I know I just posted, but I couldn't resist:
The percentage of adults who are proficient in reading prose has fallen at the same time that the proportion of people who read regularly for pleasure has declined.
the percentage of high school graduates deemed by employers as "deficient" in writing in English (72 percent).
Literary readers are more likely than non-readers to engage in positive civic and individual activities – such as volunteering, attending sports or cultural events, and exercising.8
And now this
article from the NY Times on adjuncts.
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there's also that part about how kids (from middle school to high school) who are avid readers for pleasure are ALSO engaged in the techno-culture that engulfs nonreaders: IM, cellphones, myspace, facebook, tv, etc. they just read, too.
this what i see happening for max. he is not dropping one for the other. he loves his DS, movies, weird al youtube videos, cartoon network. but he also loves his books.
also, supposedly, the amount of reading kids do is directly correlated to how many books are available in the house.
if this is true, then all of the future kids (nieces, nephews, whatever) in the 07's lives should be covered.
But the kids without books in the house are screwed. The outlook for poor kids, for the children of non-readers, it is pretty grim.
probably another thread, but has anyone else read this?
in the current "mfa issue."
i can't deny much of what she's saying and, considering the nyt article, i'm convinced we've (adjuncts, grad students, writers [that's a decrescendo]) been put into a position that only allows our voice(s) be heard like a whining reject. what's the difference between a second or twenty second-year adjunct and a second-year grad student?
re: nyt article
i'm relieved to see this article (though not really to be commenting on it, considering the line about part-timers being let go for everything from grade disputes to writing op-eds...). it offers no real hope, but it does start a dialogue, and i hope i'm not too burned out and that my car's still kicking by the time this dialogue matures. otherwise, sing me a song.
"Across the country, faculty unions are organizing part-timers."
ok, and granted i'm an idiot when it comes to organizing unions, but i'm curious (and about to find out) just how you can form a solid or consistent union when the plight of an adjunct is basically in one semester and out the next.
in one semester, out the next. italix!
both of these threads make me sad: less reading and Adjunctness.
my mom is an elementary reading teacher and has been for eons. that doesn't really have any bearing on what I'm saying, except this: teachers have known the sad state of reading since before we were born. They've known avid readers perform better in other subjects. They've known that no access to books equals disadvantage. They've known all of this, so where has the gov and its "knowledge" been? I'm going to have to pull out the Captain Obvious card on the 'ole gov. Of course, the issue needs attention, and perhaps a report is the way to do it. But what scares me more is the previous reports on the subject that only resulted in legislation where another standardized test was manadted. (Granted, some of that legislation got essay components on tests, which I do think is a positive step.) What I'm reacting to so strongly is not the report itself, but the pattern of neglect that happens after these reports. Is this another thread? I've gotten off topic here. (Shifting focus)
p.s.
yes, adjuncting sucks
sorry bout mixing two threads. I just didn't want to pull a hat trick on the posting so I added the adjunct article.
Thanks for the article on the TA funding from P&W's! It was nice to see that the "norm" is to waive tuition and give a stipend.
I'm interested in unions too. I want to know about how administrators successfully fight for their non-tenure track appointments. I know they want to, The good ones anyway.
Honestly the reading statistics made me feel better. I've had a handful of students in my developmental classes whose reading comprehension, or lack thereof, lead me to believe they were only functionally literate. Come to find out, these students are taking reading classes in tandem with my writing class. Teaching writing to students who are intelligent, who can argue a point with equal parts grace and anger, who have the life experience to talk about racism, sexism, classism and homophobia, but who cannot read--I don't know. It makes me furious at this enormous thing--what carmen called the pattern of neglect that follows these studies. Now it is no surprise that these students are not the children of teachers or social workers. But I guess the big surprise for me was that they got me: an adjunct or a TA. It just feels a little like the same old pattern. The kids without money get the employees without power. I guess I feel powerless sometimes. I do what I can and they do what they can, but it isn't enough.
The letters to the editor about that NYTimes adjunct article are nearly as depressing as the article itself. A chorus of agreement from across the country, and nobody knows what to do.
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