Today’s economy is a global one. Companies from one country to another need to communicate with one another. Traditional ways to communicate include talking face to face, talking via a telephone or more recently e-mailing one another. However, more recently there are additional means of communication such as text messages, Blackberry units and instant messages for example. According to the article, “literacy and literacy instruction are being defined by change in even more profound ways as new technologies require new literacies to effectively exploit their potential. These include technologies such as gaming software, video technologies and the Internet.” One of the points here is that technology is becoming part of the mainstream methods to communicate in a classroom or in a boardroom. While, not too long ago, these expanded uses of technology were not considered part of typical literacy instruction, it is more of an accepted way to communicate. If the world is going to continue communicating in a variety of ways, then children should be taught at an early age that literacy means more than reading, writing, comprehending and communicating. In today’s world there are so many ways to communicate to one person or more than one person at a time. The important point from a school and learning perspective is to teach the students is that it is acceptable to communicate in a particular way in certain venues, but not in other venues. Communication with friends tends to be more relaxed and informal. In a business setting, the communication is expected to be more formal. The new literacies that are referred to above, may indicate that informal communication with friends may be acceptable in certain instances where previously it was unacceptable.
Technologies are changing literacy in a number of ways. First, as stated above, there are many more acceptable ways to communicate than there formerly were. However, it is very important to make sure that students understand different venues will accept different types of communication and literacy. I find there are times when students do not understand this difference. Even in the high school classroom where students use slang, personally, I would prefer that they not use slang. However, I understand that it is part of there culture and as long as they are not using a term or terms that I understand to be derogatory, I may let it go. However, as a Business teacher (and as someone having worked in the business/corporate world for 14 years) I always try to help them understand what is acceptable in one venue and not in another.
Also, literacy is being changed in schools today. Students are being introduced to many more technologies than just ten years ago. The fact that many classes thrust the students into the library for research on the Internet indicates that students need to understand how to sift through information and determine what is valuable or not. They need to understand how to conduct an effective search. This is then a learned skill that will be quite useful in college, the working world and beyond.
The article also states “that we lack a precise definition of what new literacies are.” Basically there are numerous literary tools that are popping up and what to teach in school is unclear because the technology is evolving in the workplace and at home. Therefore, a definitive of what actually to teach is evolving. It also depends upon how much a teacher wants to incorporate technology into the classroom and into literacy. Personally, I like to utilize the Internet and occasionally U-tube in a given lesson. I also want the kids to understand that just because it says so on the Internet doesn’t necessarily mean it is true. Many of them have a hard time discerning that.
One final point is expanding on the last point above, it is very important to understand what is useful information on the Internet, and what is not useful. There is more information on the Internet than we could possibly ever use in a lifetime. The Internet and Intranet is such a vital component to the working world, it is extremely important that students being to gain an understanding of how to discern useful information from non-useful or questionable information. This is not necessarily easy.
Overall, I do agree that literacy now encompasses technology and there is certainly value to that. It is important that school try to keep up with what is out there and being used and teach components of this to children so they have familiarity with the tools once they leave school. It is not, however, a school’s job to teach students about every aspect of technology, but rather introduce them to different facets of the tools and give them some experience on how to use the tools.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Sunday, July 15, 2007
NCLB
The reading was interesting. Clearly, the intent was to show both sides to this controversial educational assessment. I think the initial intent of trying to make schools accountable was a good idea. I also think the intent of trying to have highly qualified teachers is also a good thing. I know that in my school (a high school) the Special Ed department was having the hardest time with the highly qualified teacher issue as many of the teachers here were qualified for Special Ed, but not for a particular subject, i.e. Math, Science, etc. I know that some of the teachers had to obtain additional education in their preferred subject area. Overall, again, that is probably a good thing, it just caused a little stress initially with the teachers.
