Hello Friends,

This month WinkWorld includes much of what has crossed my path while I was in CA in May and SD in June. Enjoy and thanks for thinking with me.

     Open Letter to Senator Obama
     Immersion Confusion, updated
     Riverbank Language Academy
     Cross-cultural Institute of Clark County School District, Las Vegas
     UT Austin, Proyecto Maestría
     Sharon Whitehead-van Löben Sels. History of the Learning Pyramid
     Free Voluntary Reading includes
        NYCPL
        Shellie's observations on libraries with and without books
        Le shares a story of a 4 year old who wants to read
     Welcome to the World
     Notes from the Real World
     Prairie Pedagogy

In our next issue of WinkWorld, my plan is to feature ONLY stories and pictures from our summer on the ranch.

First Things First
I encourage you to consider the enclosed grassroots letter to Senator Obama, which so far has signatures from all states, except Wyoming. In addition, to date Sen. Obama's education positions are quite similar to those of Sen. McCain. We have some hope that Sen. Obama will listen, IF those of us involved daily with teaching and learning will speak up. I thank you for your serious consideration of this letter.
http://www.avwebnet.com/EducationReformLetter.asp

During the primaries, I discovered, much to my amazement, that I am a card-carrying member of WOW (Wonderful Older Women). See: www.joanwink.com/about.html
In addition, Commissioner Wink won in the primaries and now goes on to the fall election as a candidate for the SD House of Representatives.

Immersion Confusion
Often, people misunderstand the meaning of the word, immersion. This misunderstanding of immersion leads to school policies, which hurt some children's opportunity to access knowledge. Think of it this way: If WinkWorld were written in Polish or Swahili, would you learn anything? Would you care? Would you even bother to try? Or, would you simply hit delete?

While reading about the new anti-bilingual education movement in the state of Oregon, http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/2008/06/november_ballot_in_oregon_to_h.html and Zehr's second article on it: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/2008/06/the_oregon_ballot_initiative_f.html, I thought of a short article which I published in 1991. I'm often hesitant to read, much less share, anything I wrote in the early 90's, however, some of the national dialogue leads me to share it again.
www.joanwink.com/research/pub_immersionconfusion.html
www.joanwink.com/research/ImmersionConfusion.pdf

Similar ideas were published in Critical Pedagogy: Notes from the Real World, 3/e, pp. 72-79 (www.joanwink.com/cp3/cp3_pgs72-79.html)* and also in another article which we published with Jill Mora. See Mora, Wink, and Wink, Dueling Models of Dual Language Instruction: A Critical Review of the Literature and program Implementation Guide, at http://brj.asu.edu/content/vol25_no4/html/art3.htm

For more on immersion, see:
ELL Advocates of Language and Education Policy Institute
http://www.elladvocates.org/issuebriefs.html#immersion

* In addition, if you like to see a gorgeous water color of the three perspectives, painted by a treasured graduate student, Dayna, see www.joanwink.com/3perspectives.html.

Riverbank Language Academy
While in CA in May, I had the pleasure of working with the staff and teachers of this fabulous school. I visited the classrooms for several days, and felt proud to be a part of teaching and learning.
http://www.riverbanklanguageacademy.org

Cross-cultural Institute of Clark County School District of Las Vegas
In June I had the pleasure of working with these teachers. www.joanwink.com/sched.html - Scroll down and help yourself to the materials.

UT Austin, Proyecto Maestría
In June I enjoyed a phone conference with a group of bilingual teachers at the University of Texas, Austin. They had read Dueling Models of Dual Language: A Critical Review of the Literature and Program Implementation Guide
http://brj.asu.edu/v254/pdf/ar3.pdf
I have known their professor, María Franquiz, for many years through work in CA and NV. Other related articles:
     Collier and Thomas
     http://brj.asu.edu/v254/pdf/ar3.pdf
     Lindholm-Leary
     http://www.lindholm-leary.com/resources/review_research.pdf
     Krashen
     http://www.sdkrashen.com/articles/the_2-way_issue/index.html
     Jessica Stark: As graduation rates go down, school ratings go up
     Or
     Texas Study: High-Stakes Testing Leads to Lower Graduation Rates
     http://www.media.rice.edu/media/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=10580&SnID=244250618
     http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v16n3/

Whole Language Umbrella
In July during the Whole Language Umbrella in Tucson Arizona, I'll be presenting with Dr. Janet Towell of Florida Atlantic University.
See, www.joanwink.com/sched.html

History of the Learning Pyramid
Dr. Sharon Whitehead-van Löben Sels contributed a graphic based on the information I shared on the Learning Pyramid at CSU Stanislaus, March 12. Thanks, Sharon.
www.joanwink.com/newsletter/2008/sharon-graphic-of-learning-pyramid-0408.pdf

FVR, Free Voluntary Reading
Apparently, many of you love the New York City Public Library, as much as I do,
www.joanwink.com/gifs3/joan-nyc-0408.jpg
www.joanwink.com/gifs3/joan-nyc2-0408.jpg
and I appreciate all of the little memories, which you shared with me since last month. The best library story I heard this month follows:

Shellie, The Returning Student
Shellie is a single mom with 3 little children. She is in a university in TX and preparing to be a teacher, and she is journaling her observations as a non-traditional student.

