Reading Signs for the Future
This article from The Washington Post caught my eye for a couple of reasons. While I like Harry Potter, and am delighted to see children reading just about anything, I wondered if some of the oldies but goodies were still being read – and this study says that they are.
What is the number one factor that encourages children to read? Living in a family where books and magazines are everywhere, where parents take their kids to libraries and bookstores. Computer use also encourages good reading – and writing – skills.
What Do Children Read? Hint: Harry Potter’s Not No. 1
By Jay Mathews
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, May 5, 2008; 2:32 PM
Children have welcomed the Harry Potter books in recent years like free ice cream in the cafeteria, but the largest survey ever of youthful reading in the United States revealed today that none of J.K. Rowling’s phenomenally popular books has been able to dislodge the works of longtime favorites Dr. Seuss, E.B. White, Judy Blume, S.E. Hinton and Harper Lee as the most read.
Books by the five well-known U.S. authors, plus lesser-known Laura Numeroff, Katherine Paterson and Gary Paulsen, drew the most readers at every grade level in a study of 78.5 million books read by more than 3 million children who logged on to the Renaissance Learning Web site to take quizzes on books they read last year. Many works from Rowling’s Potter series turned up in the top 20, but other authors also ranked high and are likely to get more attention as a result.
“I find it reassuring . . . that students are still reading the classics I read as a child,” said Roy Truby, a senior vice president for Wisconsin-based Renaissance Learning. But Truby said he would have preferred to see more meaty and varied fare, such as “historical novels and biographical works so integral to understanding our past and contemporary books that help us understand our world.”
Michelle F. Bayuk, marketing director for the New York-based Children’s Book Council, agreed. “What’s missing from the list are all the wonderful nonfiction, informational, humorous and novelty books as well as graphic novels that kids read and enjoy both inside and outside the classroom.”
Renaissance Learning’s Accelerated Reader software for monitoring reading progress online was the source of the survey. Twenty-two years ago, Judi Paul invented on her kitchen table a quizzing system to motivate her children to read. With her husband, Terry Paul, she turned it into a big business. Truby, a former executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees the leading federal reading test, said the company’s learning programs are used in more than 63,000 U.S. schools.
Students read books, some assigned but many chosen on their own, and then take computer quizzes, either online or with company software, to see whether they understood what they read. Students compile points based on the average sentence length, average word length, word difficulty level and total words in each book, and they sometimes get prizes from their schools. Some critics have questioned giving many more points for a sprawling Tom Clancy thriller than a tightly written classic such as Stephen Crane’s “The Red Badge of Courage,” but many educators and parents have praised the system for motivating children to read.
In response to the survey data, some Washington area English teachers said they were bothered by the relatively few books read by each student, particularly in the upper grades. Seventh-graders averaged 7.1 books in 2007, which steadily declined to 4.5 books for 12th-graders. “I wish more schools did what we do and treated independent reading as vital to the curriculum, especially for boys, who seem to be sharing very few books,” said Lelac Almagor, a seventh-grade teacher at the KIPP DC: AIM Academy, a public charter school in Southeast Washington.
Although some experts thought children needed more reality, the fifth-most-popular book among high school students, “A Child Called ‘It’ ” by Dave Pelzer, was too real for Rachel Sadauskas, who teaches English at Yorktown High School in Arlington County. “The true story is based on a brutal case of child abuse,” she said. “A friend who is a social worker recommended it to me, but I could not finish it because it was so emotionally difficult to read.”
Teachers and book editors were pleased at the resilience of Lee’s 48-year-old novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” No. 1 for ninth- through 12th-graders, although Mary Lee Donovan, an executive editor at Candlewick Press in Somerville, Mass., said she thought it owed much of its success to the fact that “teachers make it part of the curriculum.” Rafe Esquith, teacher and author of best-selling books about teaching, makes it required reading in his Los Angeles fifth-grade class. He said he thought older students preferred it to Harry Potter because it fits with their growing realization that “life is not a fairy tale” and because of the moral fiber of its hero, lawyer Atticus Finch.
