There was a time, before the Depression of 2008, when
members of Congress vowed to review and revise “the biggest social engineering
project” of modern times – No Child Left Behind. Teachers across America
What the data shows is that reading scores remain fairly level; fourth grade students perform slightly better than prior to NCLB and twelfth grade students perform slightly worse. Math scores also do not show a drastic upward trend.
Four experiences of my last twelve hours has led me to wonder about education's concept of "access to literacy." These cases involving elementary schools through colleges reveal a shared mindset.
Given these times of economic woes, this mindset defies my understanding.
A colleague, who serves as a reading specialist in a blue-collar suburban district, complained that the district teachers no longer have the instructional time for guided reading instruction because the district had just adopted a new literature anthology for grades two through six. In spite of the best efforts and arguments of reading specialists and classroom teachers the change had been made at great expense to the district. As a result the crammed book rooms of leveled guided reading texts were gathering dust. The purchase included copious supplemental materials that now consumed the students' learning time; the students had little time for actual reading ; some students were bored by the redundant and repetitious work and some students were totally frustrated. No consideration was given to the fact that students would no longer receive instruction at their instructional level and some students would have no access to the materials because they currently could not read the text. The rationale for this decision was that now every student would have exposure to the same background knowledge.
So much for research-based decision making. As the teacher commented, "If it comes in a brightly colored box and says 'research-based' on the cover, it must work." Quite a wise decision for economic hard-times. High-performing and low performing students have reduced access to literacy with use of a single material. The students and the taxpayers have been well-served by that district.
My second conversation was with a national researcher/presenter. She had just paid for her college-student-child's books. The bill was over $800.00 for five courses with one text costing over $165.00. texts cannot be purchased used, or sold back at the end of a course, because a new edition is used by professors every semester. Additionally, the information is all available for free on-line BUT students must own the text. This is not the first parent I have heard complain. Several members of my family have recently had a similar experience. I have read that professors in some colleges get "kick-backs" from publishers (remind you of the current revelations from Washington and Wall Street).
Whose needs are being served? Do students have better access to current information, diverse viewpoints and multiple perspectives? Are parents helped with the heavy burden of college expenses? Does the college itself receive additional bequests from alumni or research grants from foundations? Sounds like a greedy few are abusing the trust of their "stockholders" or "customers."
My third contact was with a district level director of ELA. He had just been asked to purchase 95 additional copies of Dickens Tale of Two Cities so every ninth grader in the building could read it at the same time. What a move backward from using multiple texts involving a common theme, or common literary elements or representing a common genre. What a move away from giving students some choice based on interests and needs. Was there anything in the research to suggest that narrowing students' choices would narrow the gaps in their achievement? Was there any indication, based on research or previous experience, that student learning needs would be better served? Who was the decision intended to support? What essential student learning would be supported by this expense? The teachers wanted every ninth grader to read Tale of Two Cities so they could base their mid-term test on the text!
The fourth example involves an urban district that "excessed" hundreds of middle school and high school texts. These were not old, dog-eared, tattered, torn, well-read texts. Many of the boxes of multiple texts had never been opened. They had been ordered by a Central Office Administration. In some cases they were never distributed to the buildings. In some cases the titles were not appropriate for the taught curriculum. In some cases the teachers were not made aware that the texts were available for their classroom use. Just like in Washington and on Wall Steet there is finger pointing and load disclaimers of responsibility. But the public's money has been spent - this district has requested and received "bail-out" funds from the state for the last five years.
Our economic woes did not reduce the students' access to literacy in these cases. However, the students' access to literacy was not supported by these expenditures. Precious funds were wasted without increasing the access to literacy or utilizing technology. That is the pity. Our economic woes will impact the funds we have for education. We are not serving the public well when we fund antiquated and ineffective practices; we are not serving the learner when we fund practices that are neither engaging nor successful.
Many parents search for common sense parenting suggestions. I recently heard Dr. Michele Borba (http://www.micheleborba.com) speak about raising kids who have empathy, conscience, and self-control. These three attributes comprise a moral core.
