| Author | Message | ||
     fringe Citizen Username: Fringe Post Number: 312 Registered: 5-2001 |
NEWS-RECORD Thursday, February 26, 2004 To the editor: In her recent letter to the editor, "New curriculum needed to close gap," News-Record, Feb. 12, Dr. Melissa E. Frederikse, representing ACE, states: "our own South Orange-Maplewood School District language arts curriculum review in 1998, finding our LA curriculum insufficient, also called for the use of a published core-reading program, a recommendation that was not implemented." As one of the chairpersons of the 1997-1998 Language Arts Program Review Committee, I need to set the record straight. The 1998 recommendations were: 1. Revise the K-12 Integrated English language arts curriculum. 2. Replace, revise, and update core and supplementary materials at all grade levels. 3. Identify, develop, revise and adopt a variety of external published--and internal -- district developed -- assessment tools/strategies to provide multiple indicators of the quality of each child's learning and to monitor the overall effectiveness of the English language arts program. 4. Develop an effective professional development plan to address teacher needs associated with the implementation of the program revisions. 5. Address scheduling, staffing, and class-size concerns. 6. Improve the district's ability to address special-needs students in the area of English language arts. 7. Improve parent communication as it relates to the district's English language arts program. All of the above recommendations have been acted upon, and nowhere in the 1998 Recommendations and Action Planas there a recommendation to use a published, core-reading program. Presently, our district language arts program is again being assessed by a committee representing the teaching staff, the administration, and the community, including ACE. At the first meeting of that committee last October, a copy of the 1998 Language Arts Program Review Recommendations and Action Plan was distributed to all committee members. I would ask that ACE carefully review the document, take care not to misrepresent its contents, and in the spirit of facilitating "collaboration among community members, parents, teachers, school administrators, and the Board of Education" which is an ACE goal, set the record straight. Jim Memoli Assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction School District of Maplewood-South Orange | ||
| fringe Citizen Username: Fringe Post Number: 313 Registered: 5-2001 |
NEWS-RECORD Thursday, March, 4, 2004 To the Editor: I write in response to Jim Memoli’s letter published February 26, 2004, under the title: Claims about the curriculum review invalid. My insight and knowledge are grounded by the fact that I was a member of the same 1997 – 1998 Language Arts Program Review Committee, as a parent volunteer. My interest in the issues arose many months earlier upon my asking my son to “sound out” a word, only to be met with a blank expression. That unsettling experience led me to investigate the district’s so-called K – 2 curriculum in Language Arts, (formerly known as English), and, with due respect to Walt Kelly, I met the enemy, and, in my opinion, it was us, i.e., the curriculum. The committee met monthly, for hours on end, and submitted a lengthy report. Mr. Memoli quotes only a brief portion, and, in relevant part, out of context. I reviewed my copy of the report, and wish to address only a small part of his letter, and complete that portion of the record. The committee report sets out a series of findings, which precede the Memoli quoted material. These findings include: “there is a need to: thoroughly align our District instructional proficiencies with the State Standards and the Cumulative Progress Indicators which show evidence that those Standards have been met;” “identify critical proficiencies that serve as benchmarks of student performance for each grade level and/or grade level cluster;” "modify the scope and sequence at the K – 2 level to fill in the areas that the present program does not sufficiently address; this modification needs to include among others an explicit, systematic, and meaningful teaching sequence for: spelling and phonemic awareness; literary elements; and writing in different genres….” The great debate during the meetings was, apart from whether or not to listen to this unwanted invader of their “academy,” whether or not phonics had any place at all in this district. The K – 2 “portfolio” in use at the time the committee began its work, authored by a teacher in district, never peer reviewed, actually graphically advised the antithesis of experience. “Sound it out” was in bold print as an example of what not to teach. The phrase was stricken by a line through it in the text distributed to all teachers!!! This was in the official assessment document written in district and of biblical importance in the earliest grades. It is still used. Mr. Memoli fails to include in his brief excerpt from a lengthy report a few critical words from his point 1. What follows is the quote, but with the omitted words in brackets: Revise the K – 12 Integrated English language arts curriculum. [rationale, goals, grade level proficiencies including benchmarks, scope and sequence, and secondary courses of study]. The omitted words are the dog, which didn’t bark. Why were these words omitted? Were only printed on my copy of the committee report? The report identified community concerns a few pages after the quoted materials. The first “main concern” over content area was: “there is insufficient work on phonics, spelling, grammar, and handwriting at the elementary level;” It is six years later. The same concern is district wide. The fourth concern was: “there is insufficient emphasis on vocabulary building, grammar, mechanics, creative writing, and research skills at the middle level;” It is six years later. The same concern is district wide. The committee invited a national expert on early childhood learning, Dr. Marilyn Jager Adams, who attended four classes, two in Seth Boyden and two in Tuscan. She presented her opinions to the committee. She calmly urged the district to adopt a curriculum written by specialists in curricular writing. She did not recommend anyone in particular. I urge interested parents, and educators with tenure or independent wealth, to ask the administration for a copy of the complete report, with appendices, read it and become involved. The district has not met the challenges identified six years ago. One wonders if those in charge are willing to do so. Respectfully, Joel Dranove | ||
