[regional_school] Herb Kohl on Reading
- From: William Cala <wcala9@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: regional <regional_school@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 1 Apr 2009 09:56:09 -0400 (EDT)
Food for thought from Herb Kohl.
Herbert Kohl makes an argument in Reading , How To . He writes in the preface,
"There is no reading problem. There are problem teachers and problem schools.
Most people who fail to learn to read in our society are victims of a fiercely
competitive system of training that requires failure. If talking and walking
were taught in most schools we might end up with as many mutes and cripples as
we now have non-readers. However, learning to read is no more difficult than
learning to walk or talk. The skill can be acquired in a natural and informal
manner and in a variety of settings ranging from school to home to the
streets." Later, in Chapter 2, he writes, "If a youngster fails to acquire the
skill or comply with the rules of learning, he or she is considered retarded or
criminal, that is, in more polite school language, a learning or behavior
problem."
Personally, I see the issue as problem leadership that forces poor practices on
teachers who left to their own devices would not use the tactics referred to by
Kohl.
Bill
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