Revolutionary Contributions Peter Johnston, Professor, the University at Albany-SUNY

Marie Clay: An Eminent Scholar Revolutionary Contributions Peter Johnston, professor, The University at Albany-SUNY

Updated from the original publi- explore these issues and, inevitably, arranging for the problem to be cation in The Journal of Reading they arrive at similar conclusions. manageable, sustaining the child’s Recovery, 4(2), 2005 However, parts of Marie’s work problem-solving attempts emphasiz- developed in Reading Recovery are, ing flexibility (“What else can you I believe, revolutionary and have not do?” / “How else could you figure The recent passing of Marie Clay yet been fully engaged by the reading that out?”), and helping the child was a great personal loss to many of research community. build a productive personal narrative us, but an even greater loss to teach- around the event. “I like the way you To explore a single example, consider ers and researchers more generally. figured that out” draws children’s Marie’s commitment to keeping the Although Marie viewed herself as attention to their agency and per- child in control of learning. This a developmental psychologist, her sistence—spinning a narrative of is most obvious, of course, in her contributions to theory, practice, personal agency. “How did you figure insistence that we “follow the child’s and policy range well beyond the that out?” takes it a step further and lead” and in her early recognition of domains of literacy development (and the significance of self-correction. assessment), and teaching and learn- Keeping children in control of their ing (of students and teachers). As a Marie has pushed us literacy and learning requires that researcher she was a model for us all; they notice when things are not quite to maintain coherence fiercely persistent, absolutely ethical, right. It means tuning their inner ears among theories of and always open to new evidence and to notice the sound of disjuncture new possibilities. development, literacy, and teaching them to interpret it as a learning, teaching, and Best known for creating Reading cue for problem solving rather than Recovery, a revolution in thinking as a sign of failure. Different branches teacher education—a that we now take for granted, it is of psychology have now validated her coherence based on easy to miss her many other revolu- early work on this. However, there is meaning-directed, self- tionary contributions. Describing her an additional part of keeping children extending systems. In the contributions to the theory of literacy in control of their learning that is less teaching and learning through her well-accepted, and that is her concern process, Marie’s work development of Reading Recovery about “teaching for strategies.” For has shown her enormous alone would take several volumes. many theorists the concept is coun- respect for children and Most obviously, while recognizing ter-intuitive. Common wisdom still for teachers. Following her cognitive, perceptual, social, and holds that the teacher’s job is to teach lead is the best tribute to cultural differences among children, a strategy and have the child practice she has demonstrated that none of it until it is automatic. The idea that her memory. those differences is terminal when it the child might generate strategies comes to literacy learning and that rather than have them all explicitly asks the child to spin an agentive nar- early powerful intervention can undo taught is anathema. Turning this on rative in which the child is the active conceptual confusions, restructure its head, Marie argues that keeping protagonist who generates strategies literate processes, and change learn- children in control of their learn- and solves problems. In this way, ing trajectories, as well as drastically ing requires that they be set up to Reading Recovery and its extensions reduce or eliminate the need to clas- encounter manageable problems that are also about building productive sify children as disabled or dyslexic. they can solve or partially solve alone literate identities with resilience built Her framework and accumulated or with support. evidence has inspired researchers from into them. The identities are part of From this view, the teacher’s job different theoretical persuasions to narratives of agency constructed at is not delivering knowledge, but the point of encountering difficulty.

Fall 2007 Journal of Reading Recovery 67 Marie Clay: An Eminent Scholar

Because of Marie’s attention to the process turns another aspect of com- act with children in ways that allow partially correct, the agency narrative mon wisdom on its head. Marie them a sense of full participation is repeatedly rehearsed even when the argued that oftentimes conscious and engagement requires a complex child’s efforts are only partially suc- learning is the wrong place to start, balance of power. It should feel and cessful, thus constructing an identity indeed that sometimes it gets in the sound like a good conversation in that resists defeat and helplessness. way. This is not only because there which the teacher listens carefully Teachers don’t just help construct is limited conscious processing space, before speaking. To accomplish this the narrative though they help chil- but because many processes operate requires teachers to understand dren connect productive narratives more efficiently below the level of themselves, their students, teaching, and identities to the evidence in consciousness. The research commu- and literacy in very particular ways, their reading and writing practice. nity has so far neglected the signifi- which is why Reading Recovery These narratives are very different cance of her questions about how and teacher education is so intensive. It from those that turn attention to a where consciousness plays a role in is about building consistent theoriz- character trait of ability or smartness, learning to read and write. Teaching, ing among beliefs, values, and ways for example, which produces brittle in Marie’s view, is not just about fol- of interacting and using language. As rather than resilient learners—learners lowing the child’s lead, but arranging with children’s learning, it is about who do not deal well with difficulty. for the child to lead productively—to teachers developing meaning-based, be in control of reading, writing, self-extending systems of teaching At the same time as shifting control and learning processes and to have a and learning. Indeed, Marie offered of problem solving from the teacher sense, whether or not it is conscious, us theorizing about the process of to the child, and shifting the act of that they are in control. learning to read and write continuous reflective articulation of the process text—not merely words—and theo- from the teacher to the child, the Building Reading Recovery around rizing about teaching children—not following the child’s lead has meant merely cognition. demonstrating the nature and significance of contingent instruction, and Marie has pushed us to maintain hence of teacher expertise. To teach coherence among theories of devel- so that children experience control in opment, literacy, learning, teaching, learning and literate practice, teach- and teacher education—a coherence ers must know what the child knows based on meaning-directed, self- and can do in order to arrange for extending systems. In the process, productive encounters. This requires Marie’s work has shown her enor- “sensitive observers” who know books mous respect for children and for and what makes literate activities teachers. Following her lead is the manageable and engaging. To inter- best tribute to her memory. CURL UP AND READ WITH DANNY

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68 Journal of Reading Recovery Fall 2007