What I'm Reading Now - Richard Peck

I've long been a fan of Richard Peck's witty social commentary.  When I first read The Teacher's Funeral, I shared with my favorite judge, this quote from page 34:
  
"In his Sunday best and shaved, Dad was a fine-looking man.  He could have passed for a judge."

In his new book, The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail,  Mr. Peck writes:

"Our ancient headmaster was peculiar even for a teacher."

Despite Mr. Peck's insinuation that judges are fine-looking and teachers peculiar, I like his books.  This new book is an enchanting tale about finding oneself and one's place in the world.  If you can squeeze in one more read with your own children before summer ends, try this one.  If not, preview it for your students in September.

Happy reading,
Christine
Literacy Connections Blog

Educational Technology Conference

Here is a post about an upcoming educational technology conference.  The principal hosting the conference was quoted last weekend in USA Weekend.  Read his tips for parents and visit his blog.

Happy reading,
Christine
Literacy Connections Blog

Martin's Big Words

When speaking to your own children or students about the fiftieth anniversary of the "I Have a Dream" speech,  why not read Doreen Rappaport's, Martin's Big Words?

Happy reading,
Christine
Literacy Connections Blog

Second Sight Saturday: Cost of College - Still Worth It?

I originally posted this on April 30, 2012:

April 30, 2012

 

Friday night on Real Time with Bill Maher, Bill (I feel I watch his show enough to call him "Bill") asked his panel if in this economy, with such a high joblessness rate, a college education is still worth it?  I must say, that as an educator, at first I was offended by this question.  Obviously, the enriching experience of education is definitely worth it.  At the end of four years, you (hopefully) view the world through a different lens than when you started.  For the enlightenment and broadened horizons alone, an education, no matter what its cost, is worth it.

Bill Maher, however, was referring to financial worth.  In an economy where student debt is over one trillion dollars, where there has been a 600% increase in tuition costs since 1980, and the President of the United States says he and his wife just paid off their student loans eight years ago, is it worth it?  Andrew Ross Sorkin, columnist for the New York Times, answered that it is.  In this country right now the total unemployment rate is 8%.  It is 13% for high-school dropouts over the age of 25, but only 4% for college grads.  An education is worth it, personally, intellectually, and financially.  And although I hate cliches, "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance."

 

Happy reading,

Christine

Literacy Connections Blog

Zip Codes and Achievement Gaps

The current issue of NEA Today features this cover story on zip codes and achievement gaps.  The focus on the educational inequalities in our country reminded me of my previous posts, A Tale of Two Libraries, Baby Talk, and No Rich Child Left Behind.  Looking at these articles together, one can not help but ask, are we doing enough to level the playing field for all children?  Knowing that a free public education is the bedrock of a democracy, are we really offering the same quality education to all?

Happy reading,
Christine
Literacy Connections Blog

Great Writing Tips

Yesterday,  there were great writing tips on Cheryl Klein's blog, Brooklyn Arden.  Of course, I'm  slightly partial here, because in 2011, I reviewed Ms. Klein's book, Second Sight: An Editor's Talks on Writing, Revising, and Publishing for Children and Young Adults for Sprouts magazine.

Happy reading and writing,
Christine
Literacy Connections Blog

Book on Suffrage

According to the National Archives, on this day in 1920, Senate ratified the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, giving women the right to vote.  The picture book, Elizabeth Leads the Way, by Tanya Lee Stone is a great resource on the suffrage movement.  Check it out.

Happy reading and voting,
Christine
Literacy Connections Blog

Memoir Writing Class

Bearing in mind that many people find memoirs to be notoriously unreliable, if you still want to pen your personal story, why not take tomorrow's memoir writing class at the New York Public Library?  There, you will learn to mine your memories and grab your reader's attention.  Best of all, this is a free program.

Happy reading, writing, and remembering,
Christine
Literacy Connections Blog

Middle Grade Boy Publishes Middle Grade Book

Earlier this summer, I wrote about recommending books for arguably the toughest group of reluctant readers, middle-grade boys.  Well, Penguin Young Readers Group has just signed a deal with a thirteen year-old boy, about.....life for a thirteen year-old boy. They are reaching their target demographic with a book by their target demographic, very clever!  Read all about it here.

Happy reading,
Christine
Literacy Connections Blog

Write Across Boundaries

Having difficulty writing a character who is a different gender,race or from a different culture than you?  The Highlights Foundation is offering a workshop on Writing Across Boundaries.  It sounds like a good one, so if you attend, comment here and let us know how it goes!

Happy reading and writing,
Christine
Literacy Connections Blog

Online Writers' Conference Starts Today

Don't feel like leaving the house today?  You can stay in your pjs and get great writing tips over the next two days by participating in Writeoncon. 

Happy reading and writing,
Christine
Literacy Connections Blog

Perseids and Ponderings

Tonight you can see the Perseid Meteor shower which peaks after midnight.  In the meantime, if you're trying to stay awake, there is a cute article in today's New York Times that poses the question, "What if novelists took steroids?"  ...Something to ponder.