Empathy is identifying with and feeling other people’s concerns and requires that one “walk in another’s shoes.” Dr. Borba identifies three ingredients:
1. Unconditional love and acceptance which develops real self-esteem (I love you and like you for what you are now.)
2. Reachable expectations, less-permissive environment where kids will nag but parents will still say no.
3. Respectful and democratic environment where parents to listen more. This listening requires fair and consistent rules: get eyeball level; establish and maintain eye contact; respond with positive acceptance (nods, smiles, positive comments).
This balance nurture and structure requires that parents stretch kids whenever possible with caring discipline to develop empathy:
· Call out uncaring attitude on the spot
· Ask – helpful or harmful
· Reflect on feelings
· Express disapproval
Conscience is knowing the right and decent way to act and choosing to act that way. Three traits are related to conscience: compassion, honesty, persistence. Values such as these are gained through repetition. Dr. Borba provides T.E.A.C.H. Conscience Builder.
· T – Target Values (Parents should the trait they value most.)
· E – Be An Example (Show not tell; kids come equipped as video cameras.)
· A – Accentuate naturally
· C – Catch the kid doing it and always use the “language of virtue” – because it is the right way to live/treat others.
· H – Highlight why “In this house we finish what we start.”
Self-control comes from having the skills to regulate your thoughts and actions. Dr. Borba recommends that parents, and teachers, look for kids’ flash points – what are the physical signs (flushed cheeks, clenched fists) – and teach relaxers. Families and individuals need techniques. Each technique needs to be practiced for 0ne minute for 21 days. Common ones are chill/relax through very deep breathes or the “stop light” popular with younger kids (red: say calm down; yellow: take twelve deep breathes; green: count to ten).
Dr. Borba operates from the philosophy of “strength focus” where one earns and deserves. To accomplish this she provides a simple plan:
1. Target one to two desirable qualities (virtues, assets, talents or behaviors) every month to replace one’s “old image of self.”
2. Praise quality and be specific – “You are so cooperative because you ---“
3. Cultivate the quality – plan activities to “show off the strength.”
4. Continue at least 21 days until the child can verbalize the desired quality and the child’s performance of that quality.
Dr. Borba asks parents and teachers to make that 21 day promise or commitment and to remain focused on the desirable attribute. Selecting the attribute requires that we ask “What is the single most important thing I can try?” Experience with adolescents suggests that they should help select the attribute to cultivate; they might also be helpful in determining a trait their parent s could practice to improve family relations. Younger children can also discuss traits to be fostered. Dr. Borba’s website is a wealth of information to support parents and teachers. She draws from her experiences as both, a perceptive mind and available research.
Have you ever had a situation that bothered you for weeks at school, an issue you couldn't seem to resolve, only to find the solution came to you when you least expected it? The late psychologist Wolfgang Kohler called this the "bus, bath, and bed" phenomenon:
"After periods during which one has actively tried to solve a problem, but has not succeeded, the sudden right orientation of the situation, and with it the solution, tend to occur at moments of extreme mental passivity..."
A well-known physicist in Scotland once told me that this kind of thing is generally recognized by physicists in Britain. "We often talk about the Three Bs," he said. "The Bus, the Bath and the Bed. That's where the great discoveries are made in our science."
Ever wondered why so many educational meetings end in frustration? In schools the norm is to present a problem at a meeting, with a goal of brainstorming a solution together by the end of the hour. If a leader can resist that urge, and present the issue with a goal of discussing possible solutions at a meeting the next day or week, one’s colleagues will have their own flashes of insight while sitting in traffic, or dashing through their rote morning routines. The lesson for educational leaders is to practice and model the same patience that teachers need to exhibit in the classrooms. Is there research that demonstrates that the "wait time" for "weighty thinking" needs to be exponential?
