Hello Friends,

This month in WinkWorld, I am sharing a few interesting sites/thoughts, which have emerged in class this past month. Enjoy.

Reading Recovery
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/03/20/29recovery_web.h26.html In addition, I have learned of a national, grass-roots project to write letters of support for Reading Recovery to Oprah. If you care to do this, the address is: oprahemail@readingrecovery.org

Socratic Dialogue
A few students recently discovered these ideas, posted previously on WinkWorld
WinkWorld, June/July 2006
WinkWorld, May 2006
WinkWorld, November 2004

Poverty and Prosperity After reading about what teachers make in the last two WinkWorld, Debra Schneider, a former MA student, shared the following high school social studies unit. Enjoy! Debra writes:

Our unit question is, "What can we do about poverty?" We begin by having students define poverty as they see it and write and talk in small groups about what they see as the causes of poverty. Then we show them this matrix of wages (which we update every year or so) and it opens their eyes: what welfare really is and how much it pays, how much minimum wage jobs really pay (they learned this year that the latest increase, though welcome, did not necessarily lift workers out of poverty), and what it means to be "the working poor" (since to many of them, "poor people don't work" and are "just lazy").

http://www.joanwink.com/newsletter/2007/wagematrix2007.pdf

They understand the power of education to address poverty, so then we show them what people make by education and gender (another shocker for many girls!). We also show them how many people actually make it to and through college, and work with them to list the skills and knowledge they need to be developing now to be the one(s) who do make it through. And we show them why it pays to stay in high school, with this piece from my former colleague, Sarah Dias.

http://www.joanwink.com/newsletter/2007/incomebysexanded2004.pdf

http://www.joanwink.com/newsletter/2007/whathighschoolpays.pdf

Also helpful is
A Tour of the State of Poverty: http://www.nccbuscc.org/cchd/povertyusa/tour2.htm
Later, we'll look at social class, and for that I can recommend these sites: People Like Us: Social Class in America by PBS: http://www.pbs.org/peoplelikeus/
Teaching Economics As If People Mattered from United for a Fair Economy: http://www.faireconomy.org/
UFE's Ten Chairs exercise: http://www.teachingeconomics.org/content/index.php?topic=tenchairs
A Tour of the State of Poverty http://www.nccbuscc.org/cchd/povertyusa/tour2.htm
How Class Works info-graphics:
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/national/20050515_CLASS_GRAPHIC/index_03.html

Debra Schneider, Ph.D
Social Studies Department
Merrill F. West High School
dschneider@tusd.net
Course Calendar for US History: http://tinyurl.com/nn9v7
Course Calendar for Senior Odyssey: http://tinyurl.com/h7uta

In addition, I refer you to: Krashen, S. (2005, February). The "decline" of reading in American, poverty and access to books, and the use of comics in encouraging reading. Teachers College Record. Retrieved March 28, 2007, from http://blackboard.csustan.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_4101_1

More on Poverty
http://www.joanwink.com/newsletter/2006/news0706-intro.html#c

Recommendations for NCLB
http://www.elladvocates.org/documents/nclb/ILEP_NCLB_Recommendations.pdf

The Political Context of Gingrich's remarks
Jim Crawford comments on Newt Gingrich's recent statement about bilingual education (circulated with Crawford's permission):

Gingrich's attack on bilingual education should be understood in the context of Republican presidential politics. Both he and Mitt Romney hope they can exploit the issue to win over Far Right voters, whose loyalties are up for grabs.

The good news: Gingrich has a short attention span. He pushed an English-only bill through the House back in 1996, but when it brought no political benefits for Republicans he dropped the issue. A year later, discussing two-way bilingual ed, he told a reporter for the New Yorker:

"Do you realize that there are two hundred languages spoken in the Chicago school system? That's an asset, not a liability. You get Sally to speak Cambodian and Sally gets you to speak English. If they succeed, we give each of them a thousand dollars. We'd have kids practicing language seven days a week." [Quoted in my book At War with Diversity, 2000].