Now to the testing itself. Again, the idea of accountability is good. With this law there has been increased funding for Title 1 aid. The thought of trying to close the gap between schools, again is good in theory. Some of the statistics that the New Jersey report card has shown seems to indicate some closing of the gap between black and white achievement and Hispanic and white achievement. But, has this closing of the gap occurred because of NCLB or in spite of NCLB? That really is an interesting question. If a school is in an area that has routinely not scored well on testing prior to NCLB, one would think one of the major initiatives would be to raise test scores overall. So is the increase in test scores due to schools wanting to perform better and having the common sense to try different ways to motivate kids to want to learn or are they better at teaching to the test now?
Just an aside, as a high school business teacher, I am thrilled that at this point in time, that I do not have to teach to a particular test (for us it is the HSPAs - High School Proficiency Assessments). I know my counterparts in Math, English and Science (to a lesser degree) spend a good bit of time preparing students for the test. Although, in the Math classes, the teachers incorporate the testing material into their regular lesson plans. There are a few classes of Math Lab which is for students who did not score well on preliminary testing. To my point above, I am happy that I can teach the subjects that I do and focus on business and real life senerios and not focus on a test. It makes my job my meaningful and hopefully for the students also.
Clearly, the testing lacks proper funding. It is not fair to hold schools responsible for a new law and not give them the proper funding to make it work. It is one thing to be creative, it is another to ask for the impossible. And if a student leaves a particular school, the Title I funding does not go with them. In addition, each state can produce its own standardized tests. So, states can manipulate the testing and can make it so it is easier to obtain a higher test score. The states are manipulating the system because there are so many holes in the system.
The bottom line is there are far too many holes in the law and there is much to do to make NCLB the success that the federal government may have wanted it to be when it initially created this law. Hopefully the government will be given enough reason to go back to the drawing board and fix the problems. If we hope the government will work to fix the law on their own without being pushed or having some political infuence make it happen, they probably will not. That is unfortunate.
Now to the testing itself. Again, the idea of accountability is good. With this law there has been increased funding for Title 1 aid. The thought of trying to close the gap between schools, again is good in theory. Some of the statistics that the New Jersey report card has shown seems to indicate some closing of the gap between black and white achievement and Hispanic and white achievement. But, has this closing of the gap occurred because of NCLB or in spite of NCLB? That really is an interesting question. If a school is in an area that has routinely not scored well on testing prior to NCLB, one would think one of the major initiatives would be to raise test scores overall. So is the increase in test scores due to schools wanting to perform better and having the common sense to try different ways to motivate kids to want to learn or are they better at teaching to the test now?
Just an aside, as a high school business teacher, I am thrilled that at this point in time, that I do not have to teach to a particular test (for us it is the HSPAs - High School Proficiency Assessments). I know my counterparts in Math, English and Science (to a lesser degree) spend a good bit of time preparing students for the test. Although, in the Math classes, the teachers incorporate the testing material into their regular lesson plans. There are a few classes of Math Lab which is for students who did not score well on preliminary testing. To my point above, I am happy that I can teach the subjects that I do and focus on business and real life senerios and not focus on a test. It makes my job my meaningful and hopefully for the students also.
Clearly, the testing lacks proper funding. It is not fair to hold schools responsible for a new law and not give them the proper funding to make it work. It is one thing to be creative, it is another to ask for the impossible. And if a student leaves a particular school, the Title I funding does not go with them. In addition, each state can produce its own standardized tests. So, states can manipulate the testing and can make it so it is easier to obtain a higher test score. The states are manipulating the system because there are so many holes in the system.
The bottom line is there are far too many holes in the law and there is much to do to make NCLB the success that the federal government may have wanted it to be when it initially created this law. Hopefully the government will be given enough reason to go back to the drawing board and fix the problems. If we hope the government will work to fix the law on their own without being pushed or having some political infuence make it happen, they probably will not. That is unfortunate.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Summary Blog for Rachel M., Mary R, Allie W. & Susan W.
