"THE SOLOIST" AND CHILD-REARING

     I heard a radio interview by Steve Lopez, author of The Soloist. I have yet to see the movie, but I was struck by the lyricism of the passage he read and decided to purchase his book.

     The story, of course, is compelling -- how Lopez, L.A. Times columnist, discovers a former rising star at Juilliard, now on Skid Row, and slowly helps the broken man rediscover himself.
     Their saga could also be a possible blueprint for educators and parents of troubled children, teens, and young adults. When difficulties arise, especially when someone under our care becomes difficult, we may try to impose our expectations on them. Or, exhausted, we may stop. "There's nothing I can do," we throw voices and hands into the air. "When he decides to change, he'll change."

     Lopez, in his hugely-challenging relationship with Nathaniel Ayers, combines both. He looks for what he feels Ayers must silently yearn for, excellence in classical music, then arranges the stage beforehand. Indoor apartment. Donated instruments. Music lessons. Makeshift studio. Exposure to great musicians.
     Lopez watches. Waits. Offers again. And again. And again. Perhaps most importantly of all, he establishes himself as someone Ayers can trust. Then, when Ayers is ready to move, Lopez has his set ready.

     It is a struggle; Ayers slides and fights and bumps and reverts. But he is succeeding. As Nathaniel would say, "Bravo."
     Now back to those children of ours...

     

CADERS (Early Readers): Posting #9

The next installment of CADERS readers moves on to the silent e -- words like "same" and "like" and "hope." The e at the end of the word usually forces the vowel in front to say its name. Until now, children think vowels are always short (a sounds like "cat," e sounds like "hen," etc).

Refer back to November 14th posting for an explanation of CADERS readers.

          A Whale Can Bike

A whale can bike.
Didn't you know?
Of course it can,
when it wants to.

A whale can slide.
Didn't you know?
Of course it can,
when it wants to.

A whale can shake.
Didn't you know?
Of course it can,
when it wants to.

A whale can clap
and glide

And stare
and hike

and yelp and hop
and smile and pace
and blush and wave,
when it wants to...

Just like you.

`

WHY CHILDREN STUDY

    

     Catherine Gewertz reported an interesting study in the Harvard Business Review. It found an employee's good feelings toward work are far more dependent on "making progress," not on incentives or compliments offered. Gewertz sees this, too, with her own children, how much more empowered they feel when new, difficult topics open up to them.
     For some time now, when I've work with kindergarten students in my room and they correctly answer a challenging question, I'll place a small sticker on their arm. "This is a Smart," I tell them. "It shows how smart you are getting." Then, when they line up to leave, I'll ask them how much they had learned in class. Little arms rise.
     According to Harvard and Gerwertz, I am doing something right. Good.
     I give older students paper clips for correct answers during discussions which, by the end of class, they "cash in" for a letter, then for stars on a chart which, in turn, eventually become small rewards. Especially difficult questions might earn two, even three, clips. I justify the process in that it gives a bit of playfulness to class, it gives the students a visual (the clips) of how active they are in class, and it takes very little time to manage.
     But with these older students I may be omitting the very point the Harvard article makes. It should all be about what the child realizes she's acquired, not the incentives. Of course, that has always been my primary intent. I am consistent in my discussions with my five-year olds. Do my 10-year olds understand the same?
     I need to check. Otherwise, I have some changes to make.

PHOTO CREDIT: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnnystiletto/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

CADERS: Posting # 8

Another CADERS reader for digraphs (ch, sh, wh, th) and blends (gr, st, dr, etc).

(See November 14th for description and purpose of CADERS books.)

          Hush, Hush

Hush, hush.
Josh rests now.

Please don't chat
Or belch

Or fix a bath.

Please don't flush

Or thud
Or munch or crunch.

And please don't whiff
The fish for lunch.

Let Josh rest!

BABY COLLEGE

      NPR some time back posted a story about Harlem Children's Zone and its Baby College. I've been buzzing ever since, hoping perhaps we just might have a new model that would turn children in our inner cities around. After all, it followed the usual successful plans -- a community taking charge of its own in order for it to succeed. Apparently major federal money is now targeted to replicate the HCZ model and place it throughout the country. Good. Or so I thought.

       But I guess somehow I missed out on my research. Recently I caught articles by Alexander Russo and Linda Perlstein that tell of a possible different story, one of the media not scrutinizing HCZ as they should, of HCZ withholding data results, of excuses being made by the organization for weak results (despite over 10 years since the inception of Baby College and 35+ years for HCZ). And the latest  interview in City Limits did little to quell questions.
       Let's see, No Child Left Behind mandates schools to show substantial results within one year, and every year after that -- results even from special education and struggling minority students as well as recent immigrants -- or millions of federal dollars will be withheld. And this same federal government now plans on shipping new millions to HCZ that has yet to show acceptable results? 

      I want Harlem Children's Zone to succeed, or any other program that can move these children on. But with all the financial fiascos we've seen in the past two years, all the wasted monies, I would think the federal government would be a bit more cautious with the depleted dollars, do its homework, and deliver dollars where dollars will best succeed, not just to the most hyped program of the hour.

      Please, Mr. Canada, don't operate as the business world operates -- hiding design flaws, critical data, finances. It usually all comes out in the end, anyway, and the business looks the fool. 

      So if Baby College doesn't yet have the data to support its tales of wonder, wait. Experiment. Improve.
      Please.

CADERS (Early Readers): Posting # 7

This book practices blends (br, st, dr, gl, etc) and digraphs (ch, sh, th, wh).

(Refer to November 14th for explanation of CADERS readers.)

           Don't Pinch a Frog

Don't pinch a frog.

Don't punch a truck.

Don't crunch a crab.

Don't bash a flag.

Don't whack a glass.

Don't thump a moth.

Don't!

CADERS (Early Readers): Posting #6

By now your child should easily read the books I've posted. As you will notice, some have phrase repetition -- a certain line that repeats throughout the story with only one or two words changing. This allows the child to read "more sophisticated" stories, rather than being relegated to "Go, Dog."

On now to the next step -- digraphs (ch, sh, th, wh) and blends (br, st, pl, dr, etc). You will notice that there might be words your child can read but perhaps doesn't know (as with "flesh" below). This gives you a prefect time to discuss new words with your child/class -- learning words in context is always the best way to learn words.

And, as always, refer back to November 14th posting for a description of CADERS readers if you have not been a part of this blog to date:

            The Fish Has an Itch

The fish has an itch.

The shrimp has an itch.

The chimp has an itch.

The moth has an itch.

The chick has an itch.

My flesh has an itch.

We all have an itch.
Let's scratch!