Find out the latest news and topics of interest from Dr. James G. Hood, D.D.S., M.A.!
Archive for the ‘Literacy’ Category
Whispering Pine Press celebrates GetLit!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
This week is the 13th annual Get Lit! literary festival sponsored by Eastern Washington University. Events run from April 13-17, and include poetry slams, book readings, panel discussions, writing contests, and workshops. For a full calendar of this year’s events, click here. Over 40 nationally acclaimed and local authors will be in Spokane for Get Lit!; past guests have included such luminaries as Kurt Vonnegut, Salman Rushdie, and David Sedaris. Prominent authors for GetLit! 2011 are Tim O’Brien, Sena Jeter Naslund, Maude Barlow, Sam Kean, Matthew Dickman, Louise Borden, Michael Harmon, Suzanne Morgan Williams, and Ani DiFranco. For a full list of authors attending this year’s festival, click here.
The Big Read is an event created by the National Endowment for the Arts with the goal of restoring reading to the center of a community’s culture by “[drawing] communities together around a single book through a month long series of related literary events.” For Spokane County’s third Big Read event, the book chosen is The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, a collection of stories about soldiers who served in the Vietnam War. The Things They Carried was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Award. The Big Read will culminate on April 16 at the Bing Crosby Theater, when Tim O’Brien and veteran/poet Brian Turner will discuss their experiences in war and their resulting creative works. This event is also part of GetLit!.
To celebrate GetLit!, Whispering Pine Press is offering a 10% discount on all books from April 13-17. Please visit our website to see our list of children’s and adult fiction, cookbooks, poetry collections, and more. If you have any difficulty getting the 10% discount on our website, feel free to call us at (509) 928-8700.
In honor of GetLit!, we are also giving away one free copy of Frost of Spring Green, Karen Hood’s widely-acclaimed first poetry collection. Click here to read a review of the book, then leave a comment on this post to be entered into the giveaway. Don’t forget to include your e-mail address so that we can contact you if you win! Entries will be accepted through April 23 to give everyone time to participate.
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Another Incentive to Stay in School: Let’s go America!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Many English Speakers Cannot Understand Basic Grammar
ScienceDaily (July 6, 2010) — Research into grammar by academics at Northumbria University suggests that a significant proportion of native English speakers are unable to understand some basic sentences.
The findings — which undermine the assumption that all speakers have a core ability to use grammatical cues — could have significant implications for education, communication and linguistic theory.
The research, conducted by Dr Ewa Dabrowska, showed that basic elements of core English grammar had not been mastered by some native speakers.
The project assumed that every adult native speaker of English would be able to understand the meaning of the sentence:
“The soldier was hit by the sailor.”
Dr Dabrowska and research student James Street then tested a range of adults, some of whom were postgraduate students, and others who had left school at the age of 16. All participants were asked to identify the meaning of a number of simple active and passive sentences, as well as sentences which contained the universal qualifier “every.”
As the test progressed, the two groups performed very differently. A high proportion of those who had left school at 16 began to make mistakes. Some speakers were not able to perform any better than chance, scoring no better than if they had been guessing.
Dr Dabrowska comments: “These findings are ground breaking, because for decades the theoretical and educational consensus has been solid. Regardless of educational attainment or dialect we are all supposed to be equally good at grammar, in the sense of being able to use grammatical cues to understand the meaning of sentences.
“Of course some people are more literate, with a larger vocabulary and greater exposure to highly complex literary constructions. Nevertheless, at a fundamental level, everyone in a linguistic community is supposed to share the same core grammar, in the same way that given normal development we can all walk.”
The supposition that everyone in a linguistic community shares the same grammar is a central tenet of Noam Chomsky’s theory of universal grammar. The theory assumes that all children learn language equally well and that there must therefore be an underlying common structure to all languages that is somehow “hard-wired” into the brain.
Dr Dabrowska has examined other explanations for her findings, such as limitations to working memory, and even so-called “test wiseness,” but she concluded that these non-linguistic factors are irrelevant.
She also stressed that the findings have nothing to do with intelligence. Participants with low levels of educational attainment were given instruction following the tests, and they were able to learn the constructions very quickly. She speculates that this could be because their attention was not drawn to sentence construction by parents or teachers when they were children.
She adds: “Our results show that a proportion of people with low educational attainment make errors with understanding the passive, and it appears that this and other important areas of core grammar may not be fully mastered by some speakers, even by adulthood.
“These findings could have a number of implications. “If a significant proportion of the population does not understand passive sentences, then notices and other forms of written information may have to be rewritten and literacy strategies changed.
