Blogs on Literacy

Some teachers like to get back all their classroom library books before the school year ends. I was not that teacher. Check 'em out, read 'em, and share 'em. A dog-eared, weathered book returned in fall (or not) is an ideal book in my book.

Editor's Note: Today's guest blogger is Rosemary Owens, assistant principal for curriculum at Freedom High School and Tampa FL.

Tampa's Freedom High School was transformed by a student-led initiative beginning in the summer of 2009. A rising senior, Blake O'Connor, and I had the privilege of attending the Aspen Ideas Festival (AIF) on a scholarship from the Bezos Family Foundation. The AIF is an annual gathering of big thinkers from all areas of society, from the arts to science to religion, culture, economics, and politics. Each year, the festival challenges participants to tackle some of the more pressing issues of our times, and figure out ways to replicate solutions.   

So, I'm sitting in a workshop on vocabulary development listening to a bunch of research as to why kids lack the language to effectively comprehend and communicate. The largest factor (found by this specific research) that determines a child's vocabulary cache is . . . (Drum roll) . . . In-home communication between adult and child using rich language. No talking, no vocabulary -- makes sense, right? The more you hear it, the more likely you're going to use it, the more you're going to "own" it. It's the purest form of contextual usage. It's life. This makes total sense to me. As a teacher, writer, and father of a three-year-old, I'm always exposing my son to strong, healthy vocabulary. It's not rocket science; it just takes some extra effort to recognize those special times to work on vocabulary (I'm not using the term "teachable moment" here because working on vocabulary really shouldn't seem like a formal lesson; it should be as natural as a friendly conversation).

Editor's Note: Today, Gaetan has given his pen to guest blogger Judy Jester. Judy has taught eighth grade English in suburban Philadelphia for 23 years; she also co-directs the Pennsylvania Writing and Literature Project at West Chester University.

I'm a skinflint - always have been, always will be. When I'm cold, I put on a sweater. Though I desperately want an iPad, I'll continue to pine for it as it's just too costly. For years I watched "fuzzy vision" rather than pay for cable. And yet I know that in order to make money sometimes, you have to spend a little first. If only Congress knew this too.