Allie W., Rachel M, Mary R. and Susan W’s Blog Summary
It seems as if everyone was in agreement with assessment. While Rachel felt it is important for children to be assessed in order to determine their progress and achievements in various areas, we all felt that a test at a given period of time was not the only was to accomplish accurate assessment. Allie stated that even as a student she thought it was unfair to spend so long learning something and only have one chance to prove her knowledge on the big test that came at the end of the unit. As a student, she would have much preferred the new form of assessment which combines both formal and informal techniques. Routman says it best: "Assessment must promote learning, not just measure it". According to Rachel, some students might do well on test but some students might need to express themselves differently. They might need to draw a picture, participate in a role play situation, work on a group project that has various roles and responsibilities, etc. Rachel also stated that, we cannot just teach students and have them spit out exactly what we want them to know. She is right as this is not how the real world works. It is great to know all of these facts for a Trival Pursuit game, but not in real life. One of Susan’s personal favorite ways to assess one of her classes (Introduction to Business) is when the students spend the better part of six weeks putting together a mini business plan for a restaurant. They work in groups of five or six and they have to decide roles and responsibilities. They are all held accountable to each other. They have to be creative, good with numbers, logical. Not everyone is good at all of these things. Therefore, they must work together and figure out who is good at what. They can look at previous models, but they still must come up with their own creation. When it comes time for assessment, they all have input as well me. Generally the kids are honest with who did what and who did a good job and who didn’t hold up their end of their responsibilities. Lastly, Mary spoke about the need for assessment to be meaningful. She felt that it might be easier to accomplish a joint assessment with older children than with the younger ones. There may certainly be truth to that.
Moving onto portfolios, everyone thought that was a good idea. Mary stated that how unrealistic is it to assess the child without seeing any of their work in front of me and basically only going on my most recent encounter with the child to write an assessment. She thought the idea of having an ongoing portfolio is new to her, but could be a wonderful idea as this could prove to act as the assessment because the student’s work would always be in front of her. Susan stated that the portfolios would give the students a chance to look back on their work themselves and see how far they have gotten. Allie stated that Routman loved the idea of portfolios so that the teachers can assess the students’ progress as the year went on. Routman discusses the idea of giving the child much of the responsibility and freedom of choice. As stated above in the restaurant project, if students are given some freedom to choose what they want to do and how they plan to accomplish it, generally they are more motivated. Rachel agrees that teachers should not be the only ones assessing students. For it to be of better value, students should share in this task.
Susan discussed the value of rubrics. Routman stated that “well-constructed rubrics are one way to help kids understand what is meant by quality and guide learners to assess and improve their work.” So it is another vehicle to help the students with self assessment – similar but different than a portfolio.
Mary feels that standards and standardized tests are here to stay. We all felt that we didn’t necessarily like the standardized tests. Allie agreed with Routman who felt that standardized tests are rarely supported by all the wonderful things that go on in a classroom such as self-assessment, observation, portfolios and open-ended responses. Rachel felt that testing was being shoved down our throats and the student’s throats without much benefit.
Lastly, Mary also liked the idea of joint conferences. She felt the idea of everyone joining in made it much more meaningful. This was discussed in the Ms. Rodriquez article. By utilizing the portfolios, Ms. Rodriquez’s students were able to use the portfolios to learn and to show the parents at the time of the conferences. They could discuss their work with the parents and show them their progress at the same time. The student’s use of the portfolios allowed the students to take joint accountability for the outcome.
Overall, this was a very valuable chapter and set of articles. It seemed to confirm some of what we already knew, however, gave some good new ideas such as the portfolios.
