Literacy Perspectives
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Vol.2, No.4 Winter/Spring 1998 CC-VI FORUM Comprehensive Regional Assistance Center Consortium—Region VI LITERACY PERSPECTIVES The Great Debate? From Walter Secada, Ph.D. Comprehensive Regional Assistance Center by Walter Secada, Ph.D. Consortium–RegionVI eading is one of the most important cur- As many of you know, riculum goals for the primary grades. A Minerva Coyne retired from R U. S. Department of Education prior- the University of Wisconsin– ity and national educational goal is that all stu- Madison this past October at dents read well by the end of third grade. In which time, I took over as the fourth grade, students are expected to “read to learn.” Reading instruction is heavily Regional Director. Minerva funded under Title I and other Titles of will be a very hard act to fol- Improving America’s Schools Act. low. She was truly committed How to best teach reading is one of the to improving our children’s most hotly debated topics among researchers, education and the professional educators, parents, and the general public. An lives of teachers. In addition, esprit simpliste has dominated the public policy debate, pitting phonics against whole language. she recruited a first rate staff and group of collabo- Such simplification makes for sharp debates rators to help the Center meet its mission. fraught with symbolic politics. Proponents of By way of self-introduction, I am a Professor of basic skills rally round the flag of phonics, Curriculum and Instruction at the University of painting supporters of whole language meth- Wisconsin–Madison. Many of you may remember me ods as lacking disciplinary values—both, educa- from when I directed a Multifunctional Resource tional and moral values it would seem, given INSIDE the shrill tenor of these debates. Proponents of Center for Bilingual Education here at the progressive education support whole language, University. During the recent past, I directed the 4 Learning portraying phonics advocates as promoting an Hispanic Dropout Project, whose final report “No Styles and overly narrow method that consigns large More Excuses” was released in early February and numbers of students to limited educational has been quoted by the media on issues involving the Reading Success opportunities. educational status of this country’s Hispanic stu- While making for high drama that plays 15 Summer well on television, in newspapers, and maga- dents. In addition, I am an Associate Director in the Acceleration zines, the phonics–versus–whole language OERI-funded National Center for Improving Program debate misses the point and serves no one. Student Learning and Achievement in Mathematics Improves Look in classrooms, where the every day prac- and Science. My research has revolved around issues Milwaukee tice of teaching goes on, and you will see teach- of equity, mathematics education, bilingual and ers mixing phonics and purposeful reading. No multicultural education, school restructuring, Students’ phonics devotee expects students to always Reading Ability sound-out words and never to experience a real reform, children’s development, and student dropout. Continued on page 7 2 • CC-VI FORUM TABLE OF From the Editor’s Desk CONTENTS he Winter/Spring edition of the CC-VI FORUM presents Literacy Message from the Perspectives offering a range of articles that explore philosophical, theoreti- 1 Director: The Great Tcal, and programmatic possibilities for creating optimum literacy opportu- Debate? nities for students. The format of the newsletter has changed in this edition to include two new sections Best Practices and Promising Programs. Students in urban areas face many challenges in their quest for literacy. This Editor’s Desk issue highlights the efforts by Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) to accelerate stu- 2 dents by providing intensive professional development that has resulted in improvement of the teaching and learning process in literacy. The articles by Carol Marshall on learning styles and by Joyce Baltas on meeting the diverse liter- Reform Talk: Shaping a acy needs of primary students are based on presentations at the Enhancing 3 School Culture for Literacy conference which took place in August in Milwaukee. The conference Literacy was co-sponsored by MPS and the Comprehensive Regional Assistance Center— VI. The staff of the MPS Title I Division devoted extensive time and energy to make this conference a success. Joseph Brown, Title I Director, orchestrated the Learning Styles and efforts of staff from several departments in order to ensure that the conference Reading Success: What 4 was a collaborative effort. Seventeen hundred teachers and administrators Every Educator Should attended the two day conference which included 30 sessions on topical issues per- Know taining to improving literacy instruction. Some of the sessions were designed to train teachers on the use of the two new basal reading programs adopted by BEST PRACTICES: MPS. Presenters provided teachers with reflection questions to think about dur- 8 Meeting the Literacy