NCTE Inbox

May 24, 2005
Please Note: The next issue of INBOX will be mailed on Thursday, June 2. 
...news
News links are provided for informational purposes, do not imply endorsement by NCTE, and were live when this issue was published.

The College Dropout Boom  (The New York Times, May 24) (free registration required)

One of the biggest decisions Andy Blevins has ever made, and one of the few he now regrets, never seemed like much of a decision at all. It just felt like the natural thing to do. He became a college dropout. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/24/national/class/EDUCATION-FINAL.html
Reading Lists Speak Volumes in Schools  (The Boston Globe, May 22) (free registration required)
Most teenagers are still introduced to Homer, Dante, and Shakespeare, as well as Mark Twain and F. Scott Fitzgerald. But in a trend that educators say is picking up speed, contemporary authors are supplanting "dead white male" writers. NCTE members Arthur Applebee, Frances Fleming, Carol Jago, and Bonita LaBelle are quoted.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/05/22/
reading_lists_speak_volumes_in_schools/

 

 

 
Odds Stacked against Pleasure Reading  (The Washington Post, May 24) (free registration required)
The extensive required reading in Sherre Sachar's high school classes left her with no time to pick up books she thought would be fun. The graduating senior thinks that settling down with a good book should be one of life's great joys, but as she prepares to leave high school, she is tired of reading. NCTE members Richard Allington and James Blasingame are quoted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/
2005/05/23/AR2005052301317.html

To Curl Up with a Good Book, Listen Up  (The Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 23)
Students who listen to books as they read them can improve their vocabulary and comprehension skills, according to teachers and researchers. Reading and listening is particularly effective for middle-school grades and for students with learning issues such as dyslexia, experts said. But even educators who like audio books as a teaching tool wouldn't recommend their constant use. NCTE member Wendy Kasten is quoted.
http://www.cleveland.com/education/plaindealer/index.ssf?/
base/isedu/111685142623230.xml&coll=2

Spelling Makes a Comeback  (The Christian Science Monitor, May 17)
Some mistakes on a recent assignment in a seventh-grade English class: diddent; edjucation; coledge; pronounceation; absolutly. While schools still vary greatly in their approaches to spelling, a growing emphasis on basic skills in U.S. classrooms has prompted more teachers to return to explicit spelling instruction. NCTE member Richard Gentry is quoted.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0517/p12s02-legn.html

Student Journalists Sue School District  (CNN, May 21)
Student journalists, with help from the American Civil Liberties Union, are suing their high school district in an effort to keep the school's principal from censoring student newspaper articles on homosexuality. Principal John Gibson said he blocked publication because he is worried about violence on campus.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/05/20/student.paper.lawsuit.ap/index.html

Literacy Levels Soar as Classes Shrink  (The Sydney Morning Herald, May 19)
In 2003 only 28 percent of kindergarten students were reading above level seven, but last year that figure rose to 56 percent. The proportion of students at the highest reading levels -- at which children are reading at the year 2 standard -- rose more than four-fold to 22 percent.
http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2005/05/18/1116361618765.html

The English Experiment  (Education Next, Summer 2005)
In Britain, the "literacy hour" spurned the passive (or quiet) approach to reading used in many classrooms in the United States and Britain and brought a great deal of precision to the task of instruction, mainly with a tightly organized and strictly managed program. Findings show exposure to the literacy hour significantly improved students' reading and English achievement, with bigger gains for boys than for girls. Moreover, the program proved to be a highly cost-effective means of improving reading scores, especially when compared with the common alternatives, like class size reductions and raising teachers' salaries.
http://www.educationnext.org/20053/70.html

How Fourth Graders Fared on the State English Test  (The New York Times, May 22) (free registration required)
Many more New York City fourth graders passed the state's English Language Arts test this year than last year, representing the single biggest one-year increase since the test was first given in 1999. In all, 59.5 percent of them met the state reading and writing standards, up 9.9 percentage points from last year. At the same time, the proportion of city eighth graders passing the test dropped this year by 2.8 points to 32.8 percent.
http://nytimes.com/2005/05/22/nyregion/thecity/22school.html

Younger Readers Gain, Older Ones Falter on FCAT  (Palm Beach Post, May 20)
Two-thirds of ninth- and 10th-graders in Palm Beach County still can't read at grade level, but more elementary students are reading as well as they should. The younger students' success -- and older students' continued failure -- on the reading FCAT mirrored students' scores statewide.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/
2005/05/20/s1a_fcat_0520.html
...views
Looking at Lives through Literature
The Standards for the English Language Arts, numbers 1-3, emphasize the need for students to read and read broadly both to learn and to enrich their own lives and their understandings of the lives of others. Visit

http://www.ncte.org/about/over/standards/110846.htm

Student Publications and First Amendment Rights
NCTE believes student publications should have the right to freedom of speech and the press as stipulated in the First Amendment of the Constitution. See http://www.ncte.org/about/over/positions/category/cens/107395.htm

 

For resources on student journalism see information on the NCTE Assembly for Advisers of Student Publications/Journalism Education Association (AASP/JEA) at http://www.ncte.org/groups/assm/list/119423.htm and the JEA Web site at http://www.jea.org

...ideas
Free access to journal articles mentioned in this INBOX is provided for 21 days. After this free access period expires, articles are available to journal subscribers only. Initials in annotations indicate academic level of the resource (E=Elementary, M=Middle, S=Secondary, C=College, G=General).
What's the Buzz about Spelling?
Spelling bees, of course. It's that time of year when journalists focus on the hundreds of student champions, ranging from 9 to 15 years old, who travel to Washington, D.C., to compete in the National Spelling Bee each year, during the week following Memorial Day weekend. While spelling stories are a-buzz in local and national news, take advantage of the opportunity to talk about spelling with students and parents by tapping these NCTE resources.
http://www.ncte.org/about/over/inbox/ideas/120854.htm
...announcements

Attend the NCTE Literacy Leaders Institute
Join a community of learners where nationally acclaimed consultants come together with emerging literacy leaders to share insights, strategies, and field-tested practices for building success in the often-complex world of consulting. The Institute will be held August 11-12 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. For more information, visit
http://www.ncte.org/profdev/conv/workshops/literacy/


Register Today for NCTE's Summer Workshops on Teaching Writing
Discover strategies and techniques for effective writing instruction in a series of two-day workshops from NCTE. You'll learn what quality writing programs look like at the secondary level, how to create a supportive context for writing, methods for assessing quality writing in a time of testing, and much more. For more information, visit
http://www.ncte.org/profdev/conv/workshops/writing/


Sign Up Today for the Literacies for All Summer Institute Postconference Event

Join us for the Literacies for All Summer Institute, "Teaching for Change: Creating Democratic, Inclusive, Holistic Classrooms," in San Diego, July 14-17, 2005. Don't forget to also register for the Postconference Workshop, "Informing No Child Left Behind: Research in Support of Whole Language," on Sunday, July 17, from Noon to 5:30 p.m. More about the postconference event, including registration and featured speakers, can be found at
http://www.ncte.org/profdev/conv/wlu/events/120117.htm


Enter Your Student Literary Magazine for National Recognition!
Enter your student literary magazine in the 2005 Program to Recognize Excellence in Student Literary Magazines. For entry form and instructions, visit http://www.ncte.org/about/awards/student/preslm before the July 1, 2005, deadline.


Free Trial Access to WLU's Talking Points! 
Check out articles on meaningful pen pals, thoughtful teaching in the face of mandated programs, the legacy and impact of Louise Rosenblatt, and much more!
http://www.ncte.org/groups/wlu

 
 


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Copyright 2005 National Council of Teachers of English
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