ALL OF BARBARA'S POSTS!

Reflective Journal - 17

Kelly Gallagher’s Readicide Introduction

“You don’t have to burn books to destroy culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” This comment by Ray Bradbury, the masterful science fiction writer and author of Fahrenheit 451, is more ominously prophetic today than ever before. People, as Gallagher documents in his introduction to Readicide,
are not reading. The statistics he cites do not just apply to students since the frequency of adult reading is also alarming, but there is an inherent sadness when a secondary school student states that “reading is only fun if I have nothing else to do.” (4) What happened to getting lost in a book, of being unable to disconnect from that world, of being in “the reading zone”?

One of the factors for readicide that Gallagher cites is all too familiar to me. “SSR time is being abandoned because it is often seen as ’soft’ or ‘nonacademic’.” (5) About five years ago in Westport, we had a Grade 8 independent reading program, where students and teachers read and commented on their texts.
The program was held during enrichment time several times a week. A survey, completed at the end of the program, indicated that students were reading and enjoying it immensely; yet, because this activity was deemed as non-instructional, the policy makers determined that it was inappropriate.

I also concur with Gallagher’s four factors for the demise of reading. First of all, schools are driven by tests and test results, no matter how loudly they protest.
Unless teachers, librarians, and administrators actively introduce, sell, and provide books - classics and YA lit - to students, there is no one to advocate for the variety and the enjoyment of literature, and authentic reading experiences will become fewer and fewer. And, yes, teachers do over teach some books and under teach others, whether these professionals are driven by curriculum-coverage or comfort level. (5) This is where literature circles or book clubs can save the reading experience!

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Kelly Gallagher’s Readicide

Chapter 1

I really enjoyed Chapter 1 of Gallagher’s book, so aptly titled “The Elephant in the Room.” The focus of the chapter - that an “overemphasis on testing is playing a major part in killing off readers in America’s classrooms” (7) - is effectively demonstrated by his description of the formidable and frightening scope of the Social Studies Grade 10 test in California and by his own experience of needing six weeks just to teach his sophomores about 911. I loved the Marzano comment that content should be “cut by two-thirds and that the sheer number of standards is the biggest impediment to implementing standards.” (11)

The next part of the chapter dealt with the shallowness of tests and contrasted the kind of test that a good teacher creates before a unit of study with the state
created test that covers so much that there is little deeper thinking. Sternberg is right on here while Rod Paige is absolutely frightening. Gallagher anoints Paige
as the father of readicide and delineates what happened under the Paige Paradox. (17-18) I found that these were some of the most infuriating and disheartening educational beliefs, practices, and results ever.

The Texas Miracle/Sham also aroused my ire. With all the facts and information we deal with here in Connecticut and with some CMT situations in East Haven and Fairfield that were addressed by the State pretty aggressively, it seems so unfair that, there, results were statistically flawed, that wide-scale cheating occurred, and that, in places like Aldine, TX, students were harmed in the long run. (21)

I decided to revise Gallagher’s list of how this vicious cycle is perpetuated especially for low-income students (22) and created a positive prescription for reform:
Low expectations -> High expectations
Multiple choice exams -> Paragraph + responses
No time to read -> Time provided for reading
Remediate drill + kill -> Use real literature and responses
Less interesting reading -> More interesting reading
in school + recreation in school + recreation
reading reading - book clubs, lit circles
Less experienced teachers -> The most experienced teachers

Finally, I appreciated the irony that Gallagher pointed out; the NCLB goal that every child will be proficient in reading by 2014 may actually turn into its opposite and fewer children will be good readers five years from now than when NCLB began.

