Using RTEACHER in Teacher Education

The RTEACHER community welcomes all interested subscribers, at all stages of their careers — whether preservice teachers, those new to the profession, or those with many years’ experience. Over the years, many strong mentoring relationships have grown among list subscribers, and this aspect of the community’s culture is truly valued.

We encourage professors who assign listserv participation in their teacher education courses to work with students as they develop questions. The listserv archives are a valuable resource in themselves, offering in-depth discussions on topics frequently addressed in teacher education courses as well as examples of the tone and type of questions that generate the most lively discussions. We ask that professors first refer students to the archives to search for answers to their initial questions, and to use what they find to refine the questions they post. In this way, we hope that discussions on the list will provide rich information about best practices that will help all of us as we work to enrich children’s lives through literacy.