It seems as if everyone was in agreement with assessment. While Rachel felt it is important for children to be assessed in order to determine their progress and achievements in various areas, we all felt that a test at a given period of time was not the only was to accomplish accurate assessment. Allie stated that even as a student she thought it was unfair to spend so long learning something and only have one chance to prove her knowledge on the big test that came at the end of the unit. As a student, she would have much preferred the new form of assessment which combines both formal and informal techniques. Routman says it best: "Assessment must promote learning, not just measure it". According to Rachel, some students might do well on test but some students might need to express themselves differently. They might need to draw a picture, participate in a role play situation, work on a group project that has various roles and responsibilities, etc. Rachel also stated that, we cannot just teach students and have them spit out exactly what we want them to know. She is right as this is not how the real world works. It is great to know all of these facts for a Trival Pursuit game, but not in real life. One of Susan’s personal favorite ways to assess one of her classes (Introduction to Business) is when the students spend the better part of six weeks putting together a mini business plan for a restaurant. They work in groups of five or six and they have to decide roles and responsibilities. They are all held accountable to each other. They have to be creative, good with numbers, logical. Not everyone is good at all of these things. Therefore, they must work together and figure out who is good at what. They can look at previous models, but they still must come up with their own creation. When it comes time for assessment, they all have input as well me. Generally the kids are honest with who did what and who did a good job and who didn’t hold up their end of their responsibilities. Lastly, Mary spoke about the need for assessment to be meaningful. She felt that it might be easier to accomplish a joint assessment with older children than with the younger ones. There may certainly be truth to that.
Moving onto portfolios, everyone thought that was a good idea. Mary stated that how unrealistic is it to assess the child without seeing any of their work in front of me and basically only going on my most recent encounter with the child to write an assessment. She thought the idea of having an ongoing portfolio is new to her, but could be a wonderful idea as this could prove to act as the assessment because the student’s work would always be in front of her. Susan stated that the portfolios would give the students a chance to look back on their work themselves and see how far they have gotten. Allie stated that Routman loved the idea of portfolios so that the teachers can assess the students’ progress as the year went on. Routman discusses the idea of giving the child much of the responsibility and freedom of choice. As stated above in the restaurant project, if students are given some freedom to choose what they want to do and how they plan to accomplish it, generally they are more motivated. Rachel agrees that teachers should not be the only ones assessing students. For it to be of better value, students should share in this task.
Susan discussed the value of rubrics. Routman stated that “well-constructed rubrics are one way to help kids understand what is meant by quality and guide learners to assess and improve their work.” So it is another vehicle to help the students with self assessment – similar but different than a portfolio.
Mary feels that standards and standardized tests are here to stay. We all felt that we didn’t necessarily like the standardized tests. Allie agreed with Routman who felt that standardized tests are rarely supported by all the wonderful things that go on in a classroom such as self-assessment, observation, portfolios and open-ended responses. Rachel felt that testing was being shoved down our throats and the student’s throats without much benefit.
Lastly, Mary also liked the idea of joint conferences. She felt the idea of everyone joining in made it much more meaningful. This was discussed in the Ms. Rodriquez article. By utilizing the portfolios, Ms. Rodriquez’s students were able to use the portfolios to learn and to show the parents at the time of the conferences. They could discuss their work with the parents and show them their progress at the same time. The student’s use of the portfolios allowed the students to take joint accountability for the outcome.
Overall, this was a very valuable chapter and set of articles. It seemed to confirm some of what we already knew, however, gave some good new ideas such as the portfolios.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Assessment Topics: There were a variety of topics discussed within the readings. Routman states that "for true understanding of assessment, all stakeholders need to know the criteria in advance." I believe that this is definitely true. Otherwise, you are simply taking a test or assessment and not being given a reason. This is like the blind leading the blind. I think people work better if they are given a reason why. People may complete something if asked, but they generally will do a better job if explained why.
The author also stated, “Our goal for all learners is that in the course of our teaching them reading, writing, thinking, viewing, listening, problem solving, they will eventually ask their own questions, monitor their own understanding and take responsibility for moving their learning forward. This is certainly true in an ideal world. I am guessing that this may be true more so in the lower grades than they higher grades. I teach high school. There are a handful of students who want to know more and want to know why. There are generally the same students who ask questions after a test or project is handed back. I am more than happy to explain answers and/or show them on a paper or project how they could improve the next time, etc. I think you strive for ongoing self-evaluation in students and yourself. It is very important in school, work and life in general. If the students learn this, it will help them throughout life. Not everyone self-evaluates. Most people do not. This is one of the things about summer that I do like. I have a chance to go back to certain classes and work on them, make them better, different, more interesting, more useful.
