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Back in January, I posted a thread about Reading Any Good Books and it got over 200 responses. It's been two months. What have you been reading?

Not all those who wander are lostJust like the otherworldly maps which often grace the inner covers of these wondrous books, