Reply to New D.C. principal’s termination letter from Dallas

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OK, we get the basic idea that reading and writing and arithmetic needs to be ABOUT something to make sense.  I just think it should be pretty tightly focused on the basics in order to build that skill set up.

We don't need the circumlocutions of logic about enrichment and non-core skillsets like, well, learning music makes you want to learn about other things, or dance makes you gain discipline, or finger-painting makes you spatially gifted and able to understand higher math.

And what do you do with your life if you read and write at a third grade level and can't balance your checkbook? Would they even let you clerk at the quik-e-mart?[/quote]

I don't think you understand what I'm trying to say.  Yes, I agree with you, kids need a strong background in basic math and phonics skills.  But where do we go from there? How do we get kids from being able to decode words (something relatively quick and easy to teach) to being able to understand a variety of different texts well enough to demonstrate reading proficiency on a standardized test? If you think the answer is more time in English class, guess again.  If we want kids to gain the world knowledge and word knowledge they need to understand a variety of texts, they need less time writing personal essays about their feelings and more time on reports about the American Revolution; less time on young adult fiction and more time on ancient myths; less time on reading comic books or "Wimpy Kid" just-for-fun books and more time reading about the speed of light.  [/quote]

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