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Friday, May 9, 2025
Mr. President 880,000 TRIO Trafromative Voices beg to differ
Sunday, May 4, 2025
Where did the magic go in literacy?
Just a child in the library, sitting on the floor next to my grandfather. He was reading the Irish Independent from the International Papers section. I said Grandad what am I supposed to read.
His face lit up, his mind started turning, he said wait here, ask the librarian for a copy of Don Quixote by Miquel Cerventes illustrated by Gustave Dore. It was big, old, but something about the leather bonding attracted me to this book I could not yet read, but try I would.
Of course, it open new Grandad/Grandson connections. He took the book out, gave it to me. We renewed that book over and over again for a year. That would set us off on hours of adventure, reading, laughing, imagining, and of course acting it out. There is this magical space between books and people, that literacy researchers overlook. They love to study how teachers teach reading, but ignore the magical stuff.
My grandfather was a World War I veteran who never finished elementary school. But, had the largest home library of any man I have met. He loved Cervantes, Hugo, Tolstoy, Dumas, Dickens, Swift, Wells, and all the Irish and Spanish poets. He could quote from any of them on demand. My dream back then was to read all he read. I am just about caught up to the old man these days. His books keep his memory strong in me. I cannot go to sleep with opening a book, finding that magic hidden in the pages of that magical stuff.
Many Literacy Researchers inform my thinking, but few understand, it is less about how we learn to read and more about why children should become readers. A story comes to life not from the print, but from the mind reading it. The imagination gives reason to reading, not the printed word.
Frank Smith, who sadly no one is reading anymore, always talked about inviting children to join the Literacy Club. He said: "It is infinitely more useful for a child to hear a story told by a person than by a computer. Because the greatest part of the learning experience lies not in the particular words of the story but in the involvement with the individual reading it". My Grandad was a master reader, who was an expert in creating invitations to read.
It would be wise for literacy experts to revisit Frank Smith, spending more time thinking about creative and innovative ways to invite children into the Literacy Club.
Just saying the magic is not on the page, but in the reader. Of course, Louise Rosenblatt told us that in 1978 in her book "The Reader, the Text. the Poem: The Transactional Theory of the Literary Work. She is another seldom-read expert these days. She is not a Podcast, she is a lifetime study for any researcher interested in literacy.
I am inspired by old voices and books, Dr. Jesse P. Turner Professor Emeritus of Literacy Just another Literacy Club Kid
If you are wondering what tune inspired my writing today, it's I. Don Quixote from Man of La Mancah
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UUDguFEa5E <
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UUDguFEa5E <
Where would I be without libraries
When my father abandoned us, we were homeless for nearly 2 years. My mother worked from 9 to 4, serving tables. The rule was after school I would spend my time in the library.
Homeless kids are the quiet ones. We don’t want to bring attention to us. There is a shame with being homeless that leaves deep wounds. I was not special, not more gifted, but blessed by kind hearts. God sent me angels when I needed them most. Not special, but blessed by others.
Everyday for those two hard years, Mrs. G greeted me with cookies and hot chocolate. She knew without asking. She would always give glowing reports to my mother when she came to pick me up. She did not judge my mother, she understood - there go I, for the grace of God.
Her kindness, her humanity, and her choice of The Count of Monte Christo held me strong. She fed my hunger without asking. Her humanity fed my soul.
Where would I be without a public library?
Dead or in prison. If you are wondering what tune inspired me today....it's Deseree's You Gotta be > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRUwSk9UTrA <
CNN's Danny Freeman came to our CCSU Literacy Center to talk about the sinkholes of illiteracy
In the movie, The Wizard of Oz Dorthy's dog Tota pulls back the curtain on the Great OZ.
" If you were really great and powerful, you'd keep your promises!” cries Dorothy, stamping her foot in outrage saying: "But the man behind the curtain is just a man. There is no other wizard but him." Dorothy offers an inside view of how policymakers, people in power, and our legislators hide behind the curtains of endless failure. There are people in power behind the curtain of America's Public Schools. The cracks and the giant sinkholes of public schools in America are a direct result of their failures to give every child an equal education. In America, the quality of your education depends upon your Zip Code, the Color of your skin color, your economic status, or your immigration status.
Time to return to the tragic story of Young Brave Aleysha Ortiz, the girl who fell into one of our public school's sinkholes.
CNN Dan Freeman asked if this story about high school graduates who can't read is common or uncommon? My answer is yes and no. We would spend the next two hours discussing her tragic story, the broader issues of literacy, and the roles states and the federal government play in helping America's children learn to read. First a look at this courageous young woman who dared to share what most non-readers would never share. She opened up to tell the whole world her story.
The Alisha Ortiz case
"In recordings shared with the CT Mirror, made from March through June of this year, district officials acknowledged that in 12 years, Ortiz never received reading instruction or intervention. The CT Mirror also reviewed Ortiz’s educational records, including her recent IEPs and other documents." The link to the Connecticut Mirror Story:
> https://ctmirror.org/2024/09/29/cant-read-high-school-ct-hartford/ <
I have reviewed her story and examined the details in the press. I find my thoughts thinking Groundhog Day 100 years. I would be remiss in not pointing out that children spend only 13% of their time in school. What about the other 87% of the time? Literacy is not just a school affair; it is a family affair, a community affair, and a national affair. When a child graduates high school unable to read and write, I understand there is plenty of blame to be shared. Who is responsible? Everyone is responsible. However, two groups always get a pass, but in my professional opinion, they are the most responsible. They love to call out others, but never look at themselves. Like Pontius Pilate they are forever washing their hands, claiming innocence. Who are these hand washers? They are the one who hold the purse strings, legislators and policy makers.
Pontius Pilate
Link to time spent in school numbers: > https://www.naesp.org/sites/default/files/resources/2/Principal/2004/S-Op6.pdf <
Behind these public education policy sinkholes
Of course, the Hartford Public Schools failed Ms. Ortiz, according to the story, literacy intervention services were non-existent for a non-reader for 12 years. Yes her school played a role. However, the state of Connecticut played a bigger role. We all played a role in her story.
In Bob Dylan's "Who Killed Davy Moore" song has six "Not I" verses "Who Killed Davy Moore is about a boxer who died in the ring.
- 1. " Not I said, the Referee,
- Not I said, the Angry crowd,
- Not I said, the cigar-puffing manager,
- Not I said, the gambler,
- Not I said, the sports writer,
- Not I said, the man whose fists laid him low."
Not I said, the Connecticut Supreme Court
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