tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post4631703245304527625..comments2023-11-03T04:00:24.785-04:00Comments on Kentucky School News and Commentary: More on the Montgomery Co Book Rukus...Richard Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14586435007687942849noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post-58724497362171188272009-12-06T17:20:01.081-05:002009-12-06T17:20:01.081-05:00Opal,
I haven't read Unwind, so let me take ...Opal, <br /><br />I haven't read Unwind, so let me take your word for it that it contains the weighty issues of life, death and society that our college-bound students ought to be pondering. Perhaps every freshman should read it.<br /><br />But is there no suitable substitute written on a more challenging level for upper- classpersons that would still allow students to delve into the important topics you mention?<br /><br />The first book that came to mind on these topics is also one that has resonated deeply with me as a youth. Why not Man's Search for Meaning by Vicktor Frankl. ...or perhaps Maya Angelo's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. All of the content and a more challenging vocabulary to boot.<br /><br />Of course, we can argue all day about the relative merits of this book versus that. But might we agree that books written at the elemenatry level ought to give way to titles that can engage the same critical issues at a more appropriate level of challenge where they exist? <br /><br />It appeared from the news stories that the Montgomery County list was made up completely of these easy titles. That's a mistake.Richard Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14586435007687942849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post-4980932647171376692009-12-05T19:50:00.114-05:002009-12-05T19:50:00.114-05:00It's not just about vocabulary, but the concep...It's not just about vocabulary, but the concepts of the plot. For example, "Unwind" deals with important issues that college prep students should address. What is the nature of humanity? What is the value of human life? Do you own yourself or does society? Who is your family? Not fluffy themes.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12030048916918976840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post-6749784336202375622009-12-05T08:11:04.264-05:002009-12-05T08:11:04.264-05:00Opal,
Sure, text difficulty is only one factor. ...Opal,<br /><br />Sure, text difficulty is only one factor. But of the books listed it seems the whole focus was high interest, low vocabulary. That wouldn't work in my classroom.<br /><br />R.Richard Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14586435007687942849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post-70689307861994302022009-12-04T20:18:10.218-05:002009-12-04T20:18:10.218-05:00Judging books merely on their lexile level is not ...Judging books merely on their lexile level is not an appropriate method of selecting books for the classroom. The prologue of the Gospel of John is written at a first grade reading level. That doesn't mean that first graders are ready to discuss the hypostatic union of Jesus. "Winnie-the-Pooh" is written at a seventh grade reading level. Does that mean it should be reserved for 7th grade students? Most "adult" literature is written at a 5th grade reading level.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12030048916918976840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post-59848062304194217682009-12-02T17:48:31.271-05:002009-12-02T17:48:31.271-05:00Thanks for the comments.
ReadingCountess: Surely...Thanks for the comments.<br /><br />ReadingCountess: Surely, your highness, you are not suggesting that an engaging book for high schoolers must be written at the elementary school level? I don't think Gallagher is promoting that at all. <br /><br />Have you read the book you advocate?<br /><br />He argues for rich, deep teaching that goes beyond memorization as test prep. (p 10) He thinks simple, badly designed test questions lead teachers to lower the bar on student understanding. (p 12) He does not object to high school students reading challenging material, which is my complaint.<br /><br />I agree with him that it is appropriate to "teach to" a good (performance-based) test but that the Bush Administration got NCLB exactly backwards (p 17-21) and we now have too many bad ones.<br /><br />Furthermore, he says, correctly, that the problem is schools not putting good books in front of students (p 30) and he decries the "word poverty" of students who aren't even exposed to words. (p 32) It's hard for me to imagine that he would feed this poverty with books that have a controlled vocabulary.<br /> <br />Where Gallagher might agree with your assessment is with summer reading where he advocates all teachers assigning high interest books that do not require a teachers intervention to be understood. (p 56) ...but not in class.<br /><br />Finally, consider this: "Teachers have a duty to challenge students with complex novels and longer works. We are English teachers, not English assigners, and as such, we are paid to get in our classroom and present texts that stretch our students' thinking. It is our job to work our students through text that is a little too hard for them. It's not the difficult novels that are the problem; it's how they are taught.." (p57) ...and he talks about that more in Chapters 3 & 4.<br /><br />I guess what I'm saying is...I don't think you have properly characterized Gallagher's point of view and I suspect he would not have taught these titles either.<br /><br />Dick: You may be correct, technically, but I'll bet you a nickle the books are not going to be taught. <br /><br />Thanks again.Richard Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14586435007687942849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post-35511516831668070902009-12-02T10:56:19.618-05:002009-12-02T10:56:19.618-05:00Hmmm.
Doesn't KERA reserve curricular decisio...Hmmm.<br /><br />Doesn't KERA reserve curricular decisions to the school's SBDM? <br /><br />I don't think the superintendent can direct the school to remove these books from course use -- he can only advise.Richard Inneshttp://www.bluegrasspolicy-blog.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5776587.post-27816738148852378972009-12-01T22:01:28.795-05:002009-12-01T22:01:28.795-05:00I would like to recommend a book to you to help yo...I would like to recommend a book to you to help you update your outdated teaching ideas: Readicide by Kelly Gallagher.ReadingCountessnoreply@blogger.com