European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 20, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                On becoming a nation of readers by Lee Mitgang associated press a federally financed study released april 30 Calls for sweeping reforms in the Way american youngsters Are taught to including More parental better More careful use of standardized tests and better training of strengthening the teaching profession is the key to improving Reading said Richard director of the University of Illinois Center for the study of Reading and principal author of the 119page becoming a nation of the report asserted that the Best teachers in the Best schools already know How to turn students into proficient the purpose of the said an was to spread that knowledge to other Educa state school Board members and other serious like Many other recent it urged tougher admissions criteria to the teaching and called for a minimum five years of teacher training instead of the usual the funded by a Federal Grant to the has been presented to education Secretary William the two year study was prepared by a 10member National Academy of education commission on read ing chaired by Anderson and including some of the nations most eminent Reading standardized test scores have shown that advanced Reading skills have slipped since the but there is reason to be optimistic about the Poten tial for the improvement of literacy in the United states because of advances in knowledge about How to teach the report Many of the report principal recommendations echoed other widely publicized education critiques of the last several such As improved teacher train ing and that parents read to preschool children and generally be More Active in encouraging the report said television viewing in moderate doses of up to about 10 hours a week is not the villain that some educators have and can actually help Reading but More than 10 hours a week can seriously hinder Reading it or even is not too Young for Reading the report but while common kindergarten activities like colouring dont do much to help Reading we should caution against turning kindergartens into academic the report also warned against grouping students according to Reading a practice it said was especially harmful to Low ability in Low Abil Ity youngsters often distract each while in higher children tend to self police mis Beha and teachers often tolerate More disruption in Low ability it standardized tests Arent a reliable Mea sure of a Childs ability to understand novels or texts or perform other intellectual the report although tests have some diagnostic the report said Over Reliance on standardized tests can unbalance a schools Reading program and Lead teachers and pupils away from looking at Reading As an Inte enjoyable one alternative is for teachers to tape record Oral readings of each Pupil three times a year for diagnosis and reporting to the report said children should spend More time on Independent Reading at least two hours a week by third or fourth Grade and much less on workbooks and skill sheets that currently take up an average of 70 percent of the classroom time allotted to Reading learning to write is another key to learning to too Early schooling stifles the desire to write with overemphasis on spelling and the report recent pleas to make textbooks by former education Secretary Bell among Are not on the the report people prove every Day that it is possible to make unimportant information hard to it the goal is to write meaty Rich with important concepts and that at the same time Are easy to Texas schools no no play a photo a third grader struggles with his Reading and new methods of teaching Are children at a progressive Philadelphia kindergarten get Geometric forms and Reading by Robert Reinhold new York times less than four months after the Texas legis lature put math and Reading ahead of band and Irving High school near Dallas is feeling the school could not find enough trombonists and clarinet its to Send its concert band to a regional two of the schools four choirs were so denuded of singers that they dropped out of and 19 members of the schools 60member track team were the head football Jim is so worried that he will be unable to Field a Strong team next fall that he has cancelled practice every bringing guest teachers to be sure his athletes know As much about passing tests As passing a failing players Are tutored at least three times a the reason for All this is a stringent new state part of a sweeping education program adopted last that commands that any student who fails to attain a Grade of 70 in any course must be barred from extracurricular activities for the next grading the no no play provision has stirred about As much emotion in Texas As anything since Santa Anna overran the some parents and students denounce it As unfair and but Mark White and other political leaders Are strongly committed to preserving the there is no question that the hailed nationally by educators As putting Texas in the forefront of tightening education is changing the lives of the 4 Mil lion school children in the legislature passed the program amid growing fears that students in Texas were lagging behind the nation in academic achievement and that Texas schools were failing to prepare youngsters for jobs in a rapidly changing the program revamped schedules for teacher salaries and forbade nonacademic activities in school hours and imposed competence testing on teachers and most of it has been accepted though teachers remain unhappy Over their educators and others will be watching the results of this semesters grading and statewide but there is not yet any Concrete evidence to show whether the Law has achieved its main purpose of raising academic since the Law requiring suspensions from extracurricular activities took effect the newspapers have been filled with tales of woe and of Honor Stu dents barred from the debate team because they failed one difficult of youngsters who spent hundreds of dollars raising prize pigs and steers Only to be barred from showing them at livestock of top athletes