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Kelly Gallagher’s Readicide Chapter 2

It is almost impossible to select the most telling anecdote or the most compelling research in “Endangered Minds,” Chapter 2 of Readicide. The stories and the fact-finding all point to a situation that should be of paramount concern to educators throughout the United States - the sad state of reading, of prior knowledge, and of comprehension. For me, the most memorable anecdotes
were Marissa and Justine’s confusion over Al Qaeda, Mike’s dismissal of farrier,
and Kelly’s own frustration over the 28 other, non-reading concerns of his fellow educators/administrators at the start of the school year. (27,37,30) I also strongly identified with Healy’s Endangered Minds: Why Children Can’t Think. The effect of television and video games on the key cognitive developmental windows that may well lead to the increasing number of attention deficit disorder diagnoses is of great concern, and her view of the school as a troubled haven where “students are not allowed to sit and think” is something that I fought against for years with 42 minute class blocks in middle school. (39-40)

Years ago, Fairfield University sponsored a marvelous summer program for teachers called Renaissance, where noted educators met with K-12 teachers and a few administrators to explore issues in education. Not only did I adore the program but I also was totally impressed with the speakers, particularly Dorsey Hammond, who was a proponent of prior knowledge. I still remember the article he gave us on Michigan wild rice and the introduction to Ogle’s KWL. Both of these techniques were invaluable approaches to prior knowledge and both appeared in my classroom the following year. Gallagher’s Bridge to Prison cartoon makes the same point that Dorsey made to us - we could all decode the words, but we needed to connect those words with prior knowledge. Today, the in term, in Westport, is pre-assessment, but the goal is the same. Teachers need to know what students know before the first lesson begins.

Another part of Chapter 2 that intrigued me was on page 42 where Gallagher cited the work of Stephen Krashen, The Power of Reading: Insights from the Research. Free voluntary reading time was studied, and in 38 out of 41 cases students with FVR performed “as well or better in reading comprehension tests”
as students in “traditional skill-based reading instruction.” As a veteran of SSR,
I thought that having 20 minutes to read in middle school was great. However, since we had the time in homeroom at the start of the day, the time was often disturbed by latecomers, delayed openings, intercom calls from the office. . . .
Also, my room might be totally quiet with everyone immersed in a free choice
book; but, in other rooms, students might be doing homework or reading magazines, teachers might be working a crossword while sipping coffee; you get the picture. Then, middle school adopted advisor/advisee programs, and that fit perfectly into the 20 minute homeroom time slot, once a week. Next, a guidance program came along in response to parental concern about bullying. Finally, morning announcements, which originally were read over the intercom at the end of homeroom, moved into the television studio and were broadcast to the entire school and consumed almost all of the 20 minute time block. It is interesting that these programs were very well received initially, but now, if you walk down the hall, you can spot students surreptitiously . . . . reading!

SSR works if everyone involved, students and teachers, are committed to it.
I also believe that a product is necessary, or SSR is perceived to have lesser value.

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Kelly Gallagher’s Readicide Chapter 3

In Chapter 3, “Avoiding the Tsunami,” Kelly Gallagher confronts the issue of over teaching and deals with some of my issues with SSR. As a fan of Mem Fox, I adored his opening anecdote about Chloe and how books were ruined for her in her American school; and, as an Atwellian, I felt right at home with being in the reading zone that Kelly described on his flight to Michigan with Come Home. (59) I had the same reaction with Isabella’s Key on a flight I took earlier this year; it was hard to leave Castile and its red-haired queen behind.

I also bonded with Kelly when he described what Los Angeles (LA) had perpetrated on To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAM) with its 122 page teaching guide.
I have taught TKAM for over 25 years to eighth grade students and consider it to be one of the best American novels ever written. But I had difficulty reading and understanding the seven goals and, especially, the nine habits of thinking where
the words “complex text” are used so often as to be unintelligible. (63-65) The five culminating assignments are items I would consider, but certainly not all of them. Is student choice of culminating assignments or of anything else allowed in LA? Perhaps that could throw a lifeline to the students, teachers, and TKAM!
Reading flow is certainly at risk there.

