Tuesday, February 18, 2014

The Unbelievably Complex Secret To Literacy

Taking a short break from the Gulen issue---- but not for long. Next, we'll look at the return-on-investment the Movement has gotten out of Toni Berrios.

But for tonight, let's listen to Stephen Krashen, one of the seminal figures in second language acquisition, bilingual instruction, and reading. He's talking before the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education.

In the world where we're living, these notions are radical and not discussed in polite company.


Have you been to the Rogers Park branch library lately? I have. Unbelievably talented, knowledgeable librarians, hordes of kids, not enough room, not enough books, not enough help. And yet, I sat there and read half a Wallace Stegner novel simply because it was on the shelf. That's how libraries work.

We need ten times the library resources that we have. The school libraries? I've only been in two in the neighborhood. Inadequate to say the least. The charter school libraries? I haven't seen them. Is there a library at the local Gulen-linked school? In my previous blog, I wrote pages about the library at the school where the mayor sends his kids.

Go out to the suburbs and look at the libraries. Then come back here and tell me why the kids who need the most books have the fewest. The very same kids are typically exposed to more reading tests than anyone else.

No comments:

Post a Comment