Brenda Power, choiceliteracy.com, tells us that anyone can harness the power of the "Three B's" for problem solving in a few practical ways. Keep a small notepad and pen at your bedside or on your car's armrest console for when those solutions emerge suddenly in traffic or almost out of a dream. In educational meetings plant a seed and give your colleagues time to mull it over. You will definitely get more interesting and inspired suggestions by way of the bed, bath, or bus.
Short text is the great equalizer in reading and writing workshops; brief passages of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry can be read in just a few minutes by a class or read aloud so that even students who struggle with decoding have the same access to the text as their classmates. Short texts serve to build classroom community because, over time, the passages shared become anchors or touchstones for learning that can be returned to again and again. Teachers, who often struggle to locate such text, may want to check out the resources mentioned below.
In "Finding the Hook," Ruth Shagoury helps teachers discover the versatility of the daily newspaper as a source for short text: http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/528.cfm.
Kimberly Campbell's new book, Less Is More: Using Short Text to Differentiate Instruction, is posted online by Stenhouse Publishers. You can browse chapters on using short text from many genres, including poetry and graphic novels: http://tinyurl.com/yugemo.
If you are looking for short text online, Project Gutenberg is the best source for public domain text you can search, copy, and paste for use in classrooms: http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page.
http://www.choiceliteracy.com provides many valuable ideas for educators. A recent publication dealt with teacher study group ideas.
Jennifer Allen provides some excellent guidelines for teacher study groups. She observes “Teacher study groups are becoming more popular in schools, fueled in part by the surge of interest in adult book clubs in the U.S. over the last decade.” In Allen’s study groups, teachers explore a topic of interest in-depth by reading and discussing a book about the issue, trying out new practices in classrooms, and returning each week or month for more conversation. Allen has condensed her experience from the past seven years as a literacy specialist in Waterville, Maine:
• Choose a clear focus in advance
• Seek volunteers--never have mandatory attendance
• Limit the number of participants (eight or less works well)
• Set meeting dates in advance so participants can reserve them
• Order books for everyone in advance
• Organize resources for participants
• Limit sessions to an hour, and stick to the time limit
• Meet in a relaxed, comfortable environment
• Provide plenty of refreshments
• Don't teach--the goal is a conversation where everyone talks freely
• Establish a predictable format
These guidelines sound like excellent advice for any group activity, including classrooms. They exude respect for the participates' comfort and thinking - a winning combination.
Allen is a keen advocate of teacher study groups because of the large base of research that demonstrates this teacher-initiated, in-house professional development is more likely to lead to sustained change in classrooms than other staff development models. Allen further recommends consulting two websites, http://www.readinggroupguides.com/ and http://www.stenhouse.com/pdfs/rstfocus.pdf, and Diane Sweeney's book Learning Along the Way available from Stenhouse.
When forming a teacher study group there are some basic questions to consider:
• What do you hope will happen for children as a result of this study group?
• What are all the ways to encourage attendance?
• Who might you consider inviting outside the immediate faculty?
• How involved are the participants in designing the format and content?
• Are there rituals that you can use to define your study group?
• Do you need a facilitator? Should this position rotate or be held by the same person each time?
• How can you encourage the principal's participation?
• How will you and the group assess its effectiveness?
Successful teacher study groups provide concrete suggestions:
• Make faculty meetings the study venue. Coaches can get the ball rolling by introducing the book and chapter 1. Grade levels can take assigned pages from chapters to read and share.
• Door prizes, a book---sometimes a "big book" or a book w/cassette, can be given to the first teacher who arrives for the study. Vary the forma, from coaches who led discussions to other faculty members taking the lead. Teachers can also sit in "literature circles," and all share with one another - the nature of the discussion can dictate the format
• Hold book study sessions every three weeks with everyone in attendance, so all "heard" the information presented even if they didn't add to the discussion. One person can gave chapter summary/highlights and facilitate an open discussion. Coaches may have some back-up questions just in case the discussion lags but it seldom will.
