Re: Art Burke - was Transforming science: Fact-free

["Art Burke" <aburke@vansd.org>]

As the parent of a child who got a slow start in reading, I'm interested
in how very young children are taught to read.  I am also interested in
how curricula are structured to develop the early skills that they need
to begin reading.  One of my daughters got off the mark slowly in
developing decoding skills.  My wife and I spent a lot of time with her
on that.  Based on my experience with my daughter, the activities for
teaching one-syllable words to first-graders seem pretty sensible and
valuable, and precisely what my daughter seemed to need at the time.  
At the same time, I also read stories to her and with her. This is where
I'm coming from with this, nothing more.  I am not a player in the
reading wars and have no interest in them.

Art

PS.  I have no need to announce every contribution I make to
"assessment reform."

>>> learn@jps.net 12/02/03 05:51PM >>>
A teacher manual with twelve pages of activities for teaching twelve 
one-syllable words leaves no time in the day for reading and responding
to 
real stories. Surely that was clear to anyone following this thread
with 
the intention of understanding how the report of the National Reading
Panel 
has been used to establish phonics instruction (together with phonemic

awareness) as the principal or almost the only component of reading 
instruction in early primary.

I made the mistake of responding to a comment from Art Burke.

It seemed like a reasonable comment, questioning whether I had made an

overstatement.sssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

But when I replied with evidence for my original statement, Art shifted

ground with a new question. If history is any guide, a reply to that
one 
would simply generate another.

Most of us on this list, I think, are willing to answer a long series
of 
sincere questions. Art never seems to make any positive contributions
to 
the assessment reform movement: no draft legislation, no testimony, no

leaflets, no talk shows, no articles, no letters to the editor, no 
financial contributions, no collaborative dialogue, no posting of
articles 
likely to interest or inform other list members. After many months of
his 
posts, is there any reason to believe he is asking sincere questions?


George Sheridan

There is no such thing as a standard child.