| fringe Citizen Username: Fringe Post Number: 315 Registered: 5-2001 |
Super H has sent two of his "inner-circle" into the N-R editorial page in the last two months to discredit ACE. On both occaisons the counter was stronger than the attack. In my experience these are the first times that District administrators have joined the public education debate in such a direct manner. I applaud the the strategy, and hope the District employs it more frequently in the future. At the same time I'd like to know what ACE has done to warrant this attention. JTL | ||
| harpo Citizen Username: Harpo Post Number: 1327 Registered: 6-2001 |
Nobody has to answer and I hope it's not rude to ask but: Did Joel Dranove's son know how to read but not to sound out a word? Was he failing at reading? If so, was it remediated in some way, by the school or a tutor? Private school? Sorry if I missed this information in reading this thread too fast or missing some other post. | ||
| ffof Citizen Username: Ffof Post Number: 2047 Registered: 5-2001  |
harpo- that is lower than rude. And, your assumptions are wrong. I've known that family for 10 years - same elementary schools - and the kids are honors kids and more. So why would Mr. Dranove (or anyone else with the same opinion as his) care so much? Because he lives here! He pays taxes here! He wants excellence here! He doesn't want to move from here! | ||
| Diversity Man Citizen Username: Deadwhitemale Post Number: 684 Registered: 5-2001 |
Who's Joel Dranove? Who's harpo? Was she on the L A review committee, is she on it now, what lost time and lost income has she to show for volunteering to help the district? What are her volunteer activities, besides attacks on defenseless children. Can you sound out: h - a - r - p - y ? DWM | ||
| fringe Citizen Username: Fringe Post Number: 317 Registered: 5-2001 |
The Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum has made a public statement about the last Language Arts curriculum review committee report. Mr. Dranove, a member of the committee, has publicly disagreed. The statements of both are posted. Should the debate be about the differences in the interpretaion of the report as stated by these men or should it be about Joel's kids. If I wanted to sidetrack the discussion, I'd choose the kids. | ||
| harpo Citizen Username: Harpo Post Number: 1329 Registered: 6-2001 |
I'm really sorry if I offended anybody with the question -- which was a plainly a question, not an assumption of any sort. I had hoped the way I introduced it made it plain I wasn't trying to be rude, just seeking information about what was being stated publicly about one parent's experience with the public school. I'm not attacking the student! I was just hoping to find out how the story ended. At the risk of making matters worse, let me try to make amends by explaining more fully: I read Joel Dranove's letter and in the beginning he said he became concerned when he discovered his child obviously didn't know what it meant to "sound out" a particular word. I couldn't tell from this anecdote if Mr. Dranove felt every child should know how to sound out a word, even if they were a proficient reader, or whether Mr. Dranove felt that this episode explained why his child might be having difficulty reading. I made no presumption about the answer. That's why I asked. And even if it were the latter, I don't think any child temporarily having difficulty learning anything reflects badly on the child. Obviously Mr. Dranove was trying to make a point about the instruction his child was receiving by telling this anecdote. I was trying to figure out what lesson he wanted me to derive from the anecdote. If Mr. Dranaove believes that all kids, even A+ students, should be taught to sound out a word as a regular part of their schooling, he's every right in the world to use an example from his own family to illustrate that point of view. If Mr. Dranove was trying to tell us that his experience as a parent is an example of why the current school reading program doesn't teach children to read, then I was hoping to learn more about how this problem was solved in this case. Now I've learned that this student continued to attend the same school and is an honors student. All I am left wondering is whether the student eventually learned to sound out words, and if so, who taught him that? The school or somebody else? But never mind! Like I said, nobody had to answer and I apologize if Mr. Dranove felt the follow up question was rude. | ||
| Diversity Man Citizen Username: Deadwhitemale Post Number: 686 Registered: 5-2001 |
Who is Mr. Dranove? And, what are harpo's answers to DWM's questions to harpo? Mr. D volunteered to get into the district review, submitted an application to the Superintendent, was accepted, and participated with the teachers and administrators for months on end. If he goes on line, or writes to the newspaper, with personal knowledge, you should be grateful for the truth, even if the know-it-alls are not. DWM | ||
| harpo Citizen Username: Harpo Post Number: 1333 Registered: 6-2001 |