ing the presentations and asked teachers to indicate how information could be Needs of Diverse Primary applied in their classrooms and shared with other teachers. Learners The two articles that focus on promising programs in Milwaukee describe a summer acceleration program for second graders reading significantly below grade level, and the efforts of Pierce School in producing competent readers and PROMISING writers. Pierce School has been nominated as a Distinguished Title I School as a 10PROGRAMS: Milwaukee Continued on page 16 Public Schools Celebrating Success: Pierce Nominated as Distinguished Title I Comprehensive Regional Assistance Center Consortium—Region VI School Director: Walter Secada Wisconsin Center for Education Research A School for Literacy School of Education 13 University of Wisconsin–Madison New! T 1025 W. Johnson Street oll-fr Madison, WI 53706 number to r ee Summer Acceleration CC-VI Maineach Of the Program Improves 15 (608) 263–4220 (888) 862–7763fice: Milwaukee Students’ Fax (608) 263–3733 Reading Ability E-mail: [email protected] CC-VI FORUM STAFF Editor: Eileen Kaiser Web Site Resources on 17 K–12 Literacy CC-VI FORUM is published three times a year by the Comprehensive Regional Assistance Center Consortium—Region VI. CC-VI FORUM is available electronically at our Web Site Address: 18 Upcoming Events http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/ccvi/ WINTER/SPRING 1998 • 3 Reform Talk Shaping a School Culture for Literacy by Kent D. Peterson, Ph.D. Introduction day activities and by significant school tion flow through the unofficial rituals and traditions (Deal & grapevine. In one school, the One of the most important goals of Peterson, 1990). If the school culture grapevine sends around all infor- American schools is student literacy. reinforces and supports high levels of mation on literacy workshops In all schools, teachers and students literacy, it is likely that students will they hear about. In another are working to help students develop be more successful and teachers more school, new ideas for teaching and use skills in reading and writing. motivated. reading become the lunchtime Literacy remains a central element in conversation. every aspect of school, family, and © occupational life. School Cultures that Possess a clear and shared mis- Reinforce Literacy sion to promote literacy. Whether stated or unstated, all Improving the There is little specific research on how educators develop a set of goals, Development of Literacy school culture reinforces literacy. But outcomes, and aspirations that it is clear that the school culture has a shape what they do. When the Successful schools combine program- significant impact on curriculum, school culture deeply values liter- matic structures and a supportive instruction, motivation, and achieve- acy, it becomes a central tenet of educational culture to maximize the ment (Deal & Peterson, 1990, 1994). the vision and mission of the development of student literacy. Several features of school culture will school. When it is widely shared, Clearly, programmatic structures such influence literacy. then all staff and community as a strong, well-aligned curriculum, invest time and energy on literacy carefully designed instructional activi- Specifically, schools that promote bet- development. In one school, the ties, adequate time to engage in ter reading and writing skills: mission statement—where literacy learning, and appropriate materials are © is prominently mentioned—is key to promoting improved student Believe, value, and support lit- enlarged to poster size and dis- literacy. But the nature of the school eracy in daily activities. In these played in the front hall for every- culture is also central to cultivating schools, staff believe that every one to see. literacy. In this article, we will exam- child can become a reader. They ine the features of school culture that value literacy and help students © Celebrate the achievement of may enhance and promote increased and parents engage in reading students through traditions and literacy among students. and writing at school and at ceremonies. Some schools don’t home. In one school, staff meet regularly recognize the accom- before school in a collegial prob- plishments of students. In schools What is School Culture? lem solving session to discuss where there is motivation and Every school has its own character or ways to reach any student falling attention to literacy, the culture “ethos.” You can sense it every time behind. In another school, the will have a variety of traditions you enter the school, hear how peo- “parents’ center” is filled with and ceremonies that highlight the ple discuss issues, or watch how staff materials, books, and videotapes importance of this area. For and students interact. The school cul- on how to support reading at example, in one Midwestern ele- ture is the deep patterns of norms, home. mentary school the principal had values, beliefs, and assumptions that © Reinforce literacy continuously to spend a day on the roof with guide behaviors, fuel motivation, and in the informal social network.