Home » Articles on Demand » Literacy Development: Back to the Real Basics




Literacy Development: Back to the Real Basics

by Margie Carter
May/June 2000
Access over 3,000 practical Exchange articles written by the top experts in the field through our online database. Join Today!

Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/literacy-development-back-to-the-real-basics/5013314/

The early childhood field has been invaded in the past few years with a proliferation of everything but the needed funds and qualified staff which create the foundation for quality programs. We now have enough commercial products, conferences, and dot-coms to last a lifetime. A prime example can be found in the explosion of interest and materials centered on developing literacy skills in a child's early years. Whirling around in this storm are some valuable resources, but it takes time and a discerning eye to pluck them out and put them to use.

Within the educational field and wider community, government, and corporate arenas, multiple efforts are underway to address our population's growing illiteracy, school failure, violence, and media addiction. There is recognition that something is terribly wrong, but most of the discussion diverts attention away from the deeper roots of these problems.

Little reference is given to what Jonathan Kozol calls the "Savage Inequalities" between funding and related support for suburban schools versus urban ones, or the racial disproportionality of school failure, drop out, and incarceration. We are told that progressive ideas like whole language instruction and bilingual education haven't worked, without a deeper analysis of the flaws in the ...

Want to finish reading Literacy Development: Back to the Real Basics?

You have access to 5 free articles.
or an account to access full article.