As I was exploring the campus, I walked down one hallway and found the library. I love libraries. So, I poked my head in to have a little look. It is only row after row of computers. I walked back out and looked at the sign. LIBRARY. I am standing baffled looking into the room. This girl comes and out, and I ask

"Is this the library?" I asked the girl behind the desk.
"Yep," she offers a friendly smile.
"Um…," I stammer, "Uh...where are the books?" She looks at me like I have just fallen from outer space, I am beginning to wonder the same thing myself.
"The books are in the computers." She answers sympathetically. Poor old alien, she's never seen a library before.

Well, of course the books are in the computers. Where else would they be? I pity this generation who will never get to experience finding one of the coveted comfy chairs in the library, sneaking in the forbidden caffeine and junk food, and hunkering down WITH A BOOK for a long study. In protest, I make a u-turn and go study in the snack shack.

Le Putney of UNLV: Noah, Out Of The Mouths of Babies
putneyl@unlv.nevada.edu

The other day Noah, 4 1/2 years old, said to his grandmother, "Bebe will you P-L-E-A-S-E teach me to read?"
She answers, "yes, Noah, I promised you already that I would teach you to read."
"But Bebe, I need to know how to read and I need to know NOW, Bebe."
"Ok, Noah, but why so urgent, why now?"
"Because, Bebe, I am at your school and visiting Mrs. Miller's class and EVERYONE in there knows how to read but me."
And Connie replied, "But Noah, they are all in first grade and you are still in preschool so it's ok that you don't know yet how to read."
"But Bebe, I'm the only one so I need to know now!"

So they sit down in a comfy place. Connie pulls out some index cards and a book. They select five words for Noah (it, is, a, cat, dog) and they spell them as they write each one on a card. They go over the words on the card, then they go to the book and find each word on the page. Connie shows Noah how the words have spaces between them - that's how you know the word ends and a new word begins. They read each word and point to it as they go, then they read the whole sentence at once. They look at the pictures, they continue to practice and soon, Noah is reading. So he goes to announce to his grandfather that he can read, but along the way he stops to watch TV. By the time he remembers to go to Papa, he realizes he can't remember all the words and big tears drip down his face as he wails, "Oh, no, Bebe! I forgot how to read! Now I'll NEVER be able to read like the big kids!"

Connie pulls him back to the couch and gives him a big hug and says, "Oh Noah, you just forgot for a moment, but you can remember if you come back and look at the words, See, the words are still here, and the cards are here to help you remember. You had it in your head, but then you stopped to watch TV." "I know, Bebe, I'm addicted to TV. I have to stop watching it so I can remember how to read. Will you teach me again?"

So they review what they had read and Noah remembered the words and this time went running to Papa without stopping at the TV. "Papa, look, I can read. Watch me do this!" And he reads two pages to his papa. He returns to Connie and says, "Ok, Bebe, now that I know how to read, when do we work on comprehension?"

GoodReads
www.Goodreads.com

Kindle
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/06/24/kindle
Get a Kindle and tell us about it:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FI73MA?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwjoanco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325

FmF (Featuring my Friends) In the last 3 months, I have featured news texts by Jim Crawford, Stephen Krashen, and Susan Ohanian,
www.joanwink.com/fvr.html

This month, I'd like to suggest two more books:

Kate Menkin's new book, English Learners Left Behind: Standardized Testing as Language Policy, 2008
ISBN: 1853599980
http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentID=15261

Susan Ohanian's new book, When Childhood Collides with NCLB, ISBN: 1-890429-05-8. Susan has kept the price for this book at $8.95, and she is not collecting any royalties. If you want this book, go directly to www.vsse.net or www.susanohanian.org. Please enjoy Steve Krashen's thoughts on this book.
www.joanwink.com/newletter/2008/Krashen-on-Ohanian-WW0508.pdf

FVR, Books Lying Around My Desk, a.k.a., TEXTS.

The Teachers, Schools, and Society: A Brief Introduction to Education by Sadker & Zittleman
ISBN: 0073525839

Don't Think of an Elephant by George Lakoff
ISBN: 1931498717

Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts by Will Richardson
ISBN: 1412927676

FVR, Books Lying Around My House

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen - a great summer read.
ISBN: 1565125606

Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos - beautiful story of friendship and love (and pain) between a woman and a young girl
ISBN: 0452287898

The Sum of Our Days by Isabel Allende
ISBN: 006155183X

Seabiscuit - I had to read it again. Even better the 2nd time.
ISBN: 0345465083

Banned Books, we always need to keep and eye on who is telling us what not to read. Unfortunately, the minute I hear I'm not supposed to read something, I must read it immediately to try to understand why I'm not supposed to read it.
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/challengedbanned/challengedbanned.cfm
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bannedbooksweek.cfm

To Reference This Web Page Wink, J. (2008, July).
WinkWorld: June-July 2008
Retrieved ,
from www.joanwink.com/newsletter/2008/news0708-intro.html.