The author is very fond of portfolios. If they are used well by both the student and teacher, they can be a wonderful tool. Again, I see this as more of a tool for younger kids, however, perhaps in a different way, it could be used for the older grades. For example, kids could keep a body of work, computer work for example, and create their own portfolio. They could comment on their work, why they did what they did, how they could improve on their work, whether they would like to change it next time, etc. This is similar in a sense to my going back and updating or re-looking at my work.
The author talks about rubrics. She states that "well-constructed rubrics are one way to help kids understand what is meant by quality and guide learners to assess and improve their work." I do agree with that statement to a certain degree. If the student is willing to look at the rubric, understand what the rubric is asking for and then take the time to truly evaluate what they did, then it is useful. So often, I see students getting a paper back with comments and with a rubric and all they want to do is go to the final grade. That is it. No reading, no reflection, nothing. Just give me the bottom line and move on. What I try to do if I give back a large group project, is sit with the group, don't show them any grades until the very end and we go over comment by comment. If they have questions, we address them right then and there. This way at least they listen. Whether or not they process long term or not, is debatable. However, at least this way I am trying to get the whole group involved and make sure that we at least talk about it. The author states, "a rubric does not improve the quality of student work or performance unless it aptly describes the qualities we are seeking, contains worthwhile descriptors, and is understood and balued by those who use it." This backs my prior point.
The common tools mentioned seem to make sense. If teachers are using the same criteria, developed by the teachers, the hope is that there will be less subjectiveness and more objectiveness.
The article about Ms. Rodriquez's class was very interesting. This case study confirmed Routman's feeling that taking joint accountability for assessment is most valuable and will produce the best results for all involved (student, teacher, parent). Her class successfully utilized the portfolio. It was able to show the students how they had progresses and it was something tangible that they could show to their parents. The students co-leading the conferences further ensured that the students bought into taking responsibility and accountability for their own assessments.
The author also stated, “Our goal for all learners is that in the course of our teaching them reading, writing, thinking, viewing, listening, problem solving, they will eventually ask their own questions, monitor their own understanding and take responsibility for moving their learning forward. This is certainly true in an ideal world. I am guessing that this may be true more so in the lower grades than they higher grades. I teach high school. There are a handful of students who want to know more and want to know why. There are generally the same students who ask questions after a test or project is handed back. I am more than happy to explain answers and/or show them on a paper or project how they could improve the next time, etc. I think you strive for ongoing self-evaluation in students and yourself. It is very important in school, work and life in general. If the students learn this, it will help them throughout life. Not everyone self-evaluates. Most people do not. This is one of the things about summer that I do like. I have a chance to go back to certain classes and work on them, make them better, different, more interesting, more useful.
The author is very fond of portfolios. If they are used well by both the student and teacher, they can be a wonderful tool. Again, I see this as more of a tool for younger kids, however, perhaps in a different way, it could be used for the older grades. For example, kids could keep a body of work, computer work for example, and create their own portfolio. They could comment on their work, why they did what they did, how they could improve on their work, whether they would like to change it next time, etc. This is similar in a sense to my going back and updating or re-looking at my work.
The author talks about rubrics. She states that "well-constructed rubrics are one way to help kids understand what is meant by quality and guide learners to assess and improve their work." I do agree with that statement to a certain degree. If the student is willing to look at the rubric, understand what the rubric is asking for and then take the time to truly evaluate what they did, then it is useful. So often, I see students getting a paper back with comments and with a rubric and all they want to do is go to the final grade. That is it. No reading, no reflection, nothing. Just give me the bottom line and move on. What I try to do if I give back a large group project, is sit with the group, don't show them any grades until the very end and we go over comment by comment. If they have questions, we address them right then and there. This way at least they listen. Whether or not they process long term or not, is debatable. However, at least this way I am trying to get the whole group involved and make sure that we at least talk about it. The author states, "a rubric does not improve the quality of student work or performance unless it aptly describes the qualities we are seeking, contains worthwhile descriptors, and is understood and balued by those who use it." This backs my prior point.
