ReformK12.com: Table of Contents of "Reading & English" Archive

Hip-hop Pythagoras: Kills grammar dead June 27, 2004
At the end of this school year all our students were supposed to write a "research paper" (we use the term very loosely) on some topic from Mathematics. Despite our crystal clear instructions and thorough discussion of plagiarism--and lectures on the fact that copying-and-pasting from Internet websites does not comprise research--the results were almost uniformly appalling. Only a few students...

Posted by ceb into Humor , Reading & English
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False Dichotomies of Education Reform: Reading and Math June 10, 2004
One common weapon in education reform as wielded by Progressives is the false dichotomy. Time after time they'll propose a solution to a "problem" which involves the choosing between two seemingly opposite methods, as if they were mutually exclusive absolutes. It plays out like this: An 'old' method is examined and found lacking. A 'new' method is proffered which is...

Posted by ceb into Math Education , Progressive Education , Reading & English
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"The results have been impressive. They have also been ignored." June 08, 2004
Joanne Jacobs mentioned a story on Balanced Literacy today that's really gotten us steamed. Seems a public elementary school in Madison, WI, has resisted its school district's push for the mediocre Balanced Literacy program, and instead has been teaching reading using Direct Instruction, a method which uses explicit phonics. There are two noteworthy results: The kids--especially the black kids--are soaring....

Posted by ceb into Reading & English , Success Stories

Myth: Phonics is optional, because there's no one "right way" to teach reading March 07, 2004
Many people think explicit phonics is optional because there isn't one right way to teach reading. While it may be true that there isn't "one right way," consider the following: "There's no one right way to build a skyscraper" is just as true. Most skyscrapers are made of steel columns and beams, individually bolted and welded, making a skeleton resembling...

Posted by ceb into Progressive Education , Reading & English

Language Immersion February 22, 2004
The year was 1962. Dennis Cullinan enlisted in the U.S. Army and was sent to study language in California. After a battery of tests, Cullinan was asked which languages he'd prefer, and was assigned Korean (one of his least-preferred choices). He writes: At the Presidio of Monterey I was one of six GI students in a small classroom. Our faculty...

Posted by ceb into Reading & English
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Exemption for English Language Learners: Not good February 21, 2004
Several edubloggers have mentioned the latest news from D.C. and the No Child Left Behind regulations. Seems the Feds have taken pity on school districts with large immigrant populations, and have exempted English Language Learners from standardized testing, at least for a time. Number 2 Pencil covers the story, complete with responses from a bevy of folks, and Daryl Cobranchi...

Posted by ceb into Politics , Reading & English
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The Scientific Method and Reading January 30, 2004
Joanne Jacobs' "Feds for Phonics" post today really floored us. She noticed that out of one hundred thousand studies on reading that the feds examined in forming new guidelines, only forty used the scientific method. What the . . . ?! And here we thought we were exaggerating when we said that most educational research isn't trustworthy. We had no idea, really....

Posted by ceb into Education Research , Reading & English

Instruction in Another Language: A Parent's Right? January 30, 2004
The following is a true story. Mauro E. Mujica reports that when 15-year old Kiet Tran emigrated from Vietnam in April 2002 to a country where millions of citizens speak Spanish, the local school district set about trying to teach him Spanish, using one of the best methods of instruction, which is immersion. Thus for three hours a day, all...

Posted by ceb into Progressive Education , Reading & English
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Myth: Teaching a Love of Reading January 22, 2004
Many people think the love of reading is something that can be taught. What is frustrating for us are the constant claims of Balanced Literacy and Whole Language folks who say that their method "turns kids on to reading." In reality, they might get turned on, but too many very soon will figure out they can't read well. This reminds...

Posted by ceb into Reading & English
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Spelling woes in the UK January 19, 2004
Question: What word in the English language is most often spelled incorrectly? (Answer at the end of this article) "Creative and inventive spelling have taken a toll on students," says Education News, who pointed us to this BBC article on the challenges students are having with spelling. In the United Kingdom, only 75% of 11-year olds passed the spelling, reading,...

Posted by ceb into Progressive Education , Reading & English
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U.K. National Literacy Strategy: "Appalling" January 14, 2004
It looks like the U.S. isn't the only place where folks are struggling against the evil empire of Progressive Education. Brian Micklethwait reports on some message board traffic in the U.K. by folks disturbed at a proposed National Literacy Strategy: The programme is absolutely appalling. To anyone who knows about synthetic phonics teaching it is absolutely flawed from beginning to...

Posted by ceb into Reading & English , Reading & English

U.K. National Literacy Strategy: "Appalling" January 14, 2004
It looks like the U.S. isn't the only place where folks are struggling against the evil empire of Progressive Education. Brian Micklethwait reports on some message board traffic in the U.K. by folks disturbed at a proposed National Literacy Strategy: The programme is absolutely appalling. To anyone who knows about synthetic phonics teaching it is absolutely flawed from beginning to...

Posted by ceb into Reading & English , Reading & English