I enjoyed Kelly’s introduction of Kenneth Burke’s idea that literature provides “imaginative rehearsals” for situations in the real life as well as his idea of using TKAM “as a springboard to examine issues in today’s world.” (67) I was impressed with the profusion of his current suggestions from the incident in Blick
on race and gender in Chicago car buying to Barbara Bush’s chilling comment
(68). I hope that educators in LA read this chapter, if not the whole book, and
revise their curriculum guide!

On a sad note, Billy Collins’ “Introduction to Poetry” is a wonderful paean to reading flow and not chopping up text, but the sad thing that I’ve noticed in classes lately is that students now expect that teachers will
“tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.”
I guess that is the result of over teaching and too much test angst.

The best part of Chapter 3 was Kelly’s recommendations on what to do to prevent readicide: access to great books, time to read, and recognition of the value of reading. Kelly’s approach to academic texts came alive with his use of Polonius’ speech to Laertes, with his guided tour then the budget tour, with his jigsaw on articles related to 1984, and with his topic floods and colorcoding arguments on both sides to lead to persuasive essays. (76-81) The suggestion that addresses my SSR issue is to have “the one-pager” for recreational reading, a reflection on a book just read, that could focus on a minor character that has major importance as well as a section to comment on the author’s purpose and the intended audience. (82-83)

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Kelly Gallagher’s Readicide Chapter 4

In “Finding the Sweet Spot of Instruction,” Kelly Gallagher deals with the seemingly paradoxical idea that under teaching books can be a dangerous as over teaching them. Chapter 4 presents why teaching is important and references Haycock’s “Good Teaching Matters,” which reports on what happened with ineffective and effective teaching in Boston and Dallas. (88) Robert Pianta of the University of Virginia contends that “highly skilled, engaging teachers can help close the achievement gap” but that “only one out of every fourteen kids are in a consistent classroom environment that helps them do so.” (89)

Kelly, then, uses a baseball analogy to establish his sweet spot of instruction
- “what we know works” - and refers to Nancie Atwell (In the Middle) and her advice for teachers to be a mentor, mediator, and model to students. (90)
He and I share the same enthusiasm for Atwell’s ideas, but we both exist in public schools with constraints that Nancie does not face, such as required texts.
His suggestions are really noteworthy.

Suggestion #1 is to recognize the importance of framing. Kelly uses Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as his text and explains how he previews the final exam essay question with his class to establish the purpose for reading the book. He also previews key vocabulary. Then he gives some historical context and shares something about the author and what he was trying to accomplish with this piece of writing. Then, Kelly hands out an anticipation guide to focus on universal truths and discusses why the class will read this book and its value today. (93-96) I have used a similar procedure for years in middle school and cannot recommend it enough. I think that anticipation guides are invaluable to begin a text and to return to at its end.

Suggestion #2 is to remember the value found in second and third draft reading.
Kelly points out how a first reading of Romeo and Juliet or Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is strictly survival mode until the teacher goes and focuses on a particular speech or character description - like that of Mr. Utterson - to enable the students to see Shakespeare’s use of metaphor or Stevenson’s use of duality.
(97-99) In Grade 8, we read Much Ado About Nothing, and, early on, we use Kenneth Branagh’s fine film version both as a first-reading survival mechanism and as a looking-deeper, second or third perusal. For example, in Act II, scene iii and Act III, scene I, Benedick’s and Beatrice’s quandary about how to approach each other becomes crystal clear to thirteen year olds who are in a dither about their own relationships. Of course, Branagh, Thompson, and Washington are magnificent Shakespearean actors, and the students are soon cheering them on, although almost everyone moans and groans over Keanu Reeves’ wooden Don John. And, while we always send home a permission slip home since this is a PG 13 film, no parent has ever refused permission; and, once the film’s opening moments are over, these gender-conscious students are glued to the screen.

