Excerpt
“Spermatic. There’s a word you don’t come across much anymore. Not only does it sound fusty and arcane, as if it had been extracted from the nether regions of a moldy physiology handbook, but it seems fatally tainted with political incorrectness.”
You can read the article here: http://j.mp/2j3E8Tt (via Pocket). Here’s the article: Iserotope Extras, a weekly email digest that includes my favorite articles about race, education, and culture. Feel free to subscribe!
Happy New Year! I hope you thoroughly enjoyed the holiday season. Did you get as much rest and relaxation as I did? (Answer: Not possible.) The past two weeks, I found myself thinking big thoughts about The Highlighter in 2019. A ton of ideas emerged — but what came up over and over again is my interest to offer this great community of 530+ devoted readers more ways to connect with each other, to engage in ideas, and to challenge who we think we are. You’ll find out more in upcoming issues.
This week’s newsletter features articles, podcast episodes, and photo essays on a variety of subjects, including the child-welfare system in Florida, an upstart charter school in New York, the reading gap in Chicago, and an exploration of what home means. If you have time for just one article, please read “The End of Forever,” which tells the story of a boy who never had a home, who “never had parents at all.”
Deon Richards was 4 years old when he was placed in foster care, after his mother killed his sister. “I never had parents — I never had parents at all,” he said. This is the story of Deon’s journey through Florida’s child-welfare system, which relies on privatized companies, Christian group homes, professional foster care parents, and people who abandon their children after adopting them. Somehow, reporter Rowan Moore Gerety manages to eke out some hope out of all the despair. (46 min)
Javion Grayer is a high school student in Chicago who has trouble reading No Way Out, written at the third grade level. This heartbreaking profile explains how intergenerational poverty, underperforming schools, and failing special education services caused Javion to fall through the cracks. The way Javion reads — guessing at words, rather than sounding them out — got me thinking again about “Hard Words” (#162), in which Emily Hanford excoriates the way we teach young people to read. (12 min)
A few weeks ago (#169), I featured one episode of StartUp’s outstanding series on Success Academy(#122). Since then, I’ve kept on listening, and now, for the first time ever, I’m recommending that you listen to the entire seven-episode series — especially if you’re an educator. Be ready to experience a range of emotions. Then, sign up to share your opinions on an upcoming episode of The Highlighter Podcast 🎧! (315 min)
Hope you liked today’s issue of The Highlighter! Please hit reply or use the thumbs below to tell me what you thought. Also, let’s welcome this week’s 18 new subscribers: James, Jess, Rachel, Al, Carla, Christy, David, and 11 others via Stoop. I’m really happy you’re here, and I hope this newsletter becomes part of your weekly reading habit.
If you value The Highlighter, please forward this issue to a friend, urge them to subscribe, or become a VIP member. On the other hand, if you don’t like opening this newsletter every week, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am!
Here are teacher Erin’s 10th graders showing off their thank-you cards to generous supporters of the Kindle Classroom Project. This semester, Erin’s students chose books to supplement their study of immigration and imperialism.
Here are some of their favorites:
Immigration How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents The Sun is Also A Star Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card The Radius of Us The Devil’s Highway
Imperialism Dune Half of a Yellow Sun Burn My Heart Black Dove, White Raven Out of the Shadows
All across the country, there are so many kind and generous people who are donating their used Kindles, buying new Kindles, donating money so students can request books they want to read, volunteering their time, and supporting the program in other ways. It’s a cliché to say that “this wouldn’t be possible without you,” but in this case, it’s entirely true!
The 2,000 students of the KCP are very grateful that they have unlimited access to reading. They get to choose the books that spark their curiosity, and they get to read wherever and whenever they want. Thank you for supporting young people and their reading lives!
Why are we still teaching reading the wrong way? Why are so many educators ignoring settled research and brain science and doing their own thing instead?
In “Hard Words: Why Aren’t Our Kids Being Taught to Read?” Emily Hanford investigates these important questions. Emily’s documentary was featured in The Highlighter #162, and it was wonderful to have a conversation with her.
Did you get the new Kindle Paperwhite for Christmas? If so, you’re lucky! It’s a great device, and you’ll no doubt enjoy many hours of (waterproof) reading.
But you’ll also face the question of what to do with your old Kindle that works perfectly well and is currently collecting dust on your nightstand.
You could give it to a loved one — maybe someone who says they prefer physical books but secretly would love a Kindle. Or you could recycle it safely, or send it to back to Amazon for a bit of money.
Some of you, though, will think to donate your Kindle. And that’s what I encourage you to do! For the last seven years, I’ve been collecting used Kindles from generous people from across the country who care deeply about young people and their reading lives. The Kindle Classroom Project — which began in my classroom in San Francisco — now serves 2,000 students in the Bay Area.
When I receive a Kindle, I do a factory reset, then re-register the device to the KCP Library. This library is built from the ground up, based on student interests and requests. After processing the Kindles and ensuring that parental controls are set (only reading on these Kindles, no other apps!), I assign the Kindle to a KCP teacher, who gives it to a student.
This is where the best part happens. The young person gets to keep their Kindle 24 hours a day, including on weekends and school breaks. This includes Winter Break, which we’re on now, and summers. After all, reading should not be relegated just to the school building, or to a library. Students deserve to read what they want, when they want.
When you donate your Kindle, a student gets unlimited access to books for a total of three or four years, depending on whether they’re a middle school student or a high school student. There are no barriers to their reading, which means there are no barriers to their curiosity. Young people can follow their interests, learning more about themselves and the world.
If you’re interested in donating your Kindle, it takes just two steps: (1) filling out this form, and (2) shipping off your Kindle. Once you do the first step, I’ll send you a personal email about the second step. Thank you!
Also, it’s very possible that you know friends and family members in a similar situation. (Sometimes, I receive 3 Kindles at a time, all from the same household!) Feel free to let them know about my program. It’s also very easy to remember how to donate their Kindle: donatekindle.com is the website!
Why are we still teaching reading the wrong way? Why are so many educators ignoring settled research and brain science and doing their own thing instead?