gain reading skills.

I started my teaching career at the junior high school level, then taught high school for many years, and have spent the last ten years teaching adults (ages 16-85) how to read at Long Beach City College. Since 1974, I have also been an adjunct professor in the Department of Teacher Education at California State University, Long Beach. My specialty is Content Area Reading, and I truly enjoy helping subject area teachers incorporate reading and writing strategies into their everyday instructional practices.