whose College scholarships have been of decimated Drill and cheer leading at least four Law suits have been filed by infuriated this is one of the most emotional issues weve Ever seen in our said Gay an aide to one legislative opponent of the state Robert a Democrat from Nort Central the senator has said that some of his Young constituents have become but the Man chiefly responsible for the Ross the Dallas computer entrepreneur who headed a gubernatorial commission on education last adamantly opposes any this is revolutionary change youve got to expect some he we Are not asking kids to make straight just to it is very important not do anything to Tell children that it is More important to play than to despite the loud complaints from some students and the changes have gained the if less backing of business Educa and Many the states top elected including William Hobby and House speaker Gib All remain strongly committed to preserving the which the state Board of education has interpreted to Call for six week suspensions of extracurricular this the state Senate resisted pressures to water Down the though it passed a Bill authorizing he 15 member Board of education to reduce the six week suspension period if it saw the House has not yet in one can see evidence of the enormous importance of extracurricular activities in at Irving High school about 40 percent of the students stay after classes to participate in or other according to the Curtis the football the is the Pride of the there was a need for Reform in this said but he added that he Felt the legislature was not sensitive enough to the needs of i have no problem with a student who does not not he but now at we have to release them to the streets removing them from a positive environment to an unsupervised this 119 of the 700 or so Irving High students who participate in extracurricular activities were barred for six about 25 percent of those in Spring sports were and the football is determined that this will not happen in the he has been monitoring his squad All Spring and says that through special tutoring the number of failures has been reduced 30 on a recent the team did not suit up and instead reported to the weight room at the Field House to get some academic advice from Judi head of the English standing amid barbells and weightlifting Purvis tried to liken preparation for English to preparation for a big weekend if you dont practice until thursday for a Friday can you win she How do you think you can prepare for English if you do not Pace it you want to win that game but youve got to there is despite the that the Law is having the desired effect in not in a position to change the so our approach is to make the Best of said he has forced his academically weak players into to we could not get them into said John Kinser and Ben juniors on the football Are being an offensive failed mathematics this Spring and was eliminated from Ben failed English and was barred from track for six missing four or five John concedes that the tutoring really helps a Ben is less but he says his parents Are quite i dont feel athletics should be placed above Academe said but Many kids will lose interest in we can teach vital things for them to go into Bennetts views Are widely echoed by coaches around the but not necessarily by most the coaches contend that the Rule penalizes pass ing students and is encouraging weaker students to drop out of school or avoid hard at Edgewood senior High school in East Texas this the track team lost half its half mile relay team a week before the District it just wiped us said coach David the team worked All year they had their timing Don executive vice president of the Texas High school coaches said we Are in favor of academic but we feel extracurricular activities Are such a positive experience that the student should have an Opportunity to a Survey of his he disclosed that 52 percent of freshman team members were failing one or More in interested in knowing How Many will come Back next he the Law is encouraging kids to drink and do in Many Rural parts of the state parents and Chil Dren question whether academics arc All that import at Pflugerville High which draws Stu dents from a 100squaremilc area of Central 31 students were disqualified from showing their livestock at shows this according to Larry the most of them played Hooky and went to the shows and made worse grades because of one Stu he spent More than to raise two pigs and sold them for at the there is wide agreement among coaches and Many administrators that the six week exclusion should be Cut to three or even to one or that is vigorously opposed by White and his Educa Tion Larry the Issue is not How Long  be out of extra curricular but Why the students Are Yawn if you shorten the you cannot really Tell if the student has really raised his we Are trying to reassert the importance of academics in the school this is not the governor is sensitive to suggestions that his changes have hit hardest on schools with Large minority he recently honoured Madison High a mostly Black school in Houston that won the state basketball championship with an Allback team helped by special although percent of the High school students in the Houston Independent school the states failed at least one course this the districts leadership firmly backs the its working very Well said Geri Konigs spokesman for the superintendent of Bill we Are in favor of the Law because we do not feel that As adults the kids Are going to get a break on the Job or in we understand the problems the kids May be but they got plenty of less enthusiastic is Joe athletic director for the who said he Felt the Rule would work better if the suspension were reduced to one which he said would provide More incentive for students to study and re qualify some people in the legislature expect that if legislators Grant the the state Board of under heavy will arrive at a Compromise for the fall that reduces the suspension to three new York times photo staying on the team Means making the Grade in the Page 14 the stars and stripes May 1985 the stars and stripes Page 15