“What’s more, the existence of substantial individual differences in native language attainment is highly problematic for one of the most widely accepted arguments for an innate universal grammar: the assumed ‘fact’ that all native speakers of a language converge on essentially the same grammar. Our research shows that they don’t.”
Dr Dabrowska presented her findings in a keynote lecture at the UK Cognitive Linguistics Association Conference on July 7.
Article courtesy of http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100706082156.htm
Moving Beyond Awareness of Literacy Issues
Friday, July 2, 2010
by Hildra Tague
Source: Suite 101
It is time to face a painful reality – that many are growing up illiterate. There is much discussion of the problem. The next step is to do something about it.
Many talk shows dissect the illiteracy problem and brim with awareness. Watching such programs makes it obvious there is a need to move beyond awareness into doing something about society’s literacy needs. This can be done by getting past the grief to look for solutions, getting individuals motivated to make a difference, recognize that literacy is not defined by grades, and work to make a literate society.
Get Past the Grief to Look for Solutions to Illiteracy
Blaming and bemoaning has questionable value. It is time to do more than define the problem. There is a need to emphasize finding solutions. Criticisms probably had their place in bringing about awareness, and sharing mutual grief, but their value is beginning to wear thin.
When the only concept of the illiteracy problem is awareness there is a tendency for the issue to become stagnant by oversimplification. For the most part, it is not brought about by a lack of dedication but a lack of skills, situations, or experiences conducive to a particular person’s learning needs.
Motivate Individuals to Make a Difference for Literacy
Before a system can change, people must change. Many earth-shaking improvements in society were made by individuals (not ‘the system”) who had an idea and acted, rain or shine, long enough to make a difference.
It would be wise to let awareness be and move on to making a difference lest the next generation turns out even less literate. No doubt very few people want to fail–whether they be students, teachers, or parents. How fine it would be to seek success together with respectful teamwork.
Recognize that Literacy is not Defined by Grades
There are still students who “fall out of the net” of literacy and learning. Some of them are making passing or even better grades, yet something isn’t happening for them. There is a crucial point in a child’s life where an identity choice is made: to use what has been learned and continue learning, or to resist and steer toward a life of functional illiteracy.
For some people who do have access to education literacy, in the end, is defined by intention. There are far too many students who actually have skills, yet never read voluntarily on their own. Efforts are being made to help students connect their learning with their own lives. This enables them to become lifetime learners.
This doesn’t always mean someone is doing something wrong. It may mean that more is needed, or specialized focusing is needed to help them find the best way they learn. Given the causal relationships between literacy rates and poverty, caring citizens would be well-advised to do something to help.
Work to Make a Literate Society
Doing something about it sometimes lacks the excitement and thrilling appeal that the awareness activities put forth.
Yet, becoming literate is brought about by daily efforts, caring relationships, and specific skills applied over a consistent period of time. Sounds boring? At times. Sounds like work? Always. But the results are both possible and exhilarating!
Many schools work toward literacy goals by the intervention process which occurs before referral for special services. However, there is a serious challenge with children who don’t qualify for special help. Even “at risk” children could often use more help although the schools do work very hard with them.
The illiteracy problem can’t be solved by working only with adults in “after the fact” programs. It will require participation across the board, all ages and professions, and will be solved more quickly if we go beyond awareness into proactive measures.
It isn’t just the job of the schools and parents. Find a role in becoming part of the solution. Mentor a child who could use a bit of guidance and encouragement. Do what can be done to make learning fun and important for children in the neighborhood and family. After all, their literacy is truly the future.
Attack Poverty Through Literacy
Friday, July 2, 2010
by Jason Fitzpatrick
Source: Lifehacker
“What the hell, you got a room in your house just filled with books? That’s stupid,” was one of the many memorable quotes from my first semester teaching in a school filled with at-risk and impoverished kids. Right now you’re reading a productivity and technology blog. You’re no stranger to literacy and you read for enjoyment. All day every day you process thousands upon thousands of words to make meaning of and enrich your world. As an educator both at the high school and collegiate level, I’m confronted again and again with children and adults who are only semi-literate nearly drowning in a world they can’t process the way you and I can. Somehow, every year I find myself with hundreds of students that regard reading a book the same way they regard getting kicked in the groin. If a student makes it out of their formal schooling only semi-literate, their passage into adulthood is painfully crippled. All the social programs in the world won’t be able to stabilize that person’s life as much as the confidence that being a competent and literate adult would.