The common tools mentioned seem to make sense. If teachers are using the same criteria, developed by the teachers, the hope is that there will be less subjectiveness and more objectiveness.
The article about Ms. Rodriquez's class was very interesting. This case study confirmed Routman's feeling that taking joint accountability for assessment is most valuable and will produce the best results for all involved (student, teacher, parent). Her class successfully utilized the portfolio. It was able to show the students how they had progresses and it was something tangible that they could show to their parents. The students co-leading the conferences further ensured that the students bought into taking responsibility and accountability for their own assessments.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
July 6 assignment
It was interesting to read that during the early 1900s the preschool and kindergarten teachers followed the Maturation Theory and did not teach the children reading instruction. The instructors generally ignored or avoided reading instruction. How a contrast to what is taught today. My five year old just finished preschool and will be attending kindergarten next year. At the parent orientation meeting last summer the teachers told us that our children would know all of the letters of the alphabet, be able to read a little and add basic numbers. I was a little skeptical. However, they were right, my daughter can do all of the things that the teachers mentioned, as well as she know certain sight words. Which method is better? I am not sure, but I don’t think it is bad that she knows these things, and probably will help her get a jump start in her education. Will it help long-term? I don’t know.
The quote from the book about Maturation Theory, “parents as well as educators would cause damage to children’s reading ability if they attempted to teach reading to children who were too young” sound so odd in today’s world. Obviously you cannot teach a baby or probably a toddler to read, but at a certain point, children can recognize letters and may be able to associate certain sounds to it.
Emergent Literacy Theory is consistent with Whole Language Theory. In the Emergent Literacy Theory, it emphasizes the critical role that the child’s home environment has on the development of listening, speaking, reading and writings skills. I do agree with this. We read to all of my three children at a very young age. They all like to read. I do think it has helped my older children (9 and 11) develop their other skills. The early reading and listening has also helped my 5 year old with developing the skills (writing obviously age-appropriate).
In the next chapter, I particularly like the Social Constructivism and Vygotsky's theories. On of his main beliefs is that children learn as a result of social interactions with others. Also, the zone of proximal development refers to the idea level of task difficulty to facilitate learning where a child can be successful with appropriate support. I know that whenever I have my classes participate in group activities (cooperative learning type of situations) the students usually do well. They learn not only about whatever project they are working on, but they also learn a valuable lesson about how to work in groups. Sometimes when working in groups, the students may push themselves because they each have certain tasks to do for the groups as a whole and are much less likely to dissapoint the whole group, as opposed to if they miss a particular assignment for themselves (not in a group situation). Regarding the zone of proximal development, in the same group-type of situation, if a particular task becomes difficult, either I may suggest some ideas (as a facilitator more than a teacher) or I may have a former student of that class come talk to the group and try to suggest some ideas.
In the last chapter the idea of Rauding Theory is discussed. Carver, who created the Rauding Theory, had two important hypotheses. One is that reading improvements requires that readers use textbooks that are closely matched to their ability levels. The second is that the textbooks are easy enough for the readers so they will maintain an adequate reading rate. In other words, the textbooks shouldn't be too easy or too difficult. Students learn best when the material presented to them is in such a format that they can understand the vocabulary and thus comprehend the material. The students often don't want to take the extra step of looking up a word if they don't know the meaning. This would then hinder their learning because some may not bother to even look up an unknown word. I am not an English teacher, but I could just imagine a student's first time looking at a Shakespeare book and getting blown away with what the Old English words mean. It is hard, especially at first.
The quote from the book about Maturation Theory, “parents as well as educators would cause damage to children’s reading ability if they attempted to teach reading to children who were too young” sound so odd in today’s world. Obviously you cannot teach a baby or probably a toddler to read, but at a certain point, children can recognize letters and may be able to associate certain sounds to it.
