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December 16, 2005
Optimism.
Many American students don't work very hard. We don't know their potential until they're held to high expectations and taught by competent teachers. Maybe it will turn out that the gap can't be closed 100 percent. It can be narrowed.That's Joanne Jacobs on the achievement gap, and it's why you should rush out and buy a copy of Our School where you can read about people who find ways to get low-achieving students to work hard and become achievers. It's pretty inspiring stuff. It's hard -- very hard -- but it can be done.
Posted by CrankyProfessor at December 16, 2005 8:23 AM
Comments
I'm sure you read it in today's The New York Times. "Literacy Falls for Graduates from College, Testing Finds"--ascription of the decline was to television and Internet surfing. I'm not so sure about that. You have to be able to read to surf the Internet. Don't you? But television and computer games and a lack of civilized conversation--perhaps. I'd be interested in your professional opinion.
.....I have no real opinion about literacy, since I don't really remember a time when I didn't have it. I do think that my students are not readers, but I also tthought that about many of my classmates all the way through my education - including graduate school. Then again maybe I'm just cranky because I'm grading?--MCT
Posted by: Sarah at December 16, 2005 1:07 PM
I'm not sure that Internet use requires much functional literacy, considering how many essays I get handed with lines line, "When U consider Y Medea came 2 Corinth in the first place..."
As for making them higher achievers, it is hard, but emphasizing high standards and tough rules in the syllabus and first class seems to work for me.
And I'd say about 50% of the kids I get are not really literate, so I do a lot of close reading in class. I don't know if that helps, but I sincerely hope so.
.....Oh, my - I got a research paper from a senior with an occurence of "b/" instead of "beccause of." I took off double. --MCT
Posted by: Carlton at December 17, 2005 12:39 PM