Is Cursive Really a 21st Century Skill ?

The Case for Cursive
NY Times: 4.27.11 by Katie Zezima

The sinuous letters of the cursive alphabet, swirled on countless love letters, credit card slips and banners above elementary school chalk boards are going the way of the quill and inkwell. With computer keyboards and smartphones increasingly occupying young fingers, the gradual death of the fancier ABC’s is revealing some unforeseen challenges.

Might people who write only by printing — in block letters, or perhaps with a sloppy, squiggly signature — be more at risk for forgery? Is the development of a fine motor skill thwarted by an aversion to cursive handwriting? And what happens when young people who are not familiar with cursive have to read historical documents like the Constitution?

Jimmy Bryant, director of Archives and Special Collections at the University of Central Arkansas, says that a connection to archival material is lost when students turn away from cursive. While teaching last year, Mr. Bryant, on a whim, asked students to raise their hands if they wrote in cursive as a way to communicate. None did.

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Students nationwide are still taught cursive, but many school districts are spending far less time teaching it and handwriting in general than they were years ago, said Steve Graham, a professor of education at Vanderbilt University. Most schools start teaching cursive in third grade, Professor Graham said. In the past, most would continue the study until the fifth or sixth grades — and some to the eighth grade — but many districts now teach cursive only in third grade, with fewer lessons.

“Schools today, we say we’re preparing our kids for the 21st century,” said Jacqueline DeChiaro, the principal of Van Schaick Elementary School in Cohoes, N.Y., who is debating whether to cut cursive. “Is cursive really a 21st-century skill?” READ MORE !

Mourning the Death of Handwriting
Time: August 2009

Tossing the Script: The End of the Line for Cursive?ABC News: January 2011

Google Blogger: Broken Unusable

Google’s “Simple-to-use interface” on Blogger hasn’t worked since about March 28, 2011. Every New Post is automatically formatted as a paragraph –and there’s usually a space of 2-3 lines between more than 1 paragraph. The result: Blogger looks ugly Blogger is quite useless Blogger is currently a disservice to readers, followers and those of us who blog. I haven’t posted a single post about literacy or libraries since March 28. Google has not explained or addressed this problem When is Google Blogger going to FIX THIS ? IS Google Blogger going to FIX THIS ? Suggestions that using Chrome, Firefox, etc. is a solution -NOT ! Suggestions that the ‘ Updated Editor ‘ is a solution – NOT ! -the Updated Editor has been and continues to be AWFUL, AWFUL, AWFUL . Explorer worked fine as of March 28th. The “ Old Editor “ worked fine as of March 28th. It is April 13 and still nothing works.

Education Aid Caught in Budget Debate Crossfire

Education Aid Caught in Budget Debate CrossfireEducation Week: 3.25.11 by Alyson Klein

As Congress faces an April 8 deadline to come up with a spending bill for the rest of the federal fiscal year, education advocates, states, and school districts remain anxious about what—and how much—may end up being cut from K-12 aid in any final deal.

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The vulnerability of education funding was clearly demonstrated in the stopgap measure signed into law March 2 . . . . . eliminated money for the:
$250 million Striving Readers program
$67 million Even Start Family Literacy program
$88 million Smaller Learning Communities program.
("Budget Cuts Raise Questions About Federal Commitment to Literacy," March, 16, 2011.)

The most recent extension of government funding, approved March 17, did not restore the support for those programs, and it made one new education-related cut: a $125 million career-pathways program in the U.S. Department of Labor.

Still, the House GOP’s longer-range intention appears clear: The budget bill passed by the House in February and later defeated in the Democratic-controlled Senate would have cut more than $5 billion from the Education Department, as well as $1 billion from Head Start, the federal preschool program for low-income children, operated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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Still, a number of smaller education programs are on shaky footing, including the $100 million Educational Technology State Grants. That initiative was slated for consolidation in the administration’s 2011 and 2012 budget requests—both of which sought to combine 38 smaller programs into 11 broader funding streams. It was also slated for elimination under a defeated Senate Democratic fiscal 2011 spending plan. ("Obama Seeks to Shelter Education in 2012 Budget," February 14, 2011.)

