Hi, Lynn,

As a former resident of Baltimore I am dismayed by the situation you
represent. I'm from Baltimore County originally, and my family still living
in the area are also in the surrounding counties with their children, but I
know the city system quite well. I had been under the impression, from a
distance of many years, that the Cal Ripken literacy initiatives and the
very good work coming out of the U of MD among other places in the state
would have "saved" the public schools. I am saddened to know this is not the
case. Certainly in my own community of Waterbury, CT, though a much smaller
city, many of the problems are similar: high drop-out rates, low mastery
test scores, parents sending their children to magnet schools, private or
parochial schools if possible, and on scholarship. My present position
teaching freshmen classes in basic writing/reading skills at a university
that accepts many inner-city at-risk students bears out the sad preparation,
both cognitively and on the basic skills levels, students are graduating
from high school with. I welcome my position as a "last chance" for some of
these kids, but my worry is that the gap may be too great, if, indeed, they
become aware of it at all. Some do and do wonderfully; others do not. My
best wishes for you and your practice in my native town.

Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D., Post University

 

  _____  

From: professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Lynn Pinder
Sent: Monday, December 18, 2006 7:26 PM
To: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List
Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 712] Re: A book or movie to
inspireteachers

 

As a product of Baltimore City public schools and a resident of Baltimore
City, it saddens me to see the disarray of the Baltimore City Public School
System.  Although the problem of poorly functioning public schools is not
just endemic to Baltimore and is prevalent in almost every inner-city across
the nation, the problem seems to be of crisis proportion in Baltimore.   

 

I am thankful for television shows like The WIRE that give realistic
accounts of the horrors of the public school system and other "systems" that
impede the educational process of hundreds of thousands of youth.  In a city
where more than 50% of ninth graders drop out of Baltimore City Public
Schools and the drop-out rate for African American males is reported at 76%,
it is a no-brainer as to why there is a growing need for effective
professional development for educators (adult literacy in particular) in
Baltimore and across the nation.    Statistics show that the Baltimore City
Public School Systems and other major public school systems are producing
more drop-outs than graduates.    

 

One major problem in Baltimore is that stakeholders would rather give up on
the public school system than invest the time, money, and effort to make it
better.  Most middle class and upper class Black and White parents send
their children to private, charter, or Catholic schools.   These parents,
not even the elected officials including the Maryland Governor elect with
several school aged children, are willing to enroll their children in the
Baltimore City Public School System.   

 

As an educator who does not have children, I am often challenged by my peers
on what I would do if I were in their situation.   Most of my peers who live
in Baltimore and other inner-cities around the country have enrolled their
children in private or charter schools.  I wonder what impact we - as
concerned citizens - would have on the public school systems across this
nation if we demanded our elected officials (the Mayor, the City Council
President, the CEO of the Public School Board, the City Council Member,
etc.) to send their children to public schools.   I wonder what would happen
if the majority of middle and upper class Black and White parents in
Baltimore enrolled their children in Baltimore City Public Schools.   I
wonder what would happen if we as educators, parents, investors, citizens,
elected officials, etc. stood in solidarity and demanded better public
schools not just in Baltimore but across the nation.  

 

I wonder how our government could spend billions of dollars to fight a war
in IRAQ when the minds of hundreds of thousands of American children are
casualties of ineffective, under-funded, and poorly managed public school
systems.   I wonder how many more episodes of The Wire and how many more
movies like Dangerous Minds do we need before we "be the change that we want
to see."

 

 

________________________________________________

Lynn Pinder

DC Children & Youth Investment Trust Corporation

1400 16th Street, NW   Suite 500

Washington, DC  20036

www.cyitc.org 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of
ejonline at comcast.net
Sent: Friday, December 15, 2006 12:29 AM
To: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List
Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 702] Re: A book or movie to
inspireteachers

 

I just want to second the shout-out to the Wire. I have watched the show
from the first season, and I think it is the greatest show in the history of
television. Hands-down. 

 

What is so great about this season is that the portrayal of the school
system takes the time to really work through the implications of many issues
educators are grappling with. One on-going discussion involves whether or
not pull-out programs targeted to help "at risk" youth constitutes tracking.
Another on-going issue is making the material relevant to the students'.
There are no quick and easy answers - the show is realistic in its
complexity. Watching it makes me want to work harder. 

 

There's plenty of graphic violence (physical, emotional and social) and
language so, as they say, viewer discretion is advised.

 

Erik Jacobson 

 

 

 -------------- Original message ----------------------

From: "Laurie Sheridan" <laurie_sheridan at worlded.org>


> This is a TV show, not a book or film, but it's worth checking out.



> 



> I have recently been watching the current season of "The Wire," a



> fictional but grittily real series about inner-city life in Baltimore,



> including in the schools, on the streets, in police headquarters, and in



> city politics.  The interplay among the characters and their constant



> butting of their heads against an intractable bureaucracy is deeply



> compelling though often quite bleak, and I can't think of a better



> portrayal of the lives and backgrounds of some of our learners.  It



> principally follows a group of young African-American boys as they



> thread their way among unsupportive school system, police who sometimes



> abuse and sometimes nurture them, harsh family situations, and the pull



> of the street, gangs, and extreme violence.  It's riveting, and the kids



> who are in their early to late teens are brilliantly acted.    "The



> Wire," a bad name for a good show,  refers to a wiretap the police use



> to try to trap the most brutal gangleaders, who are constantly luring



> the young students into the world of the street, murder and deals gone



> bad.  