You would be hard pressed to find an organization that has done more to advocate and foster literacy than Reading Is Fundamental. It isn’t a new charity and it won’t win awards for being trendy. It has, however, consistently won awards for being extremely efficient with its funding, receiving an A+ rating from the American Institute of Philanthropy and being ranked among the best 100 charities in the country according to Worth magazine. Consider the following spattering of facts about the state of illiteracy in the US and the economic impact of it:
- Nearly 50% of the adult US population reads at a 7th grade level or lower. Nearly 25% has reading proficiency so low they cannot read instructions on medication bottles, the manual that comes with a piece of machinery, or a newspaper. This means roughly 40 million Americans cannot do something as simple and critical as read the handout a pharmacist gives them that warns them of lethal drug interactions.
- 62% of parents with high socioeconomic status read to their children every day. 36% of parents with low socioeconomic status read to their children every day.
- The average lifetime earnings of a person holding a Master’s degree or higher is $1,500,000 higher than that of a non-highschool graduate.
Reading Is Fundamental sponsors more than 20,000 programs in the United States, which fall into several categories to meet the needs of different segments of the population. The following are three types of programs offered by Reading Is Fundamental that I strongly support and feel have the biggest impact on the communities in which they are implemented.
Books For Ownership
Books for Ownership is a program that encourages children to take ownership of their literacy by giving them ownership of books. Many of my students over the years have told me that they’ve never owned a single book. How can a child be expected to feel any sense of ownership over their own reading ability or growth if they don’t even own the most fundamental tools involved in the whole affair? Books for Ownership puts books into the hands of children and their families, and sponsors community literacy activities to encourage engagement with books.
Shared Beginnings
If you grew up in a literate household, you learned how to pass on literacy just like you learned how to tie your shoes or prepare your own food, by watching the adults in your life. The best time for a family to break a generational chain of illiteracy is with a new child. Shared Beginnings is a program that helps young parents foster literacy in their growing children. In a helpful and compassionate setting parents are helped to overcome their own reservations about reading and encourage a love of reading in their children through reading sessions, songs, reading related games, and other activities that help to stimulate a young mind and form a positive association with reading. Shared Beginnings is a wonderful solution to a problem I have often encountered as an educator: a student who thinks that reading and education is stupid because their own parents have passed on their own trauma from school and illiteracy onto their children. One of the most wonderful things about the Shared Beginnings program is watching a parent experience the excitement of reading through their child, recapturing the excitement they may have never had themselves.
Family of Readers
Family of Readers starts at birth like the Shared Beginnings program, but continues even longer into the elementary years. There is a heavier emphasis on encouraging growth and independence among the adults in the Family of Readerprogram than in Shared Beginnings. Parents are involved in forming committees to select reading material for their children and communities with the guidance of a literacy counselor. They are trained on how to educate other parents about the importance of literacy, recruit them into the programs, and how to plan activities that are book-centric.
So what can you do? Money goes a long way towards staffing programs and filling delivery trucks with books. Volunteering in a local literacy program goes even further. A child you share a love of reading now can be one less student sitting in front of me giving up on before they even begin because the words on the page make no more sense to them than cracks in a sidewalk. When you sponsor literacy both through your money and actions you sponsor another person entering into a world of potential.
For more information about Reading Is Fundamental, from its half century history of successes with literacy to how you can become involved in literacy programs in your community check them out at rif.org.
The Importance of Literacy
Thursday, July 1, 2010
The importance of literacy is obvious. Everywhere you look, you see words – on signs, in training manuals, on buses, in books. Adults who can’t read risk becoming isolated from society. Illiteracy affects their ability to find jobs, and ultimately, their very survival.
That’s why it’s so important to get kids reading when they’re young, long before they become adults. Even though their physical survival may not depend on knowing how to read a book, children do gain skills for coping with life when they learn to read.
Early childhood literacy begins in preschool (if not sooner), when books and pictures are introduced to children with the intention of getting them familiar with letters, numbers, and symbols.
Children who fall in love with the experience of reading when they’re young are likely to enjoy it when they’re older too. Early exposure to books, typically through being read to by a parent, grandparent, or other care-giver, instills in children a sense of security and warmth. The positive feelings these children get from books grows into a desire to read books for themselves when they’re older.
Multiply this experience by hundreds of children and what do you get? An end to illiteracy! Of course, it’s not really that simple. Some children will need extra help due to learning differences or other types of challenges, but reading aloud to youngsters WILL help prepare them for learning other subjects as they grow. More proof of the importance of literacy.
Literacy experts have discovered that continuing to read to children into their teens improves their vocabulary dramatically, and also helps strengthen emotional bonds between the child and his or her parent or teacher. These benefits alone will help improve the child’s life in a multitude of ways, some of which may not be apparent for decades.
If you still need proof of the importance of literacy, just talk to an adult who missed out on the privilege of learning to read when he or she was young, and find out how that’s impacted their life.
by Christine Wilson
Source: Kids & Books
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