SKrashen:
No child left without basic resources
Published in the Washington Post, Feb. 7. 2014 Before we worry about no child left unconnected to the Internet [“Broadband in schools gets FCC push,” news, Feb. 3], how about no child left unfed, no child without adequate health care and no child without easy access to a good library? The rate of child poverty in the United States is 23 percent, the second-highest of all economically advanced co
The Star Method: A Brilliant, No-Cost, Idea
Letter Published in the School Library Journal, 2010. LaDuska Adriance's idea of students putting a star in the inside corner of library books they like might be one of the great ideas of the century: Simple, no-cost, with the potential of substantially increasing interest in reading by creating a community of readers, what Frank Smith calls a "literacy club." I hope others try the Star
FEB 04
Greater access to … profits.
Sent to the New York Times, Feb. 4, 2014Why are Microsoft, Verizon, Sprint and Apple so eager to donate three quarters of a billion dollars to increase school access to the internet ("Obama Announces Pledges of $750 Million for Student Technology," Feb. 4)? Could it be related to the fact that the Common Core requires online testing, a move that will result in unprecedented profits for
first things first
Sent to the Washington Post, Feb 4Before we worry about no child left unconnected to the internet ("FCC to boost fund for broadband in schools," Feb. 2), how about no child left unfed, no child without adquate health care, and no child without easy access to a good library? (The rate of child poverty in the US is 23%, second highest of all economically-advanced countries.)Stephen Krashen
FEB 02
Children should not be allowed to behave like children.
Sent to The Oregonian, Feb. 2, 2104It's wonderful to know how seriously Oregon takes kindergarten entry testing. The kind of publicity from The Oregonian, proclaiming that "Kindergarten test results a 'sobering snapshot'" (Feb. 1) will ensure that preschools will take firm steps to make sure that children are ready for the rigors of kindergarten, as well as encourage parents to follow st
Critics of education: Nostalgia for a time that never was
Sent to the Los Angeles Time, Feb. 2Nicholas Meyer ("Better history through storytelling" (Feb. 2), thinks that "no one learns history (of civics ...) anymore" and blames the"dismantled" school system. The same complaint appeared in the New York Times, Sunday, April 4, 1943, in an article with the title "Ignorance of US History shown by college freshman." T
FEB 01
Charters are not superior to public schools and the public schools are not failing
Sent to the Wall Street Journal, Feb. 1, 2014The WSJ's enthusiasm for the Sgt. Marcus Lutheran school, and for charters in general, is not supported by the data ("The 'Progressive' War on Kids," February 1-2).An article in the Milwaukee Courier (October 12, 2013) revealed that St. Marcus Lutheran students perform well below the Wisconsin state average on state tests, with between 18 and
A better way to deal with summer loss in reading
Sent to the Seattle Times, Jan 31, 2014There is a much cheaper and much more effective way to deal with summer learning loss than adding 20 days of school to the school year ("How to solve summer learning loss and close the opportunity gap," January 30): Provide more access to interesting reading material. Research tells us that those living in poverty have the least access to books and