Emergent Literacy Theory is consistent with Whole Language Theory. In the Emergent Literacy Theory, it emphasizes the critical role that the child’s home environment has on the development of listening, speaking, reading and writings skills. I do agree with this. We read to all of my three children at a very young age. They all like to read. I do think it has helped my older children (9 and 11) develop their other skills. The early reading and listening has also helped my 5 year old with developing the skills (writing obviously age-appropriate).
In the next chapter, I particularly like the Social Constructivism and Vygotsky's theories. On of his main beliefs is that children learn as a result of social interactions with others. Also, the zone of proximal development refers to the idea level of task difficulty to facilitate learning where a child can be successful with appropriate support. I know that whenever I have my classes participate in group activities (cooperative learning type of situations) the students usually do well. They learn not only about whatever project they are working on, but they also learn a valuable lesson about how to work in groups. Sometimes when working in groups, the students may push themselves because they each have certain tasks to do for the groups as a whole and are much less likely to dissapoint the whole group, as opposed to if they miss a particular assignment for themselves (not in a group situation). Regarding the zone of proximal development, in the same group-type of situation, if a particular task becomes difficult, either I may suggest some ideas (as a facilitator more than a teacher) or I may have a former student of that class come talk to the group and try to suggest some ideas.
In the last chapter the idea of Rauding Theory is discussed. Carver, who created the Rauding Theory, had two important hypotheses. One is that reading improvements requires that readers use textbooks that are closely matched to their ability levels. The second is that the textbooks are easy enough for the readers so they will maintain an adequate reading rate. In other words, the textbooks shouldn't be too easy or too difficult. Students learn best when the material presented to them is in such a format that they can understand the vocabulary and thus comprehend the material. The students often don't want to take the extra step of looking up a word if they don't know the meaning. This would then hinder their learning because some may not bother to even look up an unknown word. I am not an English teacher, but I could just imagine a student's first time looking at a Shakespeare book and getting blown away with what the Old English words mean. It is hard, especially at first.
Monday, July 2, 2007
2nd assignment continued
The "Mama teached me to talk" article seems to agree with the Critical Period hypotheis theory. While the Critical Period hypothesis theory looks at the age of 12 as the critical period, the Mama article stresses that the age range from 2 - 6 is the most important to develop proper language skills. After this the child continues to learn and master the language, but the it is really important to develop the foundation at an early age. Reading to me, only further emphasizes how you can use language to continue to develop language and other forms of communication. The article discusses that children may not use the language in the proper form when they first begin to speak, but eventually develop the proper way to speak. It does indicate that adults generally attempt to correct grammatical errors, but often times children repeat the same errors.
The "My experience" article speaks about the difficulty of learning a language at a later age when you have to acquire the tools and the tools may not be good enough or accessible enough. One good point was that "learning a new language means learning the mechanics of that language, the grammar." She stressed that reading newspaper articles is a very useful way to see the language in everyday action. Perhaps if children eventually learn to read a newspaper (becoming a lost art), than this would absolutely further enhance their ability to read and understand language as a whole. Again, the more reading, whether it is textbooks, pleasure books, magazines, newspapers, whatever, is great for everyone, particularly children. Generally what is learned as a child will be taken into adulthood.
The "My experience" article speaks about the difficulty of learning a language at a later age when you have to acquire the tools and the tools may not be good enough or accessible enough. One good point was that "learning a new language means learning the mechanics of that language, the grammar." She stressed that reading newspaper articles is a very useful way to see the language in everyday action. Perhaps if children eventually learn to read a newspaper (becoming a lost art), than this would absolutely further enhance their ability to read and understand language as a whole. Again, the more reading, whether it is textbooks, pleasure books, magazines, newspapers, whatever, is great for everyone, particularly children. Generally what is learned as a child will be taken into adulthood.
How do children acquire language?
