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Friday, October 28, 2005
Cover to Cover
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A recent blog poster lamented that his child was studying “The Grapes of Wrath” in school, but the students weren’t expected to read the whole book. They read exerpts and chapter summaries instead.
Several years ago I went to a textbook fair for Gwinnett County teachers. Scott Foresman was the major player, and the sales rep was proud of a literature textbook that “targeted the MTV generation.” Much of the readings were short, and they included a lot of contemporary stories, such as Amy Tan’s “The Joy Luck Club.” The sales rep reminded teachers (as if they need reminding!) that today’s kids have short attention spans.
Parents, are your kids reading challenging literature? Are they reading books from cover to cover? Teachers, how do you address students’ short attention spans?