Yorktown High 11th-grader Ashley Samay said the Lee book “taught me to see things from others’ points of view.” Yorktown 12th-grader Matthew Bloch said, “It speaks to small-town ideals and racism, which are very important topics.”
The survey, at http://www.renlearn.com/whatkidsarereading, breaks down results by gender and section of the country. Overall, Dr. Seuss’s madly rhyming “Green Eggs and Ham” was the most popular first-grade book. Second-graders preferred Numeroff’s “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie,” which Donovan praised for its humorous take on cause and effect. White’s timeless tale of a girl, a pig and a spider, “Charlotte’s Web,” was the third-grade favorite. Blume, not surprisingly, won over fourth-graders with her “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing,” the first of several books about Peter Warren Hatcher and his younger brother, Farley, who prefers to be called “Fudge.”
Fifth-graders read most often Paterson’s story of two children and a magical forest kingdom, “Bridge to Terabithia.” Sixth-graders preferred “Hatchet,” about a boy stranded in the wilderness, by Paulsen, whom Donovan called “Jack London for kids.” The most-read book among seventh- and eighth-graders was “The Outsiders,” a story of rival gangs in Tulsa published in 1967 when its author, Hinton, was 18 years old.
LOL Cat for Today
This one had me howling – it even looks like the Qatteri Cat, who thinks he wants to be outside . . . probably for the same reason. Poor QC vaguely remembers a time when he lived outside. He doesn’t remember the bad parts. 😦
Kuwait isn’t a good place for a cat who lives outside.
more cat pictures
NYT: In Democracy Kuwait Trusts, but Not Much
The New York Times had a full length article on the upcoming Kuwait election yesterday:
KUWAIT — In a vast, high-ceilinged tent, Ali al-Rashed sounded an anguished note as he delivered the first speech of his campaign for Parliament.
“Kuwait used to be No. 1 in the economy, in politics, in sports, in culture, in everything,” he said, his voice floating out in the warm evening air to hundreds of potential voters seated on white damask-lined chairs. “What happened?”
It is a question many people are asking as this tiny, oil-rich nation of 2.6 million people approaches its latest round of elections. And the unlikely answer being whispered around, both here and in neighboring countries on the Persian Gulf: too much democracy.
In a region where autocracy is the rule, Kuwait is a remarkable exception, with a powerful and truculent elected Parliament that sets the emir’s salary and is the nation’s sole source of legislation. Women gained the right to vote and run for office two years ago, and a popular movement won further electoral changes.
Despite those gains, Kuwait has been overshadowed by its dynamic neighbors — Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar — where economies are booming under absolute monarchies. Efforts to overhaul Kuwait’s sclerotic welfare state have stalled in its fractious and divided Parliament, and scandals led the emir to dissolve the chamber last month for the second time in less than two years, forcing new elections.
All this has left many Kuwaitis deeply disenchanted with their 50-member elected legislature. The collapse of the Bush administration’s efforts to promote democracy in the region and the continuing chaos in Iraq, just to the north — once heralded as the birthplace of a new democratic model — have also contributed to a popular suspicion that democracy itself is one Western import that has not lived up to its advertising.
“People say democracy is just slowing us down, and that we’d be better off if we were more like Dubai,” said Waleed al-Sager, 24, who is advising his father’s campaign for Parliament.
Like many Kuwaitis, Mr. Sager quickly distanced himself from that view. But as the May 17 parliamentary elections approach, with near-constant coverage in a dozen new newspapers and on satellite television stations, candidates refer again and again to a “halat ihbaat” — state of frustration. His father, Mohammed al-Sager, a longtime member of Parliament, delivered his own opening campaign speech shortly after Mr. Rashed two weeks ago, and spent much of it urgently reminding his listeners of the need for an elected assembly.
“Some people have called for a permanent dissolution of Parliament,” he said, his face telecast on an enormous screen to a thick overflow crowd outside the tent. “But everywhere in the world — in Africa, in Palestine, in the old Soviet Union — people have turned to elections to solve their problems, not away from them. Whatever problems we have in our Parliament, we must remember that it is much better than no Parliament at all.”
