Thank you for subscribing to The Irby Review and sharing your thoughts with me each month. Here are some articles I discovered that would be of interest to you and your family.
Give Kids Good Books And They'll Love Reading Forever Let's think out of the box! What if we gave young readers books that tackled current issues and relatable to kids? Would diverse characters who look and speak like the students inspire a love of reading? Reading for fun falls off tremendously between 8 and 9 years of age. The author of the article is 28 years old and acknowledges the marvelous assortment of young adult graphic and chapter books available which she, herself likes to read. However, many schools and libraries are not making contemporary books available to students. Read More
I Never Talked About Race In My Seven Years In The Classroom. Now I Work To Make Sure Future Teachers Do Susan Gonzowitz is a former school teacher, adjunct lecturer at Hunter College and founding managing director of East Harlem Teaching Residency. She reflects upon her years of teaching in New York City and interpersonal relationships with colleagues at East Harlem Tutorial Program and Hunter College in order to mentor teaching residents: the focus is "culturally responsive teaching". Ms. Gonzowitz's trainees serve low-income students of color and she counsels the future teachers about celebrating racial identities and the positive results which can be achieved when the children use their own culture as a frame of reference. Ms. Gonzowitz and her colleagues have created a new kind of training space and actively recruit residents with backgrounds that resemble the students. Read More
Why Are So Many American Children Anxious And Insecure The author of this article confers with child development specialists to discuss why anxiety disorders affect nearly one-third of American adolescents. Gloria DeGaetano, a parenting coach, and Dan Siegel, a UCLA psychiatrist and brain researcher, emphasize the need for a child to build trust with a parent. In addition, DeGaetano details how normal cognitive development is thwarted by too much screen time for kids. Healthy body and brain development are stimulated by exercise, literacy development, and activities requiring critical thinking. The combination of these building blocks give kids a sense of competence and identity. Conversely, too much time in front of video games and television screens fuels a feeling of loss of control. Change is not easy, but who would argue with reducing their kids' time spent in front of electronic devices? Read More
Culturally Supporting Program For Black Boys Boost On-Time Graduation Rates Great news for the Oakland school district which saw the 4-year graduation rate for Black males improve since 2010 when the "African American Male Achievement Program" and "Manhood Development Program" were started through My Brother's Keeper Challenge. The initiatives specifically focused on Black students and their timely completion of high school. The Manhood Program provides Black male instructors the opportunity to teach daily classes on peer support, social-emotional learning, and the community. The authors of the study which measured the impact of the programs, also attribute academic success to the addition of "education equity" in Oakland: Educational equity depends on fairness (factors specific to one's conditions not interfering with potential of academic success) and inclusion (a comprehensive standard applying to everyone in a school system). Read More
Addressing The Reading Failure Epidemic Learning to read requires a strong foundation of auditory processing and oral language skills. Current research shows how socioeconomic disparities are associated with structural differences in areas of the brain associated with language, reading, executive functions, and spatial skills. Dr. Paula Tallal, co-founder of the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience at Rutgers and the Scientific Learning Corporation, says traditional tools in school won't work for the students who are literacy challenged. But, she believes behavioral and neuroimaging studies suggest "neuroplasty" based exercises such as repetition, adaptive training, and those which build sustained attention can modify auditory processing and language and lead to reading success! Read More
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