Other programs slated for consolidation under the president’s budget are also likely to face increased scrutiny from lawmakers looking for cuts, including the $19 million Literacy Through School Libraries program and the $119 million Teaching American History program. READ MORE !

e-books and the "reading divide"

Technological changes may lead to "reading divide"
Reuters: 3.10.11 by Elaine Lies

TOKYO (Reuters) - The rapid rise of e-books could lead to a "reading divide" as those unable to afford the new technology are left behind, even as U.S. reading and writing skills decline still further.

At particular threat are African-American communities where many students are already falling behind their majority peers in terms of literacy, said award-winning writer Marita Golden -- and this despite the growing ranks of noted African-American writers, such as Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison.

"My biggest concern is that the technology will continue to widen the gap," she told Reuters. "It won't just be the digital divide but also a reading divide if reading becomes an activity that's now dependent on technology.

"If reading becomes dependent on technology that must be purchased, then I think we may see the literacy divide persist and even widen."

Years of discussion on the future of books amid the sweeping technological changes, along with a desire to make sure black writers were included in that discussion, prompted Golden to pull together her recent book, "The Word," in which African-American writers talk about how reading shaped their lives for the better. READ MORE !

Congress Decides Literacy is a Bridge to Nowhere

Congress Decides Literacy is a Bridge to Nowhere
Huffington Post: 3.15.11 by Joseph Kahne

I'm told George Burns once said, "I've been reading so much about the dangers of smoking cigars, that I've finally decided... to give up reading."

Apparently, many in Congress find Burns' perspective compelling. House Republicans recently pushed through mid-year budget cuts that eliminate support for major literacy programs. One of the programs is called Reading is Fundamental (RIF). RIF costs taxpayers $24.5 million (that's 25 cents a year from every U.S. taxpayer) and it provides 4.4 million mostly low-income children with free books and programs to support their learning to read at over 17,000 locations across the country. Studies show the approach works.

Another of the programs whose budget would be zeroed out mid-year is the National Writing Project (NWP). It costs $25.6 million and it reaches 130,000 teachers and more than 1.4 million students in over 3,000 districts. Similarly, studies find that NWP promotes meaningful gains in writing performance. It does this by delivering professional development and by working with teacher leaders to develop high quality curriculum tailored to local communities' priorities and needs.

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Last year, Republicans used the power of the filibuster to ensure extension of tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. Now they are demanding cuts that wipe out children's literacy programs in the name of fiscal responsibility. If the legislation isn't changed, Reading is Fundamental, the National Writing Project, and several other important literacy initiatives (like the Even Start Family Literacy Program) will close altogether or be crippled by massive cutbacks.

The real cost, of course, will be borne by our children.

This false bravado and careless policy must be stopped. Both Democrats and Republicans have supported these programs for more than 20 years. Many have already written letters, but much more action is needed to reverse this legislation. Contacting One's congressional representative is a good place to start.

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Will legislators act to save these programs? Perhaps it will help if we, their constituents, confront them with what their recent actions imply -- that reading isn't fundamental and that learning to write is a bridge to nowhere. READ MORE !

Jeff Carter: Illiteracy in the U.S.

An Interview with Jeff Carter: Illiteracy in the U.S.
Education News: 3.12.11 by Michael F. Shaughnessy,
Eastern New Mexico University

Michael F. Shaughnessy - I think as a society we place a high value on individual freedom, achievement, and competition. Unfortunately, this sometimes blinds us to issues of inequality and injustice.

Jeff Carter is ProLiteracy’s director of policy and government affairs.In this interview, he responds to questions about the issues surrounding illiteracy in the United States.

