Literacy on Huffington Post

Christine Horansky: When Hogwarts Came to Harvard: Real Life Villains and the Universal Power of Imagination

2012-05-24T17:18:49Z

What universal appeal might the story of Harry Potter, with its young upstart wizards and Dark Lord, have for the real struggles of so many people around the globe?

Read more: JK Rowling, Harry Potter, Harvard, Pottermore, Literacy, Global Education, Human Rights, Empathy, Amnesty International, Imagination, Hogwarts, Impact News

Q&A With 826DC Executive Director Joe Callahan

2012-05-21T16:22:34Z

WASHINGTON -- Located in the now bustling center of Columbia Heights, 826DC has been a welcome, if somewhat confusing, addition to the neighborhood.
...

Read more: Video, Literacy, After School Tutoring, K-12, Poetry Anthology, 826 DC, Dc Impact, 826dc, Joe Callahan, Student Literacy, Ballou Senior High School, After School Program, Slideexpand, Dear Brain, Kindergarten Through High School, Bell Multicultural High School, DC News

Tanya M. Acker: Since Johnny Can't Read, He Probably Can't Spell 'Big Government' Either

2012-05-18T13:58:12Z

I am not so naïve as to be unaware of the obstacles to any such "pie-in-the-sky" educational initiative -- teachers unions and culture warriors who object to science-based curricula being among them -- but we've fried bigger fish before.

Read more: Government Spending, Education Reform, European Elections, School Budgets, Literacy Rates, Literacy, Illiteracy, Education News

Can Stricter Federal Guidelines Fix America's Literacy Crisis?

2012-05-15T14:08:15Z

As American students continue to fall behind foreign peers, 45 states and Washington, D.C. have adopted the Common Core State Standards, a new set of ...

Read more: Common Core State Standards, Common Core Reading, Video, Literacy, Common Core, Student Reading, Students Reading, Student Literacy, Nonfiction, Reading, Slidepollajax, Childhood Literacy, Education News

Carl Safina: How to Make Population Growth Reverse Itself

2012-05-11T18:25:36Z

If our values change, we might use science and technology to save us. If our failed values persist, science and technology will only press our accelerator.

Read more: Rwanda Genocide, 7 Billion World Population, Population Growth, Literacy, Poverty, World Population Growth, Anthropocene, Green News

Earl Martin Phalen: The Importance of Literacy: A Q & A With Author Walter Dean Myers

2012-05-10T09:51:25Z

I was honored to recently have the chance to chat with Walter Dean Myers about his position as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, his own background, and his dreams for our nation's children.

Read more: Literacy, Early Childhood Education, Education, Reach Out and Read, Earl Martin Phalen, Education News

Lori Ungemah: Stop Hating, Start Teaching

2012-04-19T18:18:45Z

Let me explain a few things to those of you, in higher education and in general, who believe high school teachers don't teach.

Read more: New York City Public Schools, High School, Standardized Testing, Teacher Hating, Literacy, High School Graduation Requirements, High School Graduation Rates, Education News

Ariane Zurcher: Minus One Equals Zero

2012-04-17T11:16:48Z

I am constantly impressed with my 10-year-old autistic daughter Emma's mind and creative use of words. I often think when I listen to her that there's a kind of poetry in the way she phrases things, the way she will use seemingly unrelated words to describe something.

Read more: Life With Autism, Living With Autism, Parenting and Autism, Writing, Adult Autistics, Parenting, Healthy News, Child With Autism, Education, Literacy, Health, Autists, Health News, Autistic, Reading, The Third Glance, Autism, Healthy Living News

Diane Luby Lane: Los Angeles -- Literary Riot

2012-04-10T18:45:43Z

Performing poetry gives us the chance to take our fragmented stories and make them sources of sharing and teaching -- things that unite rather than divide.

Read more: LA Reading, Get Lit, Literacy, Los Angeles Teen Literacy, Los Angeles Public Schools, Get Lit Poetry, National Poetry Month, Child Literacy, National Poetry Slam, Impact News

Gary Stager: Mission Accomplished!

2012-04-10T10:41:44Z

While Accelerated Reader suggests that it inspires literacy habits, its primary customer is the bureaucrat impressed by the marketing slogan, "Advanced Technology for Data-Driven Schools."

Read more: Education, Literacy, Rttt, Research, Books, School Reform, Educational Technology, Data-Driven Decision Making, Stephen Krashen, Reading, Nclb, Accelerated Reader, Alfie Kohn, Education News

Earl Martin Phalen: A Conversation About Literacy With Congressman Jim McGovern

2012-03-30T12:06:15Z

Since he took office in 1996, Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA) has been a tireless advocate for causes that reach far beyond his district and his home state. Among his top passions is literacy.

Read more: Literacy, Education Reform, Jim McGovern, Education News

American High Schoolers Are Reading 5th-Grade Level Books

2012-03-22T16:51:53Z

High school students today are reading books intended for children with reading levels far below those appropriate for teens, according to a recent re...

Read more: Teen Literacy, Teen Books, Literacy, Video, ATOS Readability, Fifth Grade Reading Level, Reading Levels, High School Books, High School Reading, Renaissance Learning, What Kids Are Reading, Slidepollajax, Naep, Teen Reading, Education News

Steve Nelson: Why Johnny Can't Read: Redux

2012-03-13T14:49:35Z

When it comes to school, especially reading, we have designed an entire educational system around the unsupportable and harmful assumption that all children will read at the same time.