• Bring in a small group of students every other week or so a coach can demonstrate, it makes the study groups more real. For example, if you are reading a chapter on "inferring," bring five kids in and do a short lesson with them on inferring so teacher can observe and make connections to their own settings. You might also find it useful to do short bursts of adult reading, asking participants to follow their own thinking as they read.
The experience of others also provides some less effective strategies…
• Mandatory attendance
• Inservice with little interaction
• Assuming the role of an expert
• Excluding certain grade levels or groups i.e. specials teachers, paras, or principals who may wish to be invited
• Rehashing unpopular district or school policies
• Allowing one or two participants to dominate or discourage
• Assuming what you are not sure about
What better way to instill rigor and relevance into classroom learning than to engage teachers in the instruction experience you want them to institute in their classroom?
What we often forget when considering the importance of nonfiction reading is the pleasure, the art, the wonder of it. We do not want to develop students who read nonfiction just for function, or for school success, but students who read nonfiction for enjoyment, to be fascinated, to discover.
Nell Duke
Recent years have seen an emphasis on nonfiction reading for students of all ages. Franki Sibberson, Curriculum Support Teacher in Dublin, Ohio, realized that her students were rarely choosing nonfiction for independent reading time, in part because much of her nonfiction library was tied to content curriculum themes. To change that behavior she devised a strategy of establishing a morning nonfiction reading time, and a booklist for moving nonfiction library choices beyond curriculum themes.
“I realized years ago that my 4th and 5th grade students were not choosing nonfiction for their independent reading time. When we discussed this as a class, the kids were honest. They had found many great novels to enjoy and they were hooked. They didn't want to give up reading the fiction that they had come to love in order to read nonfiction. This made a lot of sense to me. When I think about my own reading, I make time for nonfiction reading, but it never gets in the way of my fiction reading. I set aside separate times for each.”
Reflecting on this conversation, Sibberson realized that although they did a lot of nonfiction reading in class, almost all of it was in some way connected to the content they were studying. Although sometimes she read aloud a book or an article just because it was a fun topic, or something would be in the weekly news magazine that was unrelated to the curriculum in science or social studies, most often, she chose books that were connected in some way to social studies or science content. Furthermore, as she looked through the large nonfiction library in the classroom she realized that most of the books she had purchased over the years were somehow linked to science or social studies content. “It was no wonder that my students saw nonfiction reading as ‘school reading.’ I knew I had to do something to hook this class on nonfiction."
Sibberson started a nonfiction reading time. Each morning when the students arrived, the day began with nonfiction reading time instead of a more traditional morning assignment. For about 15-20 minutes each morning time was set-aside for students to read the nonfiction of their choice. She also made time (2-3 minutes each day) for informal sharing of great nonfiction facts and books that students wanted to share. This routine was one of the simplest things Sibberson implemented in her twenty years of teaching. The impact it had on students' reading lives was huge. Students became readers of nonfiction because she provided time and great nonfiction books. They quickly fell in love with nonfiction, and many began choosing nonfiction books for their reading workshop time. Their nonfiction reading skills improved because they were reading about topics of their choice. Nonfiction Reading Time has allowed her students to become independent readers of both fiction and nonfiction.
Sibberson looks for books that are visually appealing as well as books on topics that will interest her students. She also looks for books that can be read from cover to cover in a few sittings. She further suggests that teachers pay close attention to books the kids are interested in and talking about. With that in mind, you might want to check out the CYBILS award nominations. This is the second year of this award program from the online "kidlitosphere," The link http://dadtalk.typepad.com/cybils/ takes you to the nomination thread for this year, as well as last year's winners.
An ongoing frustration for teachers and literacy specialists is how quickly many quality children's books go out of print. Book Closeouts specializes in out of print and remaindered editions of books, and they've created a section at their website highlighting award-winning children's and adult books at 30-80% off list prices. If you're looking for an out-of-print finalist for a recent award, you may be able to find it here: http://tinyurl.com/338ekh.
A list of Franki Sibberson’s articles and books is available at www.choiceliteracy.com.
As students across the nation gear up for another year of testing, one additional discrepancy in the federal assessment program needs immediate attention. Not only do the individual states’ tests not represent the same degree of rigor (March 7. 2007 Education Week “Making the Case for National Standards in American Education”) the tests are not assessing the same skills when they purport to assess reading and math (February 28, 2007 Education Week “Writing: An Unexamined Gatekeeper”). One clear example is whether a state’s test incorporates only multiple-choice responses, which are solely responsive in nature, or whether the test includes written responses which are usually generative in nature. Yet these varied test formats and levels of difficulty are deemed equal under NCLB.
Thus when one compares the results of New York or Washington to California or Oregon, one is comparing prime rib to hamburg. That is assuming that the reading selections and multiple-choice options across the tests in those states represent an equal degree of rigor. Both New York and Washington require written constructed responses as part of a student’s score; in fact New York students construct responses on all assessments grades 3-12. Therefore, the students from Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Vermont, Washington, and other written response states are evaluated by a different measure than the students in “multiple-guess” assessment states. One would also assume that the educational experiences to ensure student achievement on those assessments are quite dissimilar.
“The Case for National Standards in American Education” claims that expectations state to state and community to community are vastly different and those discrepancies perpetuate the inequalities in our educational system. For that reason NAEP results represent a clearer comparison of student achievement across states than do separate state assessments. So although 89% of the fourth graders in Mississippi achieved “proficiency” on the state reading test, only 18% scored “proficiency” on the NAEP reading test. Meanwhile in Massachusetts 50% of the fourth graders were “proficient” on the state test and 44% were “proficient” on the NAEP test. Couple those results with an individual state’s results for urban versus suburban districts or affluent suburban versus “free-and-reduced” neighborhoods and you have a frightening picture of public education in America.
NCLB pretends that the playing field is equal and all students have equal access to be a champion. National standards and national summative assessments would help educators define a common goal. These standards and assessments need to be as rigorous as those of our international competitors. The paths a district or state uses to achieve these goals can be open to local control as long as the goals and measures of accountability remain consistent.
Boys and literacy, or boys and academic achievement, has become one of the season’s hot topics. Concern for boys' literacy began in the United Kingdom (UK) and Australia and then followed suit in Canada and the United States. Addressing the issue of the achievement of boys' literacy is now an active goal of the aforementioned countries. It is certainly not a new topic in published literature; Michael Gurian, among others, launched his “boy campaign” years ago. His many books, The Minds of Boys, The Wonder of Boys, Boys and Girls Learn Differently, provide research and insight for addressing the male learner. Ralph Fletcher published Boy Writers: Reclaiming Their Voices; Thomas Newkirk gave us Misreading Masculinity, Boys, Literacy, and Popular Culture.
The research from regional, national and international assessments reveal the following trends:
• Boys read less than girls.
• Boys generally think that girls are better readers.
• Boys do not perform as well as girls in reading and writing tasks.
• Boy's scores are lower than girls in Language Arts.
• Fewer boys are finishing High School than girls.
• There are less boys enrolling in University.
• Boys prefer information texts to narratives.
• Boys read less for enjoyment than girls.
• Boys' attitude towards reading tends to be more negative than the girls.
The two vital factors to engage boys in reading are letting them have choices of literature and giving them time to read. When the reading habit is established during the primary years, boys are often solely exposed to narrative texts, which research shows, does not interest them fully. In finding the solution to engaging boys in reading, we must expand our definition of literacy. Literacy encompasses the ability for someone to navigate through any text and make sense of it. Books are only one type of text, and it is unfortunate that schools don't offer more of a variety of texts for students to interact with. While books can help many children to discover reading, other forms of texts include magazines, instruction manuals, Internet sites, information books, comic books, etc. Boys enjoy reading about facts and will be more motivated to read if their learning environment includes a variety of reading options.
Boys must be allowed to choose from a variety of texts with the following opportunities:
• The content makes them laugh.