The article from Wiki is interesting in that it provides us with a number of theories. I think the most interesting one is the last, "Critical Period Hypothesis." The linguist, Eric Lenneberg, stated that the crucial period to learn a language ends around the age of 12. I think there is a lot of truth to this. It is always easier for a child to learn a language earlier rather than after they have come close to mastering their native language. When I went to school, we took a language in high school. I took the traditional three years of Spanish and that was it. At that time there were no A.P. class for languages. I have three children, two of whom are in elementary school. The curriculum is such that they had to choose a language (either Spanish or French) and begin taking the language in third grade. My older daughter is going into Middle School next year. They also had to choose a language to take. She decided to continue on with Spanish. By the time they reach high school, they will have had up to six years of a language. Then, assuming they take another three years of a language, that will amount to nine years of another language other than their native English, by the time my kids are 18. Compare that with what I had which was three years of a language by the time I was 18. I am sure that my children will retain the language far better than I ever did. You can compare the learning prior to 12 with a child who has a lazy eye condition. I recall from my college biology class that if the child's good eye is covered with a patch prior to the age of 7 or 8, then it is a very good chance that the bad eye will either get better or catch up to the good eye. It is the same premise as learning a language. The earlier you learn, the more likely it will stick with you. I also see this with friends of ours. The friends are Turkish. They have two children my older daughter's ages. Their children speak Turkish beautifully. They have heard the language spoken in the home ever since they were babies. They also speak English fine.
I believe that reading has a lot to do with language and word development and recognition. If children learn to like or love books at an early age, I think it helps tremendously with language development and recognition. Part of this is to make reading a part of a child's everyday life. My husband and I have read to our children ever since they were little. We read to them before bedtime and other times during the day. I will admit it is harder with the third child, but we still do it. Now the older girls read every night before bed and often around the house. If you learn to like to read as a younger person, you tend to keep this with you. The earlier you learn to read, the greater the opportunity to take the language with you and keep it.
I believe that reading has a lot to do with language and word development and recognition. If children learn to like or love books at an early age, I think it helps tremendously with language development and recognition. Part of this is to make reading a part of a child's everyday life. My husband and I have read to our children ever since they were little. We read to them before bedtime and other times during the day. I will admit it is harder with the third child, but we still do it. Now the older girls read every night before bed and often around the house. If you learn to like to read as a younger person, you tend to keep this with you. The earlier you learn to read, the greater the opportunity to take the language with you and keep it.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Assignment 1 part 2
New York Times Article:
1. It is a wonderful opportunity that a number of Westchester cultural institutions have collaborated around the theme of children's book illustration. The exhibition allows a child's world to open up through their eyes and formulate their own opinions about the illustrations. The illustrator explain what the illustrations mean. Children learn literacy from the illustrations and the meaning through their own eyes.
2. The illustrations and explanations are a great way for children to learn. It is not the "traditional" way to learn literacy. "A picture is worth 1000 words" is relevant in that pictures tend to catch one's attention and the words help to explain that person's interpretation of the picture. The quote, "he's not just showing you how it's done, he's trying to get you to feel some of his sense of amazement," said Lara Vookles, further drives home the point of the above sentence.
3. I am wondering why doesn't this type of exhibit exsist in New Jersey? I'd like to take my kids there.
1. It is a wonderful opportunity that a number of Westchester cultural institutions have collaborated around the theme of children's book illustration. The exhibition allows a child's world to open up through their eyes and formulate their own opinions about the illustrations. The illustrator explain what the illustrations mean. Children learn literacy from the illustrations and the meaning through their own eyes.
2. The illustrations and explanations are a great way for children to learn. It is not the "traditional" way to learn literacy. "A picture is worth 1000 words" is relevant in that pictures tend to catch one's attention and the words help to explain that person's interpretation of the picture. The quote, "he's not just showing you how it's done, he's trying to get you to feel some of his sense of amazement," said Lara Vookles, further drives home the point of the above sentence.
3. I am wondering why doesn't this type of exhibit exsist in New Jersey? I'd like to take my kids there.
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