1) Jeff as you know, Obama has just delivered his state of the Union address and economically things are bad. What kind of governmental support can you expect for your literacy efforts?

The need for more adult literacy resources is great, (we estimate that federal and state funding combined provides adult literacy services to just 3% of those people who need it), and the impact that an investment in adult literacy would have on the economy is clear, but we still have a long way to go to help policymakers connect the dots between this issue and economic development.

But I think we are slowly turning a corner. Take, for example, President Obama’s goal that by 2020, all adult Americans will have committed to at least one year of higher education or career training, and the U.S. will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.

The President may not have intended it this way, but really, that is a call for increasing investment in adult education and literacy. Even if every state reached the same levels of high school graduation and college enrollment for high school graduates as the highest performing states do now, we will not come close to reaching his goal without a substantial effort to bring more adults who are out of school into postsecondary education. And to do that, we will need to invest in adult literacy.

3) What can the local public library do- or should they even be expected to play a role in remediation?

Our libraries many times are the first place that adults who need reading help could turn to for help. I think local libraries are a critical and under-appreciated resource. I live in Washington, D.C., and our neighborhood libraries are beacons for literacy — the most prominent physical reminder of the value we place on literacy that we have in many communities. And in practice, libraries are often used by volunteers to meet with students they are tutoring. I can envision public libraries taking on an even greater and more defined role as gateways for adult learners. Every public library in the country should have staff that are trained to counsel adult learners and help them identify literacy programs and other resources available to them either through the library or elsewhere in their vicinity.

4) I know there are costs to illiteracy- emotional, fiscal, business and industry. Could you review what you see as the main costs, and how they impact society?

This is an area where I think we still need to do more research, but some numbers are there for us already. For example, I’ve seen estimates that low health literacy costs between $106 billion and $238 billion each year in the U.S. Some contend that the effects of low literacy costs the U.S. $225 billion or more each year in non-productivity in the workforce, crime, and loss of tax revenue due to unemployment.

But the biggest cost is on our efforts to improve children’s academic achievement. Children raised in families with low educational achievement are much less likely to be successful in school. It’s a concern to us that we don’t focus more on adult education as a tool to strengthen families, and that we don’t talk about this issue in education policy as much as we talk about school reform. It’s possible that the investments we are making in school reform and pre-K education are going to be largely wasted as long as we ignore adult literacy. READ MORE !

Better World Books' LEAP Grant

Better World Books' LEAP
Literacy and Education in Action Program

Better World Books is inviting libraries to apply for between $5,000 and $25,000 to fund projects that address the literacy needs of underserved populations in your communities. A total of $75,000 is available.

The grant process is modeled after the California State Library's Pitch an Idea program and applications, in the form of a project overview, are due March 25. Projects must be implemented between May 16 and December 31, 2011.

Simplified Process

Interested libraries need only submit a short two page project overview and those with the best proposals will be selected for a 30 minute conversation where they will pitch their idea. After reviewing all of the pitches, Better World Books will select the winners whose projects are most viable and ready to go. Selected libraries will then be asked to complete a more detailed project plan in coordination with Better World Books. After project plans are complete, the grants will be awarded.

Selection Criteria
As you develop your Game Changing ideas, keep the following in mind:

~ Projects should address the literacy needs of under served populations in their community; literacy needs are defined broadly: identifying, understanding, interpreting, creating, communicating, and computing information to live a more fulfilling and productive life

~ Projects must be implemented between 5/16/11 – 12/31/11

~ Libraries may pitch multiple projects or a single project totaling no more than $25,000 and no less that $5,000

~ Libraries can present up to two Game Changing ideas, but only one idea per library will be chosen

~Each Game Changing idea must be fully supported by the Director and/or Library Administration

~ Projects that involve partnerships with local government agencies are highly encouraged

~Projects that will have a measurable and long term impact on an under served population, and will continue to operate after grant funds have been utilized, will be looked upon favorably