Language arts

In a world of conversations carried out through short text messages and 140 character Twitter updates, new abbreviations seem to be creeping into the English language as many grammar conventions are going out the window. Smiley faces are being used as a new punctuation mark. Although students are writing more than ever, this writing might not be good grammar practice and it is often teaching them habits that are hard to break. It’s up to K-12 teachers in all subjects to encourage good grammar to prepare students for college and their future careers.

English grammar can be tricky stuff. Students (and many adults) labor over the correct usage of “lie” and “lay,” as well as when to use “who” instead of “whom.” Many of us also have our personal grammar pet peeves – mine happens to be the rampant misuse of apostrophes, as in “The Walton’s welcome you to our home!” or this one from a recent political mailing: “Every state has it’s unique resources.”

There is nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of unequal people
-- Thomas Jefferson

When I was in fifth grade, my class had to orally present book projects to our classmates – and worse – the sixth grade class as well. This was really our first foray into delivering oral presentations, and it was nerve-wracking. We sat on the gym floor and nervously waited and watched as one by one we fidgeted and mumbled our way through our presentations, trying to ignore the smirks and stares from the sixth graders. I especially remember one boy, who was so nervous about presenting his favorite book, James and the Giant Peach, that he talked way too fast and repeatedly referred to it as “James and the Giant Speech.” While it was funny at the time, I think it aptly illustrates how stressful oral presentations can be.

For the past several years, a survivor of the Holocaust has made an annual trip to our intermediate and middle schools to speak about his experience at Auschwitz. It’s an intensely powerful and moving experience for our sixth, seventh, and eighth graders, and it’s meant to be. The presenter – now 90 years old – has told his story so often that he’s able to describe life under the Nazi regime and at Auschwitz quietly and without much emotion. The students, however, sometimes gasp, sob, or seek the comforting hand of a classmate beside them. Though the details of events at the death camp are often difficult for the students to hear, they are ultimately grateful for the experience, and many cite it as one of the most profound events they’ve ever attended.

Over the past 100 years or so, stars seem to have disappeared from daily life. Our ancestors didn’t take the stars for granted; for them, the night sky often served as compass, clock, calendar, and a rich source of inspiration for tales of mystery and wonder. Skyscrapers and light pollution have dimmed the brilliance of the night sky for many of us in the 21st century, but for those who happen to stop for a bit and look upward, the sky’s glittering patterns are still there for the gazing.

A 7th grade teacher assigns her class a 2-week research project on art history. She challenges her students to use a variety of sources in their research. As she explains the project to her students, she is met with 30 blank stares. One student gasps, “You mean we have to look up the books at a library?” Another one asks if it’s okay to do all of his research online. A girl in the back raises her hand and asks, “Can I interview my Dad for the project? He works at the art museum.”

What do Coldplay, historian Stephen Ambrose, and Beatle George Harrison all have in common? They’ve all, at one time or another, been accused of plagiarism. Despite this dubious distinction and the scandal it brings, plagiarism is alive and thriving in our society, thank you very much. A recent Education Week survey found that 54% of students surveyed admitted to plagiarizing from the Internet for class assignments, while 47% of students believed that their teachers sometimes turned a blind eye to evidence that their students were cheating. In 1989, another survey found that 97.5% of American high school students admitted to allowing other students to copy their work.

In 1975, the U.S. Congress enacted Public Law 94-142, or the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. This landmark law required all publicly-funded schools to provide evaluations and equal access to education to physically and mentally disabled children. The Act was revised and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990. Other countries, such as Sweden, had already recognized the importance of promoting educational equality among students of varying intellectual capabilities, and soon other nations began to follow suit with new legislation to address special education.

Over the past few weeks, Peggy and I have been writing about topics raised in an interview with NEA’s Executive Director, John Wilson. We discussed global literacy and methods to stretch school dollars in a challenging economy. This week, we’ve decided to focus on another of the issues raised by Wilson – the importance of technology in education.