(Hour 3a, b, c) Senior Fellow Sid Glassner showed off his education swag. Never a member of the International Reading Association, he was excommunicated by the wealthy organization when he dared to question their methods.
That’s okay with us, we’re used to that sort of thing around these parts.
Perhaps we can offer some of Glassner’s journals on literature-based instruction on our GAL Webstore. They’re aimed at encouraging kids into developing good reading habits.
(Hour 3a) 07-17-2014 Hour 3a
Glassner declared Common Core as an American issue. “This is not about being a Democrat, Republican or Independent. People all across the political spectrum are fighting Common Core.”
Glassner described the development of the Manchester Academic Standards as “one big Kabuki Dance” and clarified his assessment with examples from the drafts.
(Hour 3b) 07-17-2014 Hour 3b
We discussed “phonemic awareness” and the absence of any data to support it. “How did we ever learn to read without phonic awareness. There is NO evidence to support this program.”
Glassner recommended GOALS instead of the sort of standards being pushed on schools by Common Core. Personalized classrooms with a focus on the teacher/ pupil relationship would yield better results.
“Teachers should be able to determine how much time to spend with each student. We’re not doing the right thing by our children by teaching to a test. Some kids might not be ready for a test. Kids not ready for a test fail. These standardized tests discourage those kids.”
(Hour 3c) 07-17-2014 Hour 3c
