Re: Reading instruction

[George Cunningham <gkc@LOUISVILLE.EDU>]

Victor,

So, to sum up your defense of whole language.  Anyone who supports phonics
is like Hitler.  I must congratulate you on a powerful argument.  What I
don't understand is why you did not point that if phonics is introduced into
schools, the terrorist win?  How could you have left that out?

George K. Cunningham
University of Louisville

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Assessment Reform Network Mailing List
> [mailto:ARN-L@LISTS.CUA.EDU]On Behalf Of Victor Steinbok
> Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2002 8:15 PM
> To: ARN-L@LISTS.CUA.EDU
> Subject: Re: Reading instruction
>
>
> I wrote:
>
> >"In the same way the school and other forms of education should have
> >been used to inculcate a feeling of common citizenship."
> >
> >I wonder if you can help me place this quote, George.
>
> At 5:18 PM -0500 1/24/02, George Cunningham wrote:
> >Victor,
> >
> >I assume this is a clever trick question, but I will bite.  No I can't
> >identify it.
>
>
> Let me suggest where this quote is NOT from:
>
> 1. Character Education Partnership, which describes a similar idea
> slightly differently:
>
> "In a school committed to developing character, these core values are
> treated as a matter of obligation, as having a claim on the
> conscience of the individual and community. Character education
> asserts that the validity of these values, and our obligation to
> uphold them, derive from the fact that such values affirm our human
> dignity; they promote the development and welfare of the individual
> person; they serve the common good"
>
> 2. Center for Civic Education--Campaign to Promote Civic Education:
>
> "Although every state acknowledges the need for civic education, this
> vital part of a student's education is seldom given sustained and
> systematic attention in the K-12 curriculum. The NAEP 1998 Civics
> Report Card to the Nation has revealed that only 25 percent of
> American children are receiving an adequate education in civics and
> government.
>
> "A 1999 study undertaken by the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public
> Affairs of the University of Texas at Austin found that while every
> state endorses the goals of developing competent and responsible
> citizens, little is done through state legislation, education codes
> and curricular frameworks to meet the civic mission of the schools."
>
> 3. Indiana Clearinghouse for Citizenship and Character Education,
> citing state legislation:
>
> "In 1995, the Indiana General Assembly passed legislation requiring
> public schools to integrate "good citizenship instruction" into the
> current curriculum. ... It incorporates the ideas of earlier
> legislation and expresses the continuing concern of the Indiana
> General Assembly for the development of good citizens. It also serves
> as a reminder that citizenship education is one of the major
> responsibilities of the public schools, and it calls upon school
> personnel to renew their efforts to help students become good
> citizens."
>
> 4. Studies in Moral Development and Education, reviewing the book
> Moral Development and Character Education: A Dialogue, edited by
> Larry Nucci (Berkeley: McCutchan, 1989):
>
> "This book brings together scholars and researchers from the two main
> perspectives on values education. ...The character educators ...
> define morality in terms of norms, and moral development as the
> inculcation of moral habits and standards."
>
> 5. NEGP Report: Building A Nation of Learners, 1992:
>
> "Goal 3: ... every school in America will ensure that all students
> learn to use their minds well, so they may be prepared for
> responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment
> in our modern economy."
>
> 6. Lynne Cheney and the American Council of Trustees and Alumni:
>
> "Cheney, a former council chairman, said in a speech Oct. 5,
> "Students need to know the ideas and ideals on which our nation has
> been built   if there were one aspect of schooling   to which I would
> give added emphasis today, it would be American history."
>
> The latter strikes me as being particularly similar to the original
> quote, although it does not use the word "inculcate"--but, again,
> something must have been lost in translation. Of course, this
> particular comment is one of the reasons behind the ever-popular ACTA
> report "Defending Civilization", which so masterfully distorts and
> invents the position of the ENTIRE US academic community, as if it
> were some underground cell of the Communist Party or an Islamic
> militant group.
>
> No, the original quote was not written in response to the events of
> September 11. One can only speculate that in some half-witted way it
> was written in response to the events of June 28, 1919.
>
>         VS-)
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe from the ARN-L list, send command SIGNOFF ARN-L
> to LISTSERV@LISTS.CUA.EDU.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from the ARN-L list, send command SIGNOFF ARN-L
to LISTSERV@LISTS.CUA.EDU.