• The text contains factual information in authentic formats like baseball cards, magazines, comic books or instruction manuals.
• Genre include science fiction or fantasy literature.
• In fiction the focus is more on what the characters do and not on his or her emotions.
Once a student has chosen their material to read, they must be given ample reading time on a consistent basis. Fluency in reading is an important indicator of success; fluency is achieved by wide and frequent reading. Both homes and schools need to encourage reading, and sharing of that reading, in authentic ways which does not include answering questions, completing a study guide or writing a book report/review.
A similar perspective is needed to promote writing. Ralph Fletcher, Boy Writers, Reclaiming Their Voices, says that boys, more than girls, take an enormous risk when writing in school. There is no choice, their humor and interests aren’t appreciated, their literacy practices (comic books, video games and IM’ing) are devalued and all writing must flow through the teacher’s perception of writing process using her format. To create boy-friendly classrooms, Ralph mentioned some basic components:
• Real choice about what to write and how to write it
• More acceptance of reasonable violence (murder, mayhem and dismemberment) and quirky humor
• Room for “boy” genres – sports, spoofs and parodies, fantasy, comics, graphic novels
• Opportunities to draw while composing as an element of the composition
• Cooperative writing and peer review so writing is more social than solitary
• Allowance for messy handwriting as a developmental issue for boys – allow keyboarding
In analyzing the current achievement gap teachers, schools and governments must be acutely aware that current standardized literacy assessments do not motivate boys to perform at their best. Changing those assessments to reflect what boys like to read, would affect the results in a more positive manner. Boys might then be more comfortable with sharing and writing their ideas, thereby improving their self-image when it comes to literacy. Attitude improvement is vital to attaining strong literacy skills. Educators need to adjust their views of literacy achievement and expand their understanding of literacy to encompass different forms of media (TV, Internet, radio, magazines) and texts to better prepare their students
Click photo to enlarge.
Two hundred area educators had the opportunity to met Ralph Fletcher on Thursday, May 24, 2007 at St. John Fisher College. During this day long conference, Ralph presented the thinking embodied in his newest book, Boy Writers, Reclaiming Their Voices. With many samples of student writing Ralph illustrated the need for teachers to set kids free from the formula writing for “test prep.”
Boys, more than girls, take an enormous risk when writing in school. There is no choice, their humor and interests aren’t appreciated, their literacy practices (comic books, video games and IM’ing) are devalued and all writing must flow through the teacher’s perception of writing process using her format.
To create boy-friendly classrooms, Ralph mentioned some basic components:
• Real choice about what to write and how to write it
• More acceptance of reasonable violence (murder, mayhem and dismemberment) and quirky humor (farts)
• Room for “boy” genres – sports, spoofs and parodies, fantasy, comics, graphic novels
• Opportunities to draw while composing as an element of the composition
• Cooperative writing and peer review so writing is more social than solitary
• Allowance for messy handwriting as a developmental issue for boys – allow keyboarding
Other elements necessary for writing classrooms appear less gender specific. Teachers need to get students excited about and engaged with writing first; quality comes later. Teachers need to provide specific praise during conferencing and focus on strengths. Teachers also need to be aware that they sometimes censor what they “praise” or allow students to share; the realistic, sincere writing of girls is often publicly admired while the satirical writing of boys is often shunned.
A small amount of time was spent discussing Craft Lessons, Ralph’s earlier books, and Teaching the Qualities of Writing, a curriculum he created with wife JoAnn Portalupi. He did spent some time discussing the importance of writer’s notebook and its place in the classroom and life for all writers. Three resources for teachers would be Lessons for the Writer's Notebook by Ralph Fletcher & JoAnn Portalupi (Heinemann), A Writer's Notebook
by Ralph Fletcher (Avon Books) and Breathing In, Breathing Out - Keeping a Writer's Notebook by Ralph Fletcher (Heinemann). There are additional helpful comments at Ralph’s website.
