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LET THE CHILDREN PLAY
Play v. Reading: How Flawed Thinking About Preschool Has Become Accepted Practice
Play is the way young children learn. We've all but taken play out of K-12 schools in the name of "rigor" and "accountability" and the same developmentally unsound practice is seeping into our preschools.
For further reading see:
- Let the Children Play: How More Play Will Save Our Schools and Help Children Thrive, by Pasi Sahlberg and William Doyle
- Online Pre-K Continues To Spread Like A Big Stupid Plague, blogpost by Peter Greene on Curmudgucation
"...DEY and the Alliance for Childhood have outlined the important role play still has for young children. The research indicates play is more likely to lead to reading than pushing children to do academic work during preschool and kindergarten.
Unfortunately, the talk is now about neurological studies and brain science. The claim is that we live in a new technologically advanced world, so this is justified. But this doesn’t justify pushing children to learn more advanced work where they become frustrated. Nor does it indicate that children need to be pushed to learn faster.
Scientists have known for years that learning happens in rich play environments where children have access to the kind of play found in the Roseville Cooperative Preschool. We know play is not a frivolous waste of time. Serious cognitive learning takes place when children have to think for themselves, and when they are given the kinds of opportunities to raise questions and wonder about the world they see around them.
It’s troubling that replacing play with reading is now the norm..."
MORE ON ILEARN
Why some students with special needs struggled with ILEARN accommodations
From Chalkbeat
In past years, Bryant said she could read the directions and questions aloud to students who had a visual impairment. But last spring her students had to go to a dropdown menu at the top right of every question and select the speaker symbol. Bryant, who teaches for a special education co-op in southern Indiana, watched as some had trouble accessing it, or gave up trying.
“It wasn’t user-friendly,” she said. “To have to do that every time is just insane.”
Chalkbeat Indiana recently surveyed parents and educators on their experiences with ILEARN. Of the more than 50 respondents, 11 shared concerns related to special education accommodations. Some said problems with appropriate accommodations — including the clunky dropdown menus, lack of American Sign Language interpreters, and the decision to disallow calculators for grades 3-5 — were, in part, responsible for the statewide drop in test scores...
AGAINST THEIR OWN BEST INTEREST
NY State Teachers Retirement Invests In K12 Inc.
One has to wonder why otherwise intelligent and educated people actively work against their own interests.
From Diane Ravitch
Why do teachers’ pension funds invest in stocks of corporations that are actively undermining public schools and their teachers?
K12 Inc. manages a chain of online charter schools that are noted for low performance, high attrition rates, and low graduation rates. Their teachers never meet students. They have large classes, no union.
HERE SHE COMES AGAIN...DOLLY PARTON IS THE BOOK LADY
Which Name Belongs On The List Of Modern Education Philanthropists? Dolly Parton.
Learn more on Dolly Parton's Imagination Library web site.
From Peter Greene (Curmudgucation) on Forbes
Parton the philanthropist has been busy ever since Parton the singer hit the big time. Much of her giving is done anonymously, but some of her projects include scholarships for high school students and a birthing unit for the local hospital. And while you may think of the Dollywood Amusement Park as a piece of country kitsch, it is also a reliable employer and economic engine in a high-poverty region.
But her crowning achievement may well be the Imagination Library.
RETIRING COLORADO TEACHER EXPLAINS. LEGISLATORS TAKE HEED
‘If you love helping kids, do it!’ This retiring Colorado teacher has advice for the next generation
Retiring Colorado teacher featured on Chalkbeat, Indiana has a message for new teachers. It should be a message to our legislators and the public as well. “They need to realize this is an 80 hour a week job...”
From Chalkbeat*
Why did you decide to retire now — and how are you feeling about leaving the classroom? I wanted to do 35 years and ended at 33 years. Part of the reason was that the demands and meetings seemed endless — hours spent writing plans, standards, and collecting data. Class sizes of 30 to 32 kids were daunting. Getting around to each child, building relationships, communicating with all parents (regardless of what language they speak), it all took its toll on me. I will definitely miss the classroom but am tutoring and planning on subbing.
*Note: Sponsers of Chalkbeat include pro-privatization foundations and individuals such as EdChoice, Gates Family Foundation, The Walton Family Foundation, and others.
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