Here's an interesting article about the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Seuss, and the NEA's Read Across America program in his honor:
Since 1998, the National Education Association has sponsored a nationwide yearly campaign to promote reading among children. Read Across America, as it is called, invokes the memory of the marvelous and beloved author, Dr. Theodor Seuss Geisel, to encourage adults to motivate children to read by reading to and with them.
The campaign takes on special significance this year because 2004 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Geisel on March 4, 1904, in nearby Springfield, Mass. In tribute to his extraordinary contributions to childhood reading - 48 books that by the time of his death in 1991 had sold more than 200 million copies and that continue to enchant new generations of youngsters - this entire year has been declared a "Seussentennial" and will feature numerous events focusing on children's literacy. As in previous years, teachers throughout Connecticut will take the lead in promoting community reading events for children.
What's most interesting about this article is that the author, Rosemary Coyle, who is president of the Connecticut Education Association, isn't content to focus only on children's literacy. Oh no - there has to be a gratuitous slam against high-stakes testing as well:
This year's Seussentennial provides a particularly important opportunity to recall what Dr. Seuss taught us about education because much of what is driving educational discussions today runs counter to the proven effectiveness of his work. Imagination, creativity and making reading fun are words seldom heard any more. They have been replaced with terms like mandatory yearly annual progress and with lists of hundreds of schools and districts that are considered under-performers by bureaucrats in Washington.
Instead of being introduced to Cats in Hats and elephants that hatch bird eggs, our children - even our preschoolers - are now being introduced to high stakes testing. In October 2003, more than half a million 4-year-olds in Head Start programs across the nation were required to take a standardized test mandated by the federal government...
As we engage in this year's Read Across America, we would do well also to ponder Dr. Theodor Seuss Geisel's belief that true education is less about rote memorization, rigid testing and insistence on conformity than about encouraging children to imagine, create and explore their own talents and their world.
Really? Since when is learning to read only about "rote memorization?" Since when is being a good reader being a slave to "conformity?" Since when do children need help from schoolteachers to be imaginative and creative, rather than good readers? Since when do raising literacy rates demand a higher emphasis on fun and creativity rather than imparting effective reading skills? Since when did Dr. Seuss plan for kids to have fun with his books without being able to decipher the words in them? And I must have missed the memo on the federal government's banning of Dr. Seuss books in all Head Start programs, as well as the use of "imagination" or "fun" with regards to small children.
Dr. Seuss was, I believe, a literary genius, but anyone who thinks that it's more important to make schooling "fun" rather than effective isn't very smart at all.
Update As Devoted Reader Zach noted, this didn't even run in the "Opinion" section of the Branford Review, but in the "Top Stories" section, despite the fact that it is nothing but opinion.
Posted by kswygert at March 8, 2004 10:02 AM