For anyone who can’t see the link - two links

The first one - http://www.scoop.it/t/english-language-learning-1/p/3732297530/e-d-hirsch-vocabulary-declines-with-unspeakable-results

The second one is the actual WP article
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444165804578010394278688454.html#articleTabs_comments=&articleTabs=article

As far as my search, embedded systematic knowledge building is a term used to described pedagogical teacher practices, teacher development and another phrase - “job-embedded jobs” - “Commitment to professional learning within school and board communities, discussed
later in this chapter, develops the collective capacity of staff to work together to achieve
the fundamental purpose of the education system – that is, high levels of learning for all
students. Every student’s learning experience can be improved when there is a shared
commitment to high academic goals for every student and when educators are engaged in
collaborative problem solving, continuous assessment for learning, and ongoing professional
learning that is job-embedded and site-specific.”
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/learningforall2011.pdf

In the WP article - “The most secure way to predict whether an educational policy is likely to help restore the middle class and help the poor is to focus on the question: “Is this policy likely to translate into a large increase in the vocabularies of 12th-graders?” When questions of fairness and inequality come up in discussions, parents would do well to ask whether it’s fair of schools to send young people into a world where they suffer from vocabulary inequality.”

As far as I have observed there is no systematic knowledge building for students inside the Canadian public education. It is widely assume, that students will pick up the vocabulary in the constructivist classroom, as the students are exposed to more complex vocabulary.

As Hirsch has pointed out, ” If a child reads that “annual floods left the Nile delta rich and fertile for farming,” he is less likely to intuit the meaning of the unfamiliar words “annual” and “fertile” if he is unfamiliar with Egypt, agriculture, river deltas and other such bits of background knowledge.”

No such thing in Canadian public education systems regarding the systematic knowledge building of vocabulary for students. From what I have observed, experienced and read - the students are expected to obtained meaning of unfamiliar words, within the context of the reading passages.

I was mocked at, when I was tutoring and re-teaching my child at home, to not only learned the terms, but as well as the added list that I complied, of what I called the seven letter vocabulary words. that helps to make sense of the subject terms. The first time and the only instant, that I seen systematic vocabulary knowledge building in action, was in my child’s grade 11 English class. The teacher was transferred for the crime of improving the writing and reading skills of her students, so they would be able to passed the grade 12 English public exam, with a B or higher.

My child came home all excited about the grade 11 English class, and how it was so much like what I did for my child at home and what I was urging her to do in class. Take the time out to learn the meaning of 7-letter words to understand the reading passages. One word that came up, only my child knew the meaning - applicable. She aced the test question on the test, because she knew the meaning of the word applicable and was able to answer the essay question correctly. I give credit to the learning of the Latin root words earlier on, that help my child determined the meaning of the word applicable. Another thing, that is no longer taught - root words of Latin and Greek in the public schools of today.

Enjoy The Comments

A big THANK YOU to Nancy for providing a workable link to the WSJ article.  This should be an important discussion for Americans — if not for the whole world.  I don’t know why Wall Street Journal makes it impossible to read such urgent articles and participate in the comments without having to subscribe.  If Diane Ravitch was to comment on this, she would call it “profitizing” public discussion on urgent matters of national security, or something like that! 

Nonetheless, Hirsch’s insights are eye opening.

However, it’s the comments that advance and develop the issues.  We’re back to 30 years ago when “A Nation At Risk” issued this WARNING:

“If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war.”

A good number of the comments deal with the incremental takeover of the education system by Progressives, and of course, this has happened in Canada as well.  But, there is so much “pussyfooting” on this issue.  Political correctness has trained people well. It’s not polite to call a “spade a spade” anymore.

And of course, Progressives, besides having achieved ironclad grips on most of education training and provision, also vehemently oppose “school choice” for those who don’t want their medicine. 

The irony is this, and I did not see it mentioned in the comments.  This is the irony:

While the Progressives are succeeding in “dumbing-down” the populations — their own vocabulary is rich and highbrow. The literature in the journals, blogs, texts and university theses amongst the Socialist, Marxist and Communist “intelligentsia” does not lack for vocabulary adeptness.

[My old computer used to be able to gauge reading level.  For example, an average newspaper story might be 6 over 10 or something like that.  This “left” literature I’m talking about would be rated at probably 9 out of 10.]

Irony #2 is that those in the vanguard of the left education circles like to call themselves “intellectual workers” or “idea workers”!

What Do “Intellectual Teachers” Teach?

Here is the latest opinion piece by Henry A Giroux, a leading left critic of “traditional” education. Giroux is one of the main exponents of “teacher as intellectual”.

I think this is more of the same view — that only a rare elite can lead the many. Keep the stranglehold on the monopoly of public education and prevent school choices where parents, public, and students choose their preferences.

Henry A. Giroux | The War Against Teachers as Public Intellectuals in Dark Times
Monday, 17 December 2012

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/13367-the-corporate-war-against-teachers-as-public-intellectuals-in-dark-times

Girioux is brilliant. We are very lucky to have him in Canada I had a chance to speak with him at length at a Paulo Freire conference.

Giroux would have fit well in the old USSR. Or maybe at the dying days of the Roman Empire. Too many would be intellectuals naval gazing, reflective practices within their own brand of ideologies that teaches children the whys without the how-tos to become responsible adults in a dynamic democracy.

If ever Giroux’s vision became a reality - parents will be moaning, ‘But my 11 year old can’t read’, and the response from the public intellectual would be, ‘But that is the parents’ duties, and my duty is to instruct how the political and capitalistic forces are shaping and determining the futures of the children. With the rejoiner,  the public teacher intellectual, has a 7:00 spot for the parent’s child, in his private tutoring business, and that will be a cost of $45.00 per session.

Serious folks, Giroux and his ilk must be getting desperate to used the latest school shooting as his opening paragraph, to pushed the private agendas of educating by political ideologies to turned students into anarchists and protesters (the foot soldiers of lower literacy and numeracy skills), to have the professional class ruling the roost. A Marxist wet dream.

Good thing people’s natures are not inclined, and history has shown that since the ancient times.

Otherwise, did anybody see the contradictions in the article?  Giroux can’t have it both ways, denouncing faith values inside the schools,  and than asking the churches to joined the upper elite of the public teachers intellectuals and their revolution..

The truth is,every teacher will tell you this,they are trained as generalists.
They learn their craft on the job,Teacher`s College is basically useless,it emphasizes classroom management.
I am sure most teachers wouldn`t call themselves intellectuals,nor would most of us .
Perhaps professors at University who are subject specific experts could wear Giroux`s hat on this.

Crazy stuff!
Yes Tunya,I had the opportunity to watch Laura Brotten`s interview on the Agenda a few weeks ago,pussyfooting is right,they are so political that when you listen to them it`s agitating.They speak for 30 minutes without saying anything,it`s a joke!