"Reading Incomprehension" opinion piece

Reading Incomprehension by Todd Farley is a New York Times opinion piece that discusses the author's experience as a scorer of the essay portions of standardized tests. Strasser was a graduate student working part-time under tight deadlines, not an education professional. Based on this opinion piece, I plan to take a look at Strasser's forthcoming book, Making the Grades: My Misadventures in the Standardized Testing Industry.

Newsflash: Children Want More Bedtime Stories

This just in from GrowingYourBaby:

Study: Kids Want More Stories at Bedtime

New research shows that almost two thirds of children want their parents to read to them more often.

While I question some of the statistics uncovered by Disney/Cars Storyteller’s Collection, the premise seems to be so obvious at first. Of course children want their parents to read to them. Of course they want more stories. But then, I have to remember that I'm trained as a children's librarian and am the daughter of a children's librarian. I'm thinking from a position of privilege:

You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be --
I had a mother who read to me.
-- Strickland Gillilan (1869-1954)

Add "father", "aunties", "uncles" and more benevolent grownups, and that poem pretty much sums it up for me.

Make of this article what you will. Spread the good news.

Thanks to Mama Lisa's World for the link.

Eating Cookies Makes You a Better Reader

Just kidding. Here is the real article title:

An Orderly Home Affects Early Literacy Skills, Study Says
By Debra Lau Whelan -- School Library Journal.

If this is true, my child doesn't have a chance. With two cats in an old house that has forced-air heating, we're very dusty. Wait a minute.... Oh good! There are other factors, too, as examined in the article: home literacy and maternal reading ability are important as well. However, I had to snort when I read this passage:

[Anne] Martin [of Columbia University] notes that perhaps the same mothers who are above-average readers are also those who are more likely to keep a tidy home and to implement daily household routines.

I crave tidiness. You wouldn't know it to look at my desk, but I do. Two weeks ago, I sorted the items on my desk, recycled some papers, shoved a bunch of "to be dealt with later" items in a bag and stacked it on top of my other "to be dealt with later" bags in the bedroom. The insidious clutter has come creeping back. I wonder if my daughter will ever pick up the desire to be tidy. When I was her age, that is, almost six, my bedroom was a wreck, but I had my paperdolls sorted into envelopes I'd made with construction paper and staples. My dollies were all dressed and sitting on their shelves because I didn't want them to get cold, and I certainly didn't want them to feel bad by leaving them lying on the floor. This reminds me of a regular conversation I have with my daughter:

Me: Please pick your dollies up off the floor, They're cold and lonely.

Lucia: Dollies don't get cold! They don't have feelings!

Me: It hurts their feelings when you say that.

Regarding the title of this post, I bought two boxes of Girl Scout Cookies today, even though tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. I had a few cookies today and I'm storing the rest in the freezer until Easter.