OBAMA’S FIRST MISTAKE?

The Huffington Post reports that NYC’s Schools Chancellor, Joel Klein, is rumored to be on the President-elect’s short-list for Secretary of Education. Blogger “godrummer” speaks most eloquently on the topic:

Joel Klein has single-handedly–well, with Bloomberg’s help–made a bad system much worse. His complete dependence on high stakes tests, his manipulation of school principals, his packing the schools with unprepared teachers, his Draconian approach to budget making, his consistent lies about serious matters like the NYC drop our rate (close to 70% for African Americans and Latino’s according to the best respected expert–Gary Orfield), and his utter disrespect of parents by excluding them completely is a partial list of why making him Secretary of Education is the worst possible move for Obama on education. I suggest Linda Darling Hammond or almost any other talented educator–we don’t need a lawyer.

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It is also to be noted that under Klein’s watch, the NYC Department of Education:

>>Adopted an unproven literacy program that ran contrary to federal guidelines;

>>Set up new bus routes in midwinter that left children stranded;

>>Failed to prevent schools from lying to parents who were told (falsely) that their children had to transfer to GED programs because the youngsters hadn’t accumulated sufficient credits in high school;

>>Set up an accountability system that failed to articulate with Federal and State standards;

>>Spent millions on a data-analysis system that is so overloaded that most teachers can’t access data unless they get online in the middle of the night;

>>Continues to hire new, inexperienced teachers while forcing experienced, skilled and highly-paid senior teachers to serve as substitutes and hall-monitors;

>>Spends five-million dollars a year on couriers;

>>Failed to keep tabs on a Deputy Chancellor who pressured a school district into giving her unqualified husband a high-paying job.

Last week, the City’s Comptroller charged the DOE of submitting misleading numbers when reporting cost-cutting efforts.

Chancellor Klein’s leadership is questionable, to say the least. I’ve never heard a teacher speak well of him. President-elect Obama won the election because he is an inspirational leader. Joel Klein has drawn the ire of teachers and parents alike. Choosing him as Secretary of Education would be a provocative move.

BARACK OBAMA: “THE HARRY POTTER PARENT”

The American Library Association calculates that from 1999-2004, J.K. Rowling was the number four most banned or challenged author in the country. http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/authors19902004.cfm

 

We all know the complaints.  The Harry Potter books are evil.  They teach witchcraft and corrupt the children of good churchgoing people.  Recently, however, Harry and his friends have gained an illustrious champion, none other than Barack Obama.  In an interview with Michelle Obama, the senator’s wife referred to him as the “Harry Potter parent.”  Obama has read the entire series with his older daughter; and the senator, lest we forget, is a Christian.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/07/18/politics/p150814D75.DTL&type=politics 

 

What does Obama know that some churchgoers do not?  It’s simply this: Reading makes kids smarter.  And here’s another fact: most kids, unless they’re psychotic, can tell the difference between fantasy and reality.  Harry Potter fans are no more likely to lose their minds and start worshipping Satan, than they are to jump off the roof after watching old episodes of Superman. 

 

Fantasy has fallen into disrepute and not just with evangelicals.  Lots of parents and teachers have condemned the reading of fantasy literature, be it Goosebumps or the Potter books.  While fears of witchcraft constitute an extreme version of fantasy-phobia, many adults see fantasy books as trivial and mind-polluting.  They try to steer kids away from them.  What a terrible mistake.

 

Literacy experts tell us that one way to turn kids into great readers is to give them high-interest books.  What do they find interesting?  Fantasy, sci-fi, mysteries and adventure stories are all very popular.  When we put “proper” books into children’s hands, thinking they’ll learn important life lessons, what they take away from the experience is: reading is boring.  Children will resist reading if they see it as a chore.

 

The only activities we repeat willingly are those that are pleasurable.  Pleasure isn’t a sin; it’s a survival skill.  Children who have fun reading books, including fantasy novels develop:

 

Ø      Critical thinking skills

Ø      Communication skills

Ø      A broader vocabulary

Ø      Empathy

 

Yes, I said empathy.  Novels in all genres take us inside the characters’ heads and help us to feel emotions along with them.  This is a transferable skill.  Children who read fantasy and other literary genres learn to get inside other people’s heads.  This helps them understand real people in the real world.  If you know Harry Potter, for example, you know what it feels like to be a maltreated outsider.  What a great starting point to teaching children about bullying and racism!  One expert believes that reading novels generates greater interest in human rights. 

http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2002/april17/hunt-417.html 

 

Senator Obama, who has risen to the top of the Democratic Party by the sheer force of his intellect, has pointed the way.  Harry Potter can prepare our children for their future lives by building-up their cognitive and social-emotional skills.  If we want our children to do well in life (and maybe even run for president some day), then we should all become Harry Potter parents.