Steve Krashen's comments on Gingrich. Sent to USA Today, Posted on Washington Post website, April 1

Re: Gingrich critical of bilingual education (April 1)

Newt Gingrich is wrong and Peter Zamora is right: Bilingual education does a better job of helping children acquire English than English "immersion." Bilingual programs use the child's first language in ways that accelerate English language development.

In the last two years, four major reviews (including one from the US government) have been published confirming that children in bilingual programs do better on tests of English reading than those in all-English programs, including one report from the US government.

Stephen Krashen

The four major reviews:
1. Slavin, R. and Cheung, A. 2005. A synthesis of research of reading instruction for English language learners, Review of Educational Research 75(2): 247-284.
2. Rolstad, K., Mahoney, K., & Glass, G. 2005. The big picture: A meta-analysis of program effectiveness research on English language learners. Educational Policy 19(4): 572-594.
3. Genesse, F., Lindolm-Leary, K., Saunders, W., and Christian, D. 2005. English Language Learners in U.S. Schools: An Overview of Research. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 10(4), 363-385.
4. Francis, D., Lesaux, N., & August, D. 2006. Language of instruction, In D. August & T. Shanahan, (Eds.) Developing literacy in second-language learners, pp. 365-413. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

New Angel: Buttercup, My Horse
http://www.joanwink.com/cp-buttercup.html
Wink, J. (2000, 2/e). Critical pedagogy: Notes from the real world. New York : Addison Wesley Longman, pp. 173-174.

Notes from the Real World
CSU Stanislaus Research Award: We did it! Many of you wrote extremely generous letters of support for me, when I was nominated for this award. I was humbled when I read your letters, and apparently the committee took your words to heart, too, as I was just notified that I won the award. Thank you so much. Go Team!

Family Update
Dawn has recently accepted a full-time instructor position at Santa Fe Community College . Happy days are here for all, including the lucky students of SFCC.
http://www.sfccnm.edu/sfcc/pages/964.html

Pink and White M&M's
http://www.mymms.com/sgk/
Susan G. Komen's Foundation: For each 8-ounce bag of the special candies sold, the makers of M&M (Masterfoods) will donate 50 cents to the foundation.

My March Medical Tests
All of my March medical tests were very good, and my treatments will end in August. Thank you for all of your support and prayers.

Adam's Poem
Adam is our 16 year-old great-nephew, who is undergoing treatment for an advanced case of testicular cancer. His mom and dad realized early on that Adam never cried. He says he doesn't feel like crying, he just wants the cancer out of him. Recently, his family found a poem, which Adam had written on a piece of notebook paper for a class. It was addressed: For Mom. As you read it, keep in mind that testicular cancer patients who have been cancer-free for ten years are considered, "cured."

I Never Cried
By Adam Meinecke, age 16
I found out I had it
December 11, 2006
It was in my lungs and liver
I knew what I had to do
But I never cried
It put me in the hospital
For days on end
It caused my loved ones pain
I had a fight to win
I had no time to cry
It put me through treatment
Hell for three months
They told me it was shrinking
Withering away into the nothingness it deserved
I was too happy to cry
Then there was the day
The day I was told
My family was rejoicing around me
I sat there with a blank look
Then it hit me
The fight was over
For 10 years I had fought
And now it was just over
It had shaped me
Made me who I am
And I cried

To follow Adam's progress,
www.caringbridge.org/visit/adammeinecke

Family Pixs 1-Dawn and the Kids
http://www.joanwink.com/gifs2/dawnkids0307.jpg
2-Garrett Coloring
http://www.joanwink.com/gifs2/gcoloring.jpg
3-Austin - Got Eyelashes?
http://www.joanwink.com/gifs2/aeyelashes.jpg
4- Grammie and great painters
http://www.joanwink.com/gifs2/gpainting.jpg

To Reference This Web Page Wink, J. (2007, April). WinkWorld: April 2007
Retrieved ,
from www.joanwink.com/newsletter/2007/news0407-intro.html.