Read more: Tutoring, Literacy, Child Development, Reading Instruction, Early Childhood Education, Education, Frank Smith, Education News

Earl Martin Phalen: Melissa Harris-Perry, a Q & A on Literacy, Parenting, and Politics

2012-03-09T14:02:20Z

Melissa Harris-Perry is a brilliant political science professor at Tulane University, dynamic commentator, and national advocate for social justice and education equity.

Read more: Education, Literacy, Melissa Harris-Perry, Reach Out and Read, Earl Martin Phalen, Video, Media News

Erin Ganju: International Women's Day: Advancing The Next Generation Of Gals

2012-03-08T08:25:59Z

International Women's Day, celebrated annually on March 8, provides not only a special opportunity for all women to celebrate the progress we have mad...

Read more: Girls, Women's Rights, Women, Gender Equality, Literacy, Education, Nepal, International Women's Day, International Women's Day 2012, Internet, Video, Impact News

Literacy Nonprofit Trains Therapy Dogs To Help Struggling Students Read

2012-03-06T12:39:22Z

When Jordan Piper was first handed a book, he feared he would never learn to read.

“I thought reading was the hardest thing in the world,” Jor...

Read more: Literacy Programs, Therapy Dogs Literacy, Reading Paws, Literacy, Video, Therapy Dogs, Melissa Saul, Impact News

Lisa M. Dietlin: How You Can Honor Women For Women's History Month

2012-03-06T08:57:33Z

With Women's History Month upon us, many organizations and entities including are paying attention and plan to honor and pay tribute to the many gener...

Read more: National Women's History Project, Girl Scout Cookies, Philanthropy, Literacy, Girl Scouts, Women's History Month, Volunteering, Charity, Ms. Foundation for Women, Donations, Ywca, Making a Difference, Slidepollajax, Impact News

Bernard Starr: Free College Is the Answer to Our Higher Education Crisis

2012-02-23T19:56:01Z

Our nation is facing a crisis -- with vast domestic and worldwide implications -- that can only be addressed by thinking out of the box about education.

Read more: College Students, Debt, Workers, Economy, Race to the Top, Employment, Theodore Roszak, Jobs, New York City, Barack Obama, Veterans, Iphone, Outsourcing, Education, Literacy, Apple, Bailout, College, College Tuition, Education Crisis, Interest Rates, College Dropouts, Great Depression, College News

Pam Allyn: What Is Literacy?

2012-02-20T15:38:08Z

As we get closer to the celebration of World Read Aloud Day on March 7, I want to take a moment to share why I think this is such an important day.

Read more: Literacy, Listening, Reading Aloud, Active Listening, Speaking, Writing, Litworld, Community, Community Organizing, Storytelling, Teaching, Stories, Reading, Pam Allyn, Good News News

Gregory Michie: If a Parent Who Reads to Her Child is "Good," is One Who Doesn't "Bad?"

2012-02-10T20:29:14Z

If you're a parent struggling to make ends meet, you're probably going to choose to spend $1.99 for a gallon at Aldi rather than $6.99 for organic at Whole Foods. Does that mean you don't care as much about the health of your child?

Read more: Education, Literacy, Low Income Families, Poverty, Teaching, Teacher Education, Reading, Low Income Student Education, Low-Income Students, Education News

Peak Johnson: Afterschool Program Helps Students Climb to New Heights

2012-02-10T11:16:37Z

Tree House Books, a nonprofit organization in North Philadelphia, works to "grow and sustain a community of readers, writers, and thinkers" through afterschool and enrichment programs.

Read more: Tutoring, Literacy, Afterschool Programs, Education News

Pam Allyn: What Would the World Be Like If Everyone Could Read?

2012-02-07T18:45:04Z

Over 793 million people around the world cannot read or write. We know that these numbers are shocking, but what do they really mean?

Read more: Cute Kid Videos, Video, Literacy, Mental Health, Global Economy, Illiteracy, Children, Health, Writing, Adult Illiteracy, Litworld, Global Literacy, Reading, Pam Allyn, Adult Literacy, Impact News

Earl Martin Phalen: The Joy of Reading Can Take You So Many Places: A Chat With Gayle King

2012-02-02T11:01:39Z

"What you realize -- and this is the thing about kids -- is that you can read the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over and they still love it. It gives you lifelong connections that you can't even begin to imagine."

Read more: Literacy, Reach Out and Read, Cbs This Morning, Parental Involvement, Gayle King, Books, Ebooks, Video, Parents News

David Dagan: Literacy In Developing Countries Start With Books

2012-01-14T01:04:07Z

On a recent visit to Baltimore, singer-songwriter Adam Klein found the ideal venue to perform songs from an album he is writing about Nicaragua.

It w...

Read more: Literacy, Baltimore, Development, Music, Books, Impact News

Patricia G. Mathes: A Literate Nation for 2012

2012-01-05T11:35:29Z

If I could change one thing in 2012 to improve the quality of life for every American, it would be to ensure that every child in the nation left school literate.

Read more: Education, Literacy, Teachers, Teaching, Public Education Reform, Education News