Gud job, Emporia!
Six schls n d district rcvd 21 std of XLenS Awrds from d Kansas st8 Board of Education.
That’s right. Emporia schools, students and parents should be pleased with how well they scored in the 2009 Adequate Yearly Progress report. As a final piece of achievement data based on the state assessments earlier this year, six schools in Emporia recently received 21 Standard of Excellence awards in reading, math or science.
But there was a noticeable gap. Although Turning Point Learning Center did receive an award in writing (in addition to reading, math and science), no other school in the district did.
Emporia is not alone. According to a recent editorial in the Lawrence Journal World, Lawrence schools are experiencing a similar deficiency in writing, along with other schools throughout the state.
In an age where corresponding on cell phones, iPhones and laptops seems to be vital to the existence of students, being proficient at texting and tweeting is not enough — not even close — to become effective writers or communicators.
Rather, developing the skills to communicate clearly and thoughtfully with the English language is just as foundational to a young person’s future success as reading and arithmetic. From a simple thank-you card to a future employer for an opportunity to interview, to a well-crafted letter-to-the-editor on a current community issue, a high school graduate who is not equipped to write articulately will enter the “real world” at a great disadvantage.
Consider these facts. According to the 2004 survey report from the National Commission on Writing:
• People who cannot write and communicate clearly are less likely to be hired than people who have these skills.
• Eighty percent of blue-collar workers and 93 percent of white-collar workers say writing is important to success in their particular careers.
• Learning to read and write go hand in hand, according to 79 percent of the public — rejecting the view that reading skills need to come first. Further, learning to write well is perceived as a key ingredient for students to acquire other skills such as effective communication, grammar and critical thinking.
It should come as no surprise that being able to write well is paramount to making it in college, in a career and as a responsible citizen.
In a recent Gazette commentary, Emporia School District Superintendent John Heim stated that 2009 showed “student proficiency is at an all-time high of 81 percent in math and nearly 83 percent in reading.” That is certainly something of which to be proud. But until our students are performing at exemplary levels in writing as well — there’s stil mch mor wrk yet 2B done.
Ashley Knecht Walker
Editor
reddog (K. B. Thomas Jr.) says...
Mark Twain said, "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." Bill Clinton said, "it all depends on what the meaning of the word [is] is."
November 13, 2009 at 1:15 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
reddog (K. B. Thomas Jr.) says...
If you are a journalist and you're not on anyone's hit list, you're not doing very good.
November 13, 2009 at 1:43 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
reddog (K. B. Thomas Jr.) says...
As these young people go into college, they will know when they grow up--6:00 in the morning is when you get up, not when you go to bed.
November 13, 2009 at 1:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
reddog (K. B. Thomas Jr.) says...
Not only is writing a bitch but, it is always having puppies.
November 13, 2009 at 2:11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Farmersdaughter (anonymous) says...
Way to work TPLC!!! We're proud of you!
November 13, 2009 at 8:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bebe (anonymous) says...
They aren't part of the school district, but the Gazette did report that Sacred Heart School made the Standard of Excellence in writing.
http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/20...
November 13, 2009 at 12:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
GingerTPLC (anonymous) says...
I wonder if the use of technology is truly to blame for low writing ability. The kids at TPLC are the most wired of any in the county, if not the state. They use tech tools seamlessly in their education.
I wonder if it's more of the non-educational use of tech that is creating the monster. I wonder if we integrated modern-day productivity tools into our educational system more we'd see a jump in skills overall.
November 14, 2009 at 7:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
After teaching English to grades 10-12 for 22 years, the one thing I noticed that all good writers had in common was a love of reading. Once the school where I taught instituted the Accelerated Reader program for all grades, both reading and writing scores began to soar. The two abilities go hand-in-hand.
I began my classes each day with 10 minutes of silent reading from a library book followed by 10 minutes of free writing to music. Every two weeks they could choose from my bank of topics or a topic from their own free writing to produce a short essay of 500 to 750 words for a grade. Rare was the kid who said, "I don't know what to write about." They were prolific writers and every single one always had a thesis statement once they learned how to compose one.
Each year, I'd hear from my graduating seniors who would tell me how shocked they were to learn that most of their classmates had no idea what a thesis statement was let alone know how to construct one. This tells me that not enough emphasis is placed on writing. Are some teachers shying away from the heavier grading load?
And yes, Ashley, you're correct. It's called Techno Speak and has crept into the language I'm sad to say. My friends who teach in college tell me that essays are rife with it.
In the spoken word, speed has become a problem. I hear some people talk so fast that they are difficult to understand. Much of it has to do with the idea of instant, instant, instant.
November 14, 2009 at 8:51 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
history (anonymous) says...
So true!! What happened to learning how to write (not email) thank you notes, invitations, etc.? I'm afraid we're going to have a whole other problem on our hands in a few years when today's kids enter the world and can't communicate without an electronic device.
November 14, 2009 at 12:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )