"The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it. There should not be a district of one mile square, without a school in it, not founded by a charitable individual, but maintained at the public expense of the people themselves." -- John Adams

"No money shall be drawn from the treasury, for the benefit of any religious or theological institution." -- Indiana Constitution Article 1, Section 6.

"...no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish enlarge, or affect their civil capacities." – Thomas Jefferson

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Krashen on Video

Here's an interview with Stephen Krashen (29 minutes)

Highlights:
  • America's international test scores are "mediocre" (not bad) because of the high number of students in poverty, not because our schools are "failing."
  • Research shows that education can be improved by counteracting the effects of poverty. He speaks specifically about access to books, reminding us that access to books increases the amount of reading (pleasure reading is the key)...the quantity of reading improves reading and a host of other benefits.
  • Poverty, the percentage of children who were allowed to do free reading (pleasure reading) in school, the presence of school libraries of more than 500 books, and access of books in the home are proven to improve reading scores.
  • Teacher evaluation of students (formative testing) is more accurate than standardized testing.


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