College Test Preparation Services

Question: How good are college test preparation services?

Answer: Not as good as people think and they cost a lot of money.

.Big improvements in test scores are exaggerated.

.Once you deal with a test preparation service, they won’t let you alone.

.Little reliable data on results.

.You can get the test prep service for free.

.You can prepare yourself for the SAT and ACT yourself and save a lot of money.

.Guaranteed refunds if you don’t improve your scores are hard to get.

.Online materials have glitches.

.Test scores are not the biggest influence on acceptance into college.

.Test preparation services add stress to already busy students.

.Test scores are ignored by 850 colleges and universities.

“Ten Things Test Preparation Services Won’t Tell you.” Wall Street Journal (Tuesday, April 5, 2011), Internet.

Standard English

Question: What is Standard English and how can students use it when they need it?

Answer/Quote: “Once students begin to understand that Standard English is one language among many, we can help them access their multiple voices—the one they use on the basketball court, the one they use in speech and debate, the one the use at the kitchen table, and the ones they use in their writing.” P. 17.

Comment: The language used on the basketball courts I frequented as a youth could never be repeated in polite company.

The languages used on basketball courts and around the kitchen table will be used regardless of how much English teachers drill on standard English. The language in speech and debate and in writing, on the other hand, should come as close as possible to Standard English. It’s the language of academia, the language of textbooks.

I think a greater problem in switching languages according to social needs is helping students develop an understanding of Standard English so that they are able to use it when it’s called for. The closer people are to informal speech and writing, the farther they are from Standard English.

Students are used to speaking “informally” on the basketball court and around the kitchen table. No amount of drilling on correct grammar will eliminate that kind of language in those situations. What’s harder is enabling students to shift into standard English when they need it—speaking in public writing in academic situations, job interviews, etc. Throwing a grammar book at informal English will not teach students how to use Standard English when they need it.

Previously in this blog, English Updates, I have defined what I mean by informal, conversational language as opposed to Standard English. I have also told how I helped students switch to Standard English through practicing their writing in ten-minute essays. Should my readers be interested in my ideas on how to help students develop the skill of using Standard English when they need it, check out my first five blogs –the ones at the bottom of the list—in March of 2011, the ones labeled “Practicing Writing.” RayS.

Title: “Finding Voice: Learning about Language and Power.” Linda Christensen. Voices from the Middle (March 2011), 9-17.

Too Good to Miss

The following letter was published on the editorial page of the West Chester, PA. Daily Local News, Monday, April 4, 2011, page A8, by Ross Kershey, a retired teacher in Coatesville’s (PA) CASH High School. He was also a very successful basketball coach.

The title of Mr. Kershey’s letter is “Think Teaching is Easy? Just Try it.”

“This is an idea for the next ‘Survivor’ series on television. Three businessmen and three businesswomen will be dropped into an elementary school classroom for one school year. Each business person will be provided with a copy of his/her school district’s curriculum and a class of 20 to 25 students. Each class will have a minimum of five learning-disabled children, three with attention deficit disorder, one gifted child, and two who speak limited English. Three students will be labeled with severe behavior problems.

“Each business person must complete lesson plans at least three days in advance with annotations for curriculum objects and modify, organize, or create their materials accordingly. They will be required to teach students, handle misconduct, implement technology, document attendance, write referrals, correct homework, make bulletin boards, compute grades, complete report cards, document benchmarks, communicate with parents and arrange parent conferences.

“They must also stand in their doorway between class changes to monitor the hallways. In addition, they will complete fire drills, tornado drills and Code Red drills for shooting attacks each month.

“They attend workshops, faculty meetings and must also tutor students who are behind and strive to get their two non-English-speaking children qualified to take the test in English Language Proficiency. Each day they must incorporate reading, writing, math, social studies [and science] into the program.

“They must maintain discipline and provide an educationally stimulating environment to motivate students at all times. If all students do not wish to cooperate, work, or learn, the teacher will be held responsible.

“The business people will only have access to the public golf course on the weekends, but with their new salary, they will not be able to afford it. There will be no access to vendors who want to take them out to lunch and lunch will be limited to 30 minutes, which is not counted as part of their work day. The business people will be permitted to use a student restroom, as long as another faculty member can supervise their class.

“If the copier is operable, they may make copies of necessary materials before or after school. However, they cannot surpass their monthly limit of copies. The business people must continually advance their education at their expense and on their time. The winner of this season of ‘Survivor’ will be allowed to return to his/her job.

“This is for everyone who thinks teaching is easy and those who know it isn’t.”

Ross Kershey.  (Former teacher at CASH)

Comment: I must admit that I did not ask Mr. Kershey’s permission to reprint this letter. I apologize. But, because he is a former teacher, I know he will not care. He, like most teachers, is used to sharing successful ideas with his colleagues. RayS.

Memorizing Poetry

Question: What is to be gained from memorizing short poems?

Answer/Quote: “I’d suggest trying it out…by yourself. Pick two or three short poems that you like for starters…William Carlos Williams’ ‘This Is Just to Say’ or James Wrights ‘Milkweed,’ or Mary Oliver’s ‘In Blackwater Woods.’ Or something rhymed and older like Leigh Hunt’s ‘Jenny Kissed Me.’ Or even something as long as ‘Paul revere’s Ride.’ It will give you some other sense of time to carry around in your days. It may open up a bit of space for wandering and wonder. It may link you to your children in ways you wouldn’t have guessed. It may make a strand across time.”  P. 29.

Comment: If not short poems, how about starting out with stanzas from your favorite poems? The author’s point is that we will establish a relationship with the poems that otherwise is not possible. I have never thought of the value of memorizing poetry that way. It’s worth trying. RayS.

Title: “Carrying Poetry Around: An Essay in Praise of Memorization.” Terry Hermsen. Council Chronicle. The National Council of Teachers of English (March 2011), 28-29.

Bill Gates on Small High Schools

Q. Your spent hundreds of millions to create small high schools, including breaking apart scores of large, low-performing schools into smaller campuses. What did you darn from that effort?

A. “We had some very good results in a lot of the high schools, and it’s a tactic we absolutely believe in. But in terms of our big goal of getting lots and lots of kids to go to college, that effort alone wasn’t going to close that gap much at all. If you don’t actually deal with this issue of helping teachers be better by helping them make a leap of faith to a real personnel system, you just aren’t going to get there.”

Comment: I question the goal of education as getting “lots of kids to go to college” (Gates himself did not graduate from college). And I do not know what he means by helping teachers becoming “better by helping them make a leap of faith to a real personnel system.” What is a “real personnel system”? But he seems to be saying that spending millions of dollars to break up large high schools to create small high schools did not, by itself, solve the problems of education. Only good teachers can do that.

There’s a problem in defining the characteristics of a good teacher. As a k-12 supervisor of language arts for twenty years, I have seen all kinds of teachers. I’ve seen the dynamos who were effective teachers. I’ve seen dynamos who intimidated students. I’ve also seen the quiet teachers who never raised their voices, but whose students paid rapt attention and were completely absorbed in learning. I’ve seen child-centered teachers who were terrible and created chaotic classrooms. I’ve seen child-centered teachers who were very effective in helping students learn how to learn. I’ve seen teachers who lectured and were excellent at what they did. I’ve seen teachers who lectured and bored the students to tears. I don’t think it’s possible to package good teachers according to style of teaching.

Maybe the lesson is that students learn best when they learn how to adapt to different styles of teaching. RayS.

“Bill Gates Turns Attention Toward Teacher Improvement.” Stephanie Banchero. Wall Street Journal (March 21, 2011), Internet.