Happy reading and stargazing,
Christine
Literacy Connections Blog

Second-Sight Saturday: National S'mores Day

I originally posted this a year ago:

August 10, 2012

 

Happy National S'mores Day!  I'm usually not a fan of "made-up" or Hallmark holidays, but come on,  a day dedicated to S'mores, who could argue with that? 

 

The recipe for S'mores first appeared in a Girl Scout publication in 1927.  Go Girl Scouts!  (See my earlier post on the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts and all the good that they do.) Thanks to them, the combination of graham crackers, roasted marshmallows and chocolate has been delighting families for generations.  So tonight, gather your loved ones and roast up some fun!

 

Happy reading and roasting,

Christine

Literacy Connections Blog

Common Core Test Results

Over the next few days there will be plenty of media buzz over test scores in New York State.  These stories draw viewers, sell ad time and sell newspapers.  Ka-ching!!

As a writer I was impressed by the choice of the word, “plummet” in one headline I saw.  As a teacher looking at the same headline, I hoped the editor who came up with that vivid verb was educated in a public school where he or she not only learned the power of precise words and concise text, but was inspired to pursue a career in journalism.  Because as educators, that is what we aspire to do; to educate, inform, inspire, and yes, adapt to a rapidly changing world. 

The Common Core Standards are a change for the 45 states which have adopted them, this year’s assessments are a change, and APPR is a change.  Should all of these changes have happened in one academic year?  Debatable, but the fact remains that all of these changes did happen at once, so where do we go from here?

In the June issue of Parenting: School Years,  I wrote an article entitled, Great Expectations in which Michael Keany, co-founder of School Leadership 2.0, Kate Gerson, Sr. Regents Fellow, and New York State Education Commisioner, John B. King, Jr. all offered tips to parents to better prepare children for the rigor of the new standards.    We know that we can’t achieve anything without parental support and involvement, but what else can teachers do moving forward?  How can we reconcile these disappointing results with all of the hard work that we know we did last year?

The first instinct might be to blame the test.  We can fairly question the validity of the most recent tests as accurate measures of a child’s college and career readiness.  We can continue to complain about the way in which these changes were rolled out, but what is done is done.  How do we as individual classroom teachers help students thrive in a less than perfect system? 

First we have to embrace the goals of the Common Core Standards themselves.  The goal of increased rigor and more challenging tasks is a lofty one.  How do we make it practicable?

Long Island commuters are all-too-familiar with the phrase, “Mind the Gap,” and since I really started researching the Common Core Standards in earnest back in 2011, that phrase kept coming to mind.  “Mind the Gap.”  First, I was trying to identify gaps between the old New York State Standards and the new Common Core Standards.  What would I need to give my 6^th graders to ready them for the new standards that they weren’t prepared for by the old 5^th grade standards?  Now, with the state releasing these disappointing test scores, I’m “Minding the Gap” again.  What was the gap between what we prepared for and what the tests revealed?  More importantly though, I’m “Minding the Gap,” between test prep, APPR, and the real work of teachers to educate, inform, inspire, and yes, adapt to a rapidly changing world.  For it is the real work of educators, that we don’t want to fall in the gaps.

 

Happy reading and teaching,

Christine

Literacy Connections Blog

Help Write the Next Kingdom Keepers Book

You can help Ridley Pearson write the final Kingdom Keepers book.  Click here for details.

Happy reading and writing,
Christine
Literacy Connections Blog

The Buddha in the Attic

When I read that today was the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, I was reminded of the novel, The Buddha in the Attic, by Julie Otsuka.  This Pen Faulkner award winner follows the lives of Japanese women from their journey to San Francisco to become "picture brides" for strangers, to the internment of Japanese-Americans at the onset of World War II.
A friend and I read this book for a book club that we accidentally joined, and although we found the writing to be beautiful, and the description of this shameful event in American history to be thought provoking, neither of us loved the book.  For me, the biggest problem was the use of the plural first-person narration.  I felt that the collective "we" took me out of the story.  I understood why the author made this deliberate choice, but I still felt like I was reading an essay... a beautiful essay, but an essay nonetheless.  If anyone out there has read this book, I'd love to know your thoughts on it.  I'm especially interested to see if any educators have used excerpts of this novel to launch text-based discussion of the internment of Japanese-Americans.

Happy reading.
Christine
Literacy Connections Blog

Why Teachers Should Read for Pleasure

My friend and mentor, Carol Varsalona sent me this interesting article on the importance of teachers reading to enhance their confidence in the classroom and their own personal well-being.  Check out other interesting teaching tidbits and facts on Carol's new blog, Beyond LiteracyLink.  You may even  want to hire her as a consultant to provide professional development to your faculty, but act fast.  Other school districts have already hired her and scooped up choice conference dates like Election Day!

Happy Reading,
Christine
Literacy Connections Blog