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Subject:Re: Report on how kids ca From:Marilynne Smith <m -dot- smith182 -at- GENIE -dot- GEIS -dot- COM> Date:Sat, 13 Aug 1994 12:59:00 UTC
One of my children's grade school teachers had a radical approach. She sent
out a note to the parents and told them the kids were behind where they
should be at that point. Then she said that if the parents would volunteer
to help, she felt they could make up the difference quickly. She scheduled
parents to come in for 2 hours every morning (different parents), broke the
class into work groups, made assignments, etc., etc. The class, of course,
was the best in the school by the end of the year.
How many teachers now could put out that call and get that kind of response?
We live in a different world now and sometimes the price for it is high.
I deeply admire a teacher who cares about the children. My grandchildren
are the ones in grade school now. Our Brandi went through the "Write to
read" program and still has a terrible time with spelling and grammar, but
she's a good reader.
As technical writers, we are going to have to cope with/compensate for the
education of these people. It's job security, but how are we going to
explain the intricacies of the world to someone who can't read? That will
be the real challenge.
Marilynne
m -dot- smith182 -at- genie -dot- geis -dot- com