DWM, I wasn't asking who Mr. Dranove is. I just took an interest in his letter. Reading it, I was expecting the author to return to the story of the single student's experience at the end of his letter. When he didn't, I asked my questions and made it plain I didn't need an answer if nobody wanted to discuss a single student's history, and apologized in advance if anyone reading it thought the question was rude, since it wasn't my intention to be rude. Maybe an analogy would help? I'll try to make it short. Imagine a parent from West Orange told me that he became concerned about his child's piano classes when he asked his child to play a scale and the child looked blank. The parent tells me he investigated the classes and found no children in any music class in West Orange was being taught to play scales. They were all being taught to play by ear. So he got involved in pushing for a change in music instruction in West Orange, but the school wouldn't listen to him. At the end of the story, I think I might very well ask: "So how is your child doing in music, if you don't mind my asking?" I think I might be surprised if snapped "Who the hell are you to ask?" After all, he was the one who brought up his child in the first place. But imagine his wife stonily says: "Our son just got accepted in the piano division at Juilliard after graduating from West Orange public school. Now get lost." At this point, I might be intimidated about asking more questions, but in my own mind, I'd be wondering: Is the child still playing by ear? Or did the child learn how to play a scale? If the latter, in the West Orange school or from someplace else? I am of course grateful to have Mr. Dranove's share his experiences, in print or online, even grateful to the point of asking for more information about the things he talks about. My answer to your other questions is that I've noticed over the years that many MOL posters seem to think there are pre-conditions for asking questions or sharing their own thoughts, i.e., one supposedly must be a resident of Maplewood 20 years or more, pay more than 5 figures in taxes annually, have attended local schools or have kids in public school, attend CHS football games or plays, do volunteer work, etc. That's not the way democracy or sane discussion works in my view. That said, you are perfectly free not to answer my questions as much as I'm perfectly free not to answer yours. | ||
| John Davenport Citizen Username: Jjd Post Number: 163 Registered: 2-2003 |
Harpo is right; this was a fair question just for clarification. The question can be restated without reference to any particular child: was Mr. Dranove's complaint that failure to teach sounding out is preventing students from learning to read, or was his complaint that children are not being taught to sound out words, simpliciter? (see, philosophers are of some use...) Now I obviously appreciated Mr. Dranavoe's letter a whole lot. So I will hazard a guess as to the answer he might give: BOTH (whatever was the particular issue with his own child). My question in reply to Harpo would be: don't children who can already read simple three or four-letter words still benefit from sounding out methods when it comes to decoding longer words? Surely they do? | ||
| harpo Citizen Username: Harpo Post Number: 1345 Registered: 6-2001 |
John Davenport, Thanks. I think philosophers are of lot of use, although I may be far less keen on Aristotle than you. My interest really wasn't in the child but in the school (as well as the precise nature of Mr. Dranove's complaint). Did the M/SO schools at some point teach the child to sound out words? If not, how did he come by that knowledge? Can you hazard a guess on that? I guess my answer to your question to me is yes, but decoding words is not just pronuciation and how do you sound out: Our knights misused their swords to mow down precious herbs and thistles. ? | ||
| Diversity Man Citizen Username: Deadwhitemale Post Number: 691 Registered: 5-2001 |
DWM is not Mr. Dranove. Harpo's game is over. DWM doesn't have the time to joust with such a windy-mill. DWM | ||
| harpo Citizen Username: Harpo Post Number: 1358 Registered: 6-2001 |
I never said you were! I'm not playing any games. John Davenport was right in his reading of what I wrote. Nobody said you had to involve yourself in this discussion. Go back to your quixotic quests! | ||
| wharfrat Citizen Username: Wharfrat Post Number: 1007 Registered: 6-2001 |
DWM + Mr. Dranove = disengenous imperatives. Perfect together | ||
| Diversity Man Citizen Username: Deadwhitemale Post Number: 693 Registered: 5-2001 |
Uh - oh, nan's husband is getting into the act. I will not respond to the post, because he is tied at the hip, (hopefully more often than not), with nan, who is harpo, who is burch, who all want to be hillary. DWM | ||
| wharfrat Citizen Username: Wharfrat Post Number: 1008 Registered: 6-2001 |
Whatever, Joel. | ||
| Who? Citizen Username: Deadwhitemale Post Number: 694 Registered: 5-2001 |
answer the questions, wharfrat spouse. DWM | ||
| fringe Citizen Username: Fringe Post Number: 325 Registered: 5-2001 |
I'd still like to hear some reaction/discussion/explanation about Memoli's apparent half truths (at best) if Mr. Dranove's rendition of the report is correct. | ||
| ladyrunner Citizen Username: Ladyrunner Post Number: 21 Registered: 9-2003 |
I keep thinking that everyone is confusing curriculum and purchased programs. I don't see them as the same thing. Curriculum says the things kids have to show they know or can do. Right? It is the local, detailed version of the state standards and requirements. Purchased programs usually have a teacher's guide with lesson plans and other materials. Teachers can change lessons all they want, but they can't change curriculum. They can't change what kids have to know at the end of the course. In my mind you can purchase a program that has all the pieces teachers need. Some are probably good, some are probably bad. But any purchased program has to address all those skills detailed in the curriculum that have to be mastered by the end of the course. It seems unlikely that any purchased program would be a perfect match to any district's curriculum unless the publishers purposely wrote it for the New Jersey state standards. Companies do that for some states, but not usually New Jersey. IMHO, what we need is a challenging and flexible program that is easy for teachers to use. It should have lots of resources and strategies because kids need different things. That program might have to be added to in order to meet the state requirements. What you want is a teacher who has a lot of options available and knows how/when to use each one. So, Memoli's letter. Spin. Deflection. Too lame too late. I guess I don't care what he says. I just want all teachers to feel good enough about their materials to use them well. Great teachers will always do more, great things. |
