Skip to content
Artwork for Science of Reading: The Podcast
Science of Reading: The Podcast · May 31, 2023 · 47 min

S7 E4: Scaffolding is built to be temporary with Zaretta Hammond

While in New Orleans at the Plain Talk About Literacy and Learning conference, Susan sat down with keynoter Zaretta Hammond. Zaretta shared her thoughts on the importance of scaffolding in literacy education. In this episode, Susan and Zaretta also look back on Zaretta’s impactful book Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain, and talk about mastery and the importance of learning how to learn. Show notes: Book: Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students by Zaretta L. Hammond Twitter: @ready4rigor Instagram: @crtandthebrain Newsletter sign up: www.crtandthebrain.com Quotes: “What I have come to believe is the obstacle is the way. So what worries me becomes my research project. What worries me becomes my new mission.” —Zaretta Hammond “For me, justice is the mastery. I'm a movie fan and so I, in this case, think of Master Yoda all the time. You know, he said there's no try or not try. You're just doing it. Either you're teaching them to read or not.” —Zaretta Hammond “When that scaffold stays [up] too long, it becomes a crutch and the child actually believes they cannot learn without it.” —Zaretta Hammond “So this idea of somehow we get overprotective and we don't want them to fall. We don't want them to fail. We don't want them, you know, their self, self-esteem, to be bruised. We are actually doing that when we delay this because the only way we learn is through error. And we have not reframed errors as information.” —Zaretta Hammond “Number one, you assign yourself, and number two, you always go for mastery. Not a grade. No one will ever ask you about your grades four years after college, ever. Go for mastery. They will ask you what you know how to do.” —Zaretta Hammond

0:00-47:08

transcript

No transcript — this publisher did not publish one.

show notes

While in New Orleans at the Plain Talk About Literacy and Learning conference, Susan sat down with keynoter Zaretta Hammond. Zaretta shared her thoughts on the importance of scaffolding in literacy education. In this episode, Susan and Zaretta also look back on Zaretta’s impactful book Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain, and talk about mastery and the importance of learning how to learn.

Show notes:

Quotes:
“What I have come to believe is the obstacle is the way. So what worries me becomes my research project. What worries me becomes my new mission.”  —Zaretta Hammond

“For me, justice is the mastery. I'm a movie fan and so I, in this case, think of Master Yoda all the time. You know, he said there's no try or not try. You're just doing it. Either you're teaching them to read or not.” —Zaretta Hammond

“When that scaffold stays [up] too long, it becomes a crutch and the child actually believes they cannot learn without it.” —Zaretta Hammond

“So this idea of somehow we get overprotective and we don't want them to fall. We don't want them to fail. We don't want them, you know, their self, self-esteem, to be bruised. We are actually doing that when we delay this because the only way we learn is through error. And we have not reframed errors as information.” —Zaretta Hammond

“Number one, you assign yourself, and number two, you always go for mastery. Not a grade. No one will ever ask you about your grades four years after college, ever. Go for mastery. They will ask you what you know how to do.” —Zaretta Hammond


links2