Suggestion #3 is to adopt a “Big Chunk/Little Chunk” philosophy. Here, Kelly suggests reading the first few pages to the students and pausing to think aloud
with this big chunk. He recommends modeling his own confusion and how he coped. He also suggests giving students a purpose - one of two elements - for reading a large chunk on their own. For a little chunk, Kelly has his students read Kain’s article on close reading that was created at the Harvard Writing Center. She introduces three steps - read with a pencil and annotate the text,
look for patterns in the text, and ask how and why questions about these patterns. (101) Kelly thinks this big chunk/little chunk procedure leads to reading flow and sharpens analytical skills. I agree. We discovered a great way to use these chunks in MAAN. We show the first part of a scene in class, then let the students read the rest on their own in class and at home. We arm everyone with lines to examine and to attempt to translate. The next day, we create expert groups to work on these particular lines and then jigsaw so each expert can share the translation and understanding from his/her group.

Suggestion #4 refers back to Chapter 3. Here, Kelly proposes the carefully paced, detailed guided tour for the first part of the book followed by the budget tour for the rest of the text. I have used a similar technique and it works well.
In addition, I have previewed in all classes each and every book that I handed out - not just the table of contents and the glossary, but the cover, the chapter titles, the graphics, everything. This raises student comfort level with an assigned text since they know what lies ahead, including the number of pages.

I think Kelly’s ideas in this chapter are best summed up by his reference to Donald Graves - “A teacher teaches most by showing how he learns.”

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Kelly Gallagher’s Readicide Chapter 5

In “Ending Readcide,” Kelly shares his chagrin over the call for more testing. He contends that test scores may rise, but that is partially due to states’ lowering standards in light of 2014. (111) His reference to Robert Linn and the specter of penalizing failing schools makes his point chilling. Kelly also mentions that progress in raising reading test scores is greater in elementary schools and middle schools. (112) Teachers have known for eons that reading flags at thirteen. Hormones are raging, the adult world beckons, peers are more important than family, and reading suffers. I think one of the best arguments for middle school, as opposed to junior high, is that it keeps a team of concerned adults aware of and concerned about a group of these young people for as long as possible.

The eight items from “To Read or Not to Read” (112) via National Public Radio are certainly a call to arms, interestingly enough, if anyone in power is not only reading but also understanding them. The final fact that half the adults in the country do not read to themselves or to their children is absolutely mind-boggling. My husband and I were in a local restaurant one evening when a young woman with two boys, probably 7 and 8, sat at a table near us. Both boys had their video games which they played ceaselessly as they stretched out on the chairs, slid to the floor, and climbed back over and over without a word to each other. The mother was in her own world as well, texting away, and only interacted with the boys to order and to eat. I mentioned the absence of family communication to my husband; perhaps parents are not reading because they are not even talking to their children at a most impressionable age.

I think all educators should read pages 113 to 117 of Readicide to learn about an excellent opening activity for the school year. First of all, this might raise educators’ - teachers’ and administrators’ - awareness of the importance of creativity and thinking out of the box. The success of the Finnish education also holds out interesting child and educator empowerment information to consider. I’ve been to Finland, and I was very impressed by the presence, knowledge, and English fluency of the young people I met. Finally, Kelly’s key elements are just that; essential parts of the education of a literate individual. (117)

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Kelly Gallagher’s Readicide Appendix A, B, C, D

I really enjoyed the 101 Books Reluctant Readers Love to Read. Ones that work well in middle school are the titles by Crowe - Mississippi Trial 1955, the
fictional counterpart, is also popular - Farmer, Flake, Fleischmann - this is a nonfiction book that Grade 6 boys devour - Haddon, and Zusak - the must-read for Grade 8 girls last year.

In Appendix B and C, Kelly puts his money where his mouth is and gives a variety of samples of his Book of the Month and One Pager formats. (125-127)
I loved them both, but I have one concern. With work-avoidant seventh and eighth graders, a reflection which calls for a personal response to the book will give a truer sense of the student’s interaction with the book. Summaries are all too easy to copy from Amazon.com and a variety of online sources.

Appendix D contained the memorable Hard Talk Checklist, which could and should be the focus of a lively, interactive professional development day for all educators, teachers, and administrators. (135) Obviously, I love this book!