One source of frustration has been the failure to reform Kuwait’s state-controlled economy. After the 2006 elections, many Kuwaitis were hoping for changes to cumbersome government rules that allow land to be allocated for business projects. Instead, the effort was blocked in Parliament. The slow pace of efforts to privatize the national airline and parts of the oil sector has also caused disappointment.
Many Kuwaitis also complain about government neglect of public hospitals and schools. Problems with the power grid caused brownouts last summer.
Although parts of Kuwait City were rebuilt after the Iraqi invasion of 1990, much of it looks faded and tatty, a striking contrast with the gleaming hyper-modernity of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar.
The current political malaise is especially striking because most Kuwaitis take pride in their nation’s relatively democratic traditions. The ruling Sabah family acquired its position not through conquest, but with an agreement among the coastal traders of the region in the mid-18th century. After Kuwait gained independence from the British in 1961, the emir approved a written Constitution that sharply limited his power in relation to Parliament.
The article is long – you can read the rest HERE.
Kuwait Blue Sky
On our way downtown the other day, I glumly told my friends I miss the true-blue skies we see in Kuwait in the winter time. All we get these days is this white haze, or at best, a light blue haze. I shot a few photos – and to my surprise, when I uploaded them, we had a genuine blue sky in the background!
Here is one of the renovated minarets – have you noticed a lot of the historical locations are getting a facelift?
For my friends who think we live in tents and drive our camels to work, a nice shot of downtown Kuwait:
Graceful shoppers exiting the Manshar Mall in Fehaheel:
The Grand Mosque in downtown Kuwait:
A saucer-topped building (and the sky is indeed blue):
Last, but not least, a boat on the gulf – and no horizon, no delineation between sea and sky:
Kuwait Book Store
After all the months my reading and blogging friends have been recommending the Kuwait Book Store, I finally got there.
I thought I was in heaven.
Another friend, with us, said she is planning a date night with her husband at the Kuwait Book Store – you can spend hours there, and you can top off the evening with an ice cream cone right outside the door.
This is the only place in Kuwait I have seen Jehan Rejab’s book about the Invasion of Kuwait. I found several other books by her, and by her husband. I found four books on Kuwait by Claudia Al-Rashoud, another of my favorite authors and Kuwait photographers. They have a great selection of books on Kuwait – the best I have seen. They have another couple books which feature or include the unique architectural elements in Kuwait, but not The History of Architecture in Old Kuwait City, the book I reviewed earlier. Some of these other books may be even better! 🙂
There were all kinds of books. Acres of books. Books, and a good selection of greeting cards, and pens, and children’s books. The Kuwait Book Store is huge.
The Kuwait Book Store is just inside the main entrance to the Al Muthanna Mall and Residence, across from the JW Marriott in downtown Kuwait. You go down the escalator, and you are there. I like this mall; it has upper end quality kind of goods; some really good shoe stores, many other great resources. I’m not a big fan of malls, but this mall is a very useful mall.
I only regret it took me so long to get there! What a find! I think a date night at the Kuwait Book Store will be in my future, too. I didn’t get to hit all the shops, just had a brief glance. Do you have any favorites or recommendations at Al Muthanna?
Coen and No Country for Old Men
AdventureMan and I watched No Country for Old Men last night, and oh! it held us on the edge of our chairs. At the end, we ran for the phone to call our son and ask “Whoa! What happened??”
In short, we loved the movie (and I can hardly wait to read the book, although Cormac McCarthy goes a lot darker than I care to go). The Coen brothers also go darker than I care to go, but we find ourselves drawn to their movies because there is so much thought put into them, so many references to other genres, other films, and because the characters are so true to life. We first met them in Fargo, a movie we pull out and watch again from year to year – that’s a rare movie. We love the characters, even the bad guys are so human.
It’s the same in No Country for Old Men. Set in the desolation of West Texas, there are whole minutes when you listen to the wind whistling in the desert as the hero hikes down to a drug-exchange-gone-bad.
