News Overview
Interview with Celia Garza – SAReads Tutor
Celia Garza is an attorney with Hoblit Ferguson Darling LLP and a member of the Rotary Club of San Antonio. She began volunteering with SAReads as a reading tutor this fall. Note: Students’ names have been changed to protect their privacy.
With your busy schedule, what inspired you to volunteer your time as a reading tutor?
My father is a middle school teacher and has shared with me his concerns about the literacy rates of our younger generation. Realizing that reading can open so many doors for a student, I wanted to help elementary students not only meet their grade level reading goals, but surpass them, in order to ensure these students access to any opportunities they wish to explore.
Tell us a bit about your first couple of sessions with your students?
Josh is a 1st grade student. Within our first couple of sessions, I quickly realized that he is a bright and imaginative young boy. He is excited about our sessions and excels at the weekly activities. He really excels at the rhyming games we play. At first, he was a little hesitant when matching up rhyming words, and would look to me first for affirmation before making his choices. However, as the weeks have progressed, he has gained the confidence to match up words on his own.
Stephanie is in Kindergarten. She is very sweet and talkative and loves to tell me about what she learns in school. Stephanie is a quick learner and flies through the weekly activities. She enjoys reading the different books we pick out each week during our sessions. Stephanie is very bright and takes her time sounding out each word in the book, without having to rely on just the pictures for clues.
Why should other San Antonians consider becoming an SAReads tutor?
These children want to learn and are so eager to read with you. The 30 minutes a week you spend with a student will make a huge impact on their life.
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SAReads News Round-Up October 10
In this week’s Round-Up, EdWeek finds the “sweet spot” at the edge of science fiction, the Atlantic is recruiting more helicopter parents and the New York Times illustrates the consequences of living with a poverty of words.
First up, the Atlantic turns the cultural punching bag of the “helicopter parent” on its head, arguing that what we really need are more of them.
In a similar vein, the New York Times highlights the academic disadvantages that accrue to low-income children as a result of their vocabulary deficit. A piece on the Core Knowledge blog, operated by education advocate E.D. Hirsch goes even further, arguing that Demographics Isn’t Destiny. Vocabulary is Destiny.
Next, EdWeek blogs that neuroscientists are researching the possibility that, in the future, brain imaging scans will be able to identify young children at risk of becoming below-average readers in a process they refer to as neuroprognosis.
Finally, The New York Times publishes a controversial piece on physicians prescribing ADHD drugs to overcome issues associated with poverty and overcrowded schools. Thanks for stopping by SAReads. Hope everyone has a great weekend!
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SAReads News Round-Up – Oct. 1
Happy Monday, one and all. In this week’s Round-Up, Time examines the Matthew Effect, the Brookings Institute reveals What’s Keeping American Kids out of the Middle Class and San Antonio’s Pre-K initiative officially hits the big time.
First up, the Brookings Institute has released a new study entitled, Pathways to the Middle Class: Balancing Personal and Public Responsibilities. While we all know that a conventionally middle class upbringing brings with it all sorts of advantages, the Brookings study identifies the key milestones that make that lifestyle possible. For those of you who prefer the Cliff’s Notes version, there’s a nice little summary by Derek Thompson in The Atlantic.
Next, Time magazine reviews the latest education reform film in ‘Won’t Back Down’: Why This Education Film Matters. Far more interesting, however, is the accompanying analysis of the critical importance of grade-level reading and the Matthew Effect.
Meanwhile, Salon and Atlantic duke it out with Education: The Economy’s Great Elixir and How Liberal Arts Colleges Are Failing America, respectively.
Finally, in early ed news, Education Nation highlights Cincinnati’s “cradle to career support network” and The Economist weighs in on San Antonio’s Pre-K initiative.
That’s it for the Round-Up. Have a great week everyone.
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SAReads Round-Up September 19
In this week’s Round-Up, we review the fall-out from the Chicago Teachers’ Union strike, examine the ways in which edu-entrepreneurship is altering the education landscape and view Judy Gelles’ thought-provoking piece entitled “Life Through the Eyes of a 4th Grader.”
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SAReads News Round-Up – Sept 6
In this week’s Round-Up, we ask who is most likely to be bullied, what is holding our our children back and where in the U.S. can you receive the best childcare?
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Change one child’s future forever.
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SAReads News Round-Up – August 22nd
SAReads Round-Up August 22nd Edition
In this week’s Round-Up, Juan Williams airs his scathing critique of Chicago’s public schools, EducationNext reviews “Multiplication is for White People” and the Christian Science Monitor asks Are Great Teachers Made not Born?
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SAReads News Round-Up – August 8
In this week’s Round-Up, Tom Friedman is fed-up with average, the kids in Phoenix are already back in school and City Journal makes an exception for Massachusetts.
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SAReads News Round-Up – July 31st
This week’s round-up offers our readers a glimpse into the world of home-schooling, a look at how to build a better teacher and a peek into the future with the Kindergarten Class of 2011.
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SAReads Round-Up – The Best Education & Literacy Reads
This past week provided us with some hopeful commentary on the state of U.S. schools, a few new uses for your kid’s iPhone and the fallout from a big spat across the pond.