> 



> The scenes in the current season focus on the classroom and a new



> teacher (and former cop) who works with others in the school to find



> ways to reach, retain and educate the most at-risk among the youth.  You



> get a close look at the barriers to his doing this, to the kids'



> learning and continuing in school at all--and their constant pressure to



> fall back into "the life" on the street in gangs and dealing. 



> 



> It's on HBO, so you have to have cable, on Thursday nights, at least in



> Boston.   You can also get it from Netflicks or from the video store. 



> Previous years are nearly as rewarding, but this year focuses on the



> classroom so it's especially good.  For any of you who saw "Boys of



> Baraka" this year--this is like a continuation, and in a very similar



> setting with similar characters, and it's even better.  



> 



> Laurie Sheridan



> 



> >>> David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net> 12/14/2006 3:01 PM >>>



> Andrea and others,



> 



> By "challenging" young adults I meant, school dropouts, returning to  



> an alternative education program who have relative little time (for  



> example one year) and who may be reading or doing math at an upper  



> elementary school level, who may be skeptical about what education  



> can do for them but who are willing to give it a second try.  Also,  



> because they are still young, they may bring with them some  



> adolescent street behavior not appropriate to the learning  



> environment.  So films or books about inspiring high school teaching  



> might fit the bill, too.



> 



> Any suggestions?



> 



> 



> David



> 



> David J. Rosen



> djrosen at comcast.net 



> 



> 



> On Dec 14, 2006, at 8:40 AM, Andrea Wilder wrote:



> 



> > David, Please define "challenging young adults."



> > On Dec 13, 2006, at 9:00 PM, David Rosen wrote:



> >



> >> Hi Wendy and others,



> >>



> >> Just to clarify, the book is to inspire the _teachers_ of classes



> of



> >> challenging young adults.



> >>



> >> David J. Rosen



> >>



> >> On Dec 13, 2006, at 8:22 PM, Wendy Quinones wrote:



> >>



> >>> Two come to mind -- "Dangerous Minds," which is more for high



> >>> school age,



> >>> and "Educating Rita" which is maybe for older folks.  Both are  



> >>> really



> >>> inspiring.



> >>>



> >>> Wendy



> >>> ----- Original Message -----



> >>> From: "David Rosen" <djrosen1 at comcast.net>



> >>> To: "The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List"



> >>> <professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov>



> >>> Cc: "The Women and Literacy Discussion List"  



> >>> <womenliteracy at nifl.gov>



> >>> Sent: Wednesday, December 13, 2006 6:28 PM



> >>> Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 682] A book or movie to inspire



> >>> teachers



> >>>



> >>>



> >>>> Colleagues,



> >>>>



> >>>> I was asked today for a recommendation of a movie or book (such



> as



> >>>> "Stand and Deliver") which would inspire teachers to have high



> >>>> expectations for their young adult students, to give each day  



> >>>> 100% to



> >>>> their teaching.  What would you recommend?



> >>>>



> >>>>



> >>>> David J. Rosen



> >>>> djrosen at comcast.net 



> >>>> ----------------------------------------------------



> >>>> National Institute for Literacy



> >>>> Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list



> >>>> ProfessionalDevelopment at nifl.gov 



> >>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to



> >>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment 



> >>>>



> >>>> Professional Development section of the Adult Literacy Education 



> 



> >>>> Wiki



> >>>> http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/ 



> >>>> Adult_Literacy_Professional_Development



> >>>>



> >>>



> >>>



> >>> ----------------------------------------------------



> >>> National Institute for Literacy



> >>> Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list



> >>> ProfessionalDevelopment at nifl.gov 



> >>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to



> >>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment 



> >>>



> >>> Professional Development section of the Adult Literacy Education  



> >>> Wiki



> >>> http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/ 



> >>> Adult_Literacy_Professional_Development



> >>



> >> David J. Rosen



> >> djrosen at comcast.net 



> >>



> >>



> >>



> >> ----------------------------------------------------



> >> National Institute for Literacy



> >> Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list



> >> ProfessionalDevelopment at nifl.gov 



> >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to



> >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment 



> >>



> >> Professional Development section of the Adult Literacy Education



> Wiki



> >> http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/ 



> >> Adult_Literacy_Professional_Development



> >>



> >



> > ----------------------------------------------------



> > National Institute for Literacy



> > Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list



> > ProfessionalDevelopment at nifl.gov 



> > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to  



> > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment 



> >



> > Professional Development section of the Adult Literacy Education



> Wiki



> > http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/ 



> > Adult_Literacy_Professional_Development



> 



> David J. Rosen



> djrosen at comcast.net 



> 



> 



> 



> ----------------------------------------------------



> National Institute for Literacy



> Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list



> ProfessionalDevelopment at nifl.gov 



> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to



> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment 



> 



> Professional Development section of the Adult Literacy Education Wiki 



>

http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Adult_Literacy_Professional_Developme
nt


> ----------------------------------------------------



> National Institute for Literacy



> Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list



> ProfessionalDevelopment at nifl.gov



> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 



> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment



> 



> Professional Development section of the Adult Literacy Education Wiki 



>

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nt

 

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