Singular
Minds
December 1, 2005 • Volume II, Issue 3
Prolinguistica Dyslexia Correction Center
Laura Zink de Diaz
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Quote of the Month
From a posting to Dr. Stephen D. Krashen's list-serv, November 30, 2005:
The first of several observations from: “Children’s and young people’s
reading habits and preferences: The who, what, why, where and when, ”
Christina Clark and Amelia Foster National Literacy Trust, December 2005, a
study of about 8000 children, 2300 elementary
and 5875 secondary in England.
When asked who taught them to read, the overwhelming response was “MOM”!
(Or more correctly, Mum).
For the sample as a whole: Mom 84% ; teacher = 72%
For those on free/reduced lunch: Mom = 78% ; teacher = 69%;
For those not on free/reduced lunch: Mom = 85% ; teacher = 73%.
For reluctant readers, Mom = 82% ; teacher = 70%
For enthusiastic readers, Mom = 87% ; teacher = 75%.
A question for the skill-builders: If the children are correct, if their mothers
did help them out, how did all those moms do it with being up to date on phonemic
awareness and systematic, intensive phonics?
Excellent question!
PDCC News
Clay Night and Support Group
December is a busy month for everyone, and experience suggests that these activities
will not be attended. So... let's look to January, 2006. The next Clay Night
will be January 12, 2006. Next Support Group meeting will be January 19, 2006.
Enjoy the season! !
Good
Stuff to Read
An
Interview With Ron Davis, Creator of the Davis Dyslexia Correction Method
By Jennifer Brady for GuidanceChannel.com
Wow! Read this informative interview at:
http://www.guidancechannel.com/default.aspx?index=1929&cat=2
Lazy
Readers Book Club
Looking for good books, but too busy to read War and Peace (1,185 pages)? Lazyreaders.com
issues a list of ten "short" books for every age on a monthly basis.
November's recommendations included:
- Lilies of the Field, by William E. Barrett (Adult, 128 pages), about German
nuns who build a chapel with the help of a black ex-GI (later made into an Oscar
winning film with Sidney Poitier in l963).
- Amelia Bedelia, by Peggy Parrish (Children, 64 pages), the first in the popular
series about a maid who takes directions very literally.
- Piggie Pie, by Margie Palatine (Children, 32 pages), very funny book about
pigs who disguise themselves as other barnyard animals to hide from a hungry
witch.
- I, Juan de Pareja, by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño (Young Adult, 192
pages), Newberry Prize winner about a slave in the service of the great Spanish
painter, Velazquez.
There is no cost to sign up for this service, and you can sign up for the monthly
e-mail newsletter with book recommendations at:
http://www.lazyreaders.com
Second Time Around - If repeating a grade doesn't
help kids, why do we make them do it?
By Susan Black, ASBJ
Making students repeat a grade hasn't worked for 100 years, so why is it still
happening? And why do government officials, school leaders, and teachers persist
in recommending retention as a remedy for low student achievement -- even when
researchers call it a failed intervention? Linda Darling-Hammond, executive
director of Columbia University's National Center for Restructuring Education,
Schools, and Teaching, has a one-word answer: assumptions. Many schools, she
says, operate on the assumption that failing students motivates them to try
harder, gives them another chance to "get it right," and raises their
self-esteem. Those claims aren't true, Darling-Hammond maintains. The widespread
trust in retention is uncritical and unwarranted, she says. It ignores several
decades of research showing that, for most children, retention:
• Fails to improve low achievement in reading, math, and other subjects.
• Fails to inspire students to buckle down and behave better.
• Fails to develop students' social adjustment and self-concept.
Read the rest at: http://www.asbj.com/2004/11/1104research.html
An
Overview of National Research on the Effectiveness of Retention on Student Achievement
If Darling-Hammond didn't persuade you, you can read even more about this. After
reviewing the many controlled studies of grade retention this study concluded
that:
Low performing students who have been retained in kindergarten or primary grades
lose ground both academically and socially relative to similar students who
have been promoted. In secondary school grades retention leads to reduced achievement
and much higher rates of school dropout. At present, the negative consequences
of grade retention policies typically outweigh the intended positive effects.
Read the rest at: http://www.advocatesforchildren.org/pubs/retention.html
Are
Schools Passing or Failing? Now There's a Third Choice ... Both
By MICHAEL WINERIP - NY Times
Our leaders in Washington and the state capitals have not trusted teachers,
principals and superintendents to grade and assess their own students rigorously.
And so, ... The new age of precision testing has arrived. Thanks to No Child
Left Behind, all children must take a state test every year beginning in third
grade, and many schools spend much of the year prepping for it. We now have
federal and state tests, as well as federal and state rating systems to measure
performance precisely. Unfortunately, it may be that the more we test and the
more rating we do, the less we know. Read the rest at: http://www.susanohanian.org/show_nclb_atrocities.html?id=1682
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That's all for this month. I've been in and out of the country a lot since the
summer. Nonetheless, I'm always eager to hear from you and offer support when
it's needed. If you need to contact me and discover that I'm out of the country
when you call, feel free to send me an email (laura@prolinguistica.com). Whenever
I'm gone, I make sure I have access to the internet and check for messages every
day. You can be sure I'll get back to you as quickly as possible, no matter
where I am!
Laura
Next Issue of Singular Minds: early January, 2006
Got a topic you’d like to see addressed in Singular Minds? E-mail questions,
proposals, letters, and/or stories to: singularminds@prolinguistica.com
Singular Minds
Monthly Newsletter from
Prolinguistica Dyslexia Correction Center
www/pdcc-read.com
www/pdcc-read.com/indice.html
(for website in Spanish)
singularminds@prolinguistica.com