CARL BOGARDUS spoke of The Real Story 2 to DAN TRIPLETT on 10-05-96
CB>Our whole school is Title One reading. That means a significant
CB>portion of  the students fall below the 25 percentile in their
CB>reading scores. When I  taught Fifth, it was not unusual to have a
CB>reading spread from 1st to 12+, we  did a lot of oral reading,
CB>outlining, vocabulary, etc. to work on their  skills. Trouble is,
CB>these are not dumb kids, they would never qualify for  special ed and
CB>there are no medical problems.  
So if they are not dumb kids, where has the system failed them?  Perhaps
the system hasn't failed so much as other factors weigh in so heavily 
that the system is unable to respond effectively.  What economic level 
are these kids from?  What are their attitudes toward learning?  What's 
the home situation like?  Regardless of the why, the bigger question is 
what can the schools do in response to the problem they face regarding a
high percentage of students reading at below grade level?  Title One is 
a response to a problem.  How can reading deficiencies (particularly in 
your student population) be minimized?
CB>I think you have hit pretty close to an answer. Home life for the
CB>vast  majority of our students is not very good. Most are below
CB>poverty level and  their situations are pretty desperate.
CB>Unemployment runs 12% or higher in  this area and it is pretty
CB>constant. Many parents lack language skills and  the knowledge that
CB>would help their children succeed.  
So how do schools respond to this?  I have wondered that if poverty is a
factor in low school performance (generally) then if we could raise the 
economic level of poor families would that make a difference?  
CB>Our district has not had a curriculum that was workable for years. We
CB>are  currently having a curriculum alignment project where each
CB>level, elementary,  mid, and HS is meeting to decide what they want
CB>for their students at the  exit level. Then everyone will meet
CB>together to align the three and make one  unified curriculum. There
CB>has already been some fireworks within each group,  so the final
CB>alignment should be interesting.   
Washington has legislated Essential Learnings and we are in the process 
of addressing how these Learning outcomes will effect our schools.  
Today at an in service we worked on alignment of math outcome for the 
elementary grades.  We started with likely outcomes for a high school 
graduate and then work on our individual grade levels.  We then checked 
with the Essential Learning language to see where we were currently at. 
The alignment may take a while.  
CB>I think the problem is wide-spread among lower income areas, but not
CB>among  middle to upper income areas. Schools are strapped for money
CB>to spend on  training and curriculum work and it shows.
CB> 
CB>I think another BIG factor is lack of expectations among all parties 
CB>involved. I have heard many comments about our students that are
CB>quite  negative from both parents and teachers. 
Kids can live up to our expectations and if our expectations are 
low.....bad for kids.
Dan
CMPQwk 1.42 445p
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