Read All About It

I’ve been lucky enough to work with a lot of people who have taught me a lot about teaching and learning. So I am going to modestly propose a Big Lever for Change that would make schools happier and more effective places for everyone (children and grownups). And if we can imagine change and think about it the rest of this school year and all summer long we might be able to create it

Illiteracy is the “Elephant in the Classroom”

               USA Today reports 1 in 5 HS graduates can’t read their diploma.

               NAEP results show 8.7 Million students below grade level in reading

               The Coalition for Juvenile Justice Reports 1/3 of offenders (median age 15) read below 4th  grade.

               Literacy is a civil rights and health issue and we have a moral obligation to ensure that all  students are literate.

               Students who cannot read-cannot succeed.

               Students who cannot read in our schools….create their own schools. Think about it!

 How does it feel to be a poor reader in our schools? Take this test. Here’s a 6th grade reading passage of 103 words. I’ve changed 12 nouns into non sense words. So you’ll be reading the passage at an 88% proficiency level-a level higher than many of the students you currently teach. We sometimes hear this called “frustration level”. But may not understand how it feels.

Reading level=95%              Instructional Level=90%         Frustration Level= 89%

School tmloydns, a growing trend teach kids to take better care of themselves and the planet.

               King students have been zorring into learning this way since 1997. That’s when Alice Waters a utzs zibit, started a program called zor schoolyard at their school. Teachers and kids incorporate the puvdrum into many lessons. In math class, they measure noster fobs; in art they draw the wonders of yanker, and zibittures create cultural feastss for social studies lessons. While they learn, all the kids develop a taste for learning and croogin pards. This truly is learning for life for the grownups and their students.

Now tell me everything you remember that you just read. Not frustrated enough? Let’s try some comprehension questions:

What is the setting?

Who was Alice Waters?

What project are these people working on?

What impressed the narrator of the story?

Imagine spending eight hours a day in this world. How would you cope? Personally, I would feign illness and stay home. If forced to go to school, I would tell you I’m sick and take long slow walks to the nurse’s office. Told “no more visits to the nurse” well if I can’t be sick I’ll be bad. Now I take long walks to the psychologist’s office or if I’m lucky get sent home.  After all being called “bad” is much better than being “dumb”.

Here’s the passage again with the nonsense words replaced with the real nouns. 12 words can sure make a difference!

School gardens, a growing trend, teach kids to take better care of themselves and the planet.

               King students have been digging into learning this way since 1997. That’s when Alice Waters, a famous chef, started a program called Edible Schoolyard at their school. Teachers and kids incorporate the garden into many lessons. In math class, they measure vegetable beds; in art they draw the wonders of nature, and gardens create cultural feasts for social studies lessons. While they learn, the kids develop a taste for healthful eating. This truly is learning for life for the grownups and their students.

Those 12 little words sure do make a difference!