There is a good guy, a sherif played by craggy-faced Tommy Lee Jones, and an ordinary guy who finds a whole lot of money, and we really want him to get away with it, and then there is a really really bad guy, who is also smart, and . . . well, something inside of him is just bent. He’s not right. The Coen’s have a way of making him both appalling and just a guy doing his job very well. It’s not personal, but we wish he wouldn’t enjoy inflicting harm so much.
What I love about the Coen films is that they can capture the essence of a character so sparely, with just a few words, a few lines. There is a trailer park manager who refuses to give the very very bad guy an address. You hold your breath; she could get blown away, she doesn’t know it. She holds firm. In another scene, an older woman tells a Mexican man who has just helped her “You don’t see too many Mexicans in suits.” So so so politically incorrect, and so ordinarily normal, the plain-spokeness of the elderly. The Coen’s capture the West Texas-ness which permeates the film.
This movie is worth watching again.
Warden Message and More
Fresh in the mailbox from the Embassy comes this warning:
Embassy of the United States of America
Kuwait City, Kuwait
May 4, 2008
MEMORANDUM
To: All American Wardens
From: Consular Section
Subject: Warden Notice 2008 – 9
Please circulate the following message without additions or omissions
immediately to all American citizens within your area of responsibility.
Begin text.
The Minister of Interior, Sheikh Jaber Khaled Al-Sabah, has issued a Ministerial
decree that prohibits drivers in Kuwait from using a cellular phone while
driving a vehicle. This decree (number 76/81) is intended to keep drivers in
Kuwait focused on driving and not talking on a cellular phone. This decree is
consistent with what is going on in our own country in many states that are
enacting laws prohibiting cellular phone use while driving.
This decree goes into effect on May 1, 2008. As a practical matter, drivers
should not be talking on cellular phones while driving at any time. They should
find a safe place to pull over and stop their vehicles before talking on the
cellular phone. Keep in mind this new decree is an amendment to a previous law
already in effect that includes eating or drinking while driving a vehicle an
offense in Kuwait.
You should expect some increased vigilance on the roads by police in the coming
weeks to enforce this decree. Our information from MOI is the fine for use of a
cellular phone while driving will be 15KD.
Comments: There is already a law in effect that bans eating and drinking while driving??? Who knew?
Waaaaaayyyyy back in February, a chart started circulating, said to be a fraud, that pretty accurately defined the new laws in effect 1 May. Looking at it now, I am betting it is a list of new laws that went into effect in JORDAN, and Kuwait used it as a template for changes in Kuwait. I know new traffic laws – very similar – went into effect in Syria on May 1st.
I can’t help wondering how all this came about, but most of all, for your protection and mine, I am thankful for these new laws and the commitment on the part of the government to enforce these laws equally, across the board. The statement we keep hearing is “no one is above the law.” Wooo Hooo, Kuwait!
The only funny thing is – the chart I have seen most often in Kuwait says the fine is KD 50 for driving while on a cell phone. This message says KD 15. The announcement in the paper said KD 5. If anyone out there has been charged for taking on a cell phone while driving, will you let us know what the real fine is?
Is the ban being enforced equally against all drivers? The Kuwait Times says 200 people were charged on the first day of enforcement.
Pyramid Mosque and Gulf Road
My friend and I were driving by this mosque when she sighed.
“We used to think this mosque was huge,” she said. “You could see it from far away. Slowly, slowly, it just disappeared.”
The mosque is now surrounded by tall buildings, and, indeed, if it weren’t for it’s unusual shape, you might barely notice it across from the Holiday Inn, while driving on Gulf road. There are all kinds of buildings along Gulf road, apartments, hospitals, office buildings. They are doing amazing things, twisting glass and concrete spires up into the heavens. The pyramid mosque is dwarfed by these towering buildings.
We also saw these amazing signs along Gulf Road:
If there were one or two, I would not have taken a photo, but there are like EIGHT of these, four on each side of the road, and a lot of flashing lights. I checked the red sign – remember my Arabic is basic – and I could see two “mamnuas” (forbidden) but I didn’t see “foto” or “suraa” so if it says “no photos” will someone please tell me right away so I can take this photo out?
Not your Kuwaiti Dust Storm
This is from Thursday’s Arab Times. Although it is not new news, it contains information I didn’t know – that the sand, full of allergens, was not Kuwaiti dust, and we can expect another storm Tuesday and many through the summer, due to lack of rainfall.
Storm you can ‘taste’
KUWAIT CITY : The sandstorm that raged in parts of Kuwait Wednesday afternoon was carried by Southwesterly winds blowing from North of Saudi Arabia and South of Syria and Iraq at speeds of 55 km/hr, says Musaed Al Hammad, head of Mirzam Observatory. He was talking to the Arab Times soon after his observatory conducted studies on the storm. Musaed said “In Kuwait City and Ahmedi the wind speed was 36 km/hr. The visibility in most parts affected by the dust storm was about 100 m, while in the Kuwait City it was reduced to zero. The sandstorm forced airport authorities to divert incoming flights to neighboring countries, operations manager at Kuwait International Airport, Issam Al Zamel told a news agency.
. . . . . . .
Mirzam Observatory sent samples of the dust to a laboratory, and tests revealed that the dust particles were not from the deserts of Kuwait, and contained cement particles and allergy-causing germs, the astronomer said.
Musaed added breathing in such particles is potentially risky for people prone to bronchitis and other respiratory illnesses. “This finding could open new vistas in the treatment of allergies in Kuwait. “Dust storms arising out of Kuwaiti deserts are usually very slow and linger for a long time, unlike the one that hit Kuwait like a flash on Wednesday. “The visibility was reduced to very low levels because as the storm arrived in Kuwait the wind lost steam and the dust particles gathered in the atmosphere,” Musaed noted. . . . .
As the rainfall was scant this year, all wind conditions in summer will likely turn into dust storms, Musaed said. “So we can expect more dust storms in the future.” Mirzam Observatory has forecasted another dust storm next week on Tuesday. “However, it will not be as bad as Wednesday’s. The dust storms in future will be much milder.”
Lightness of Being
We prayed for Kuwait today. At great length, we prayed for your elections, for your leaders, and that wisdom and wise choices will prevail.
(I am sure you will be glad to know that we didn’t interfere in any way by praying for any specific candidates!)
In the sermon, our priest talked about God and his glory, and the WEIGHT of his presence, and I was really listening, but that was a new concept to me.
Jesus talks a lot about the Kingdom of Heaven, and one of the things he said, sort of one of those mysteries, is that he says the Kingdom of Heaven is all around us “if you have the eyes to see.”
When you think of God, what do you think?
I don’t think of weightiness, although the weight of my own sins might weigh on me. When I think of God, and when I think of the Kingdom of Heaven being all around me, I close my eyes and envision sparkling lights surrounding us, lights we can’t see, and energy, boundless energy, enough energy to create paths and opportunities we don’t even know exist. I think all we have to do is to believe, and to breathe, and we breathe in the Kingdom of Heaven, that he feeds us just by our believing.
All of a sudden, the very irreligious idea of an old computer game – one of the very earliest – came to me. Do you remember PacMan?
Mostly PacMan existed to eat energy dots. He would eat all these energy things and gain energy and win or not, I don’t really know, I never really played it because AdventureMan and LawAndOrderMan hogged the computer all the time to play the early games.
So where do ideas like this come from? Maybe the creator of PacMan had a vision and got part of it right, maybe if we have the eyes to see, maybe we gain sparkling spiritual energy from the Kingdom of Heaven surrounding us? Maybe prayer is like one of the magical tools you find in these games that opens doors, that allows something to happen that wouldn’t otherwise happen.
Sorry, RevQ8 if I got a little off topic here, I honestly was listening as you gave your fine sermon! Sometimes, the mind will go where the mind will go (and I guess mine is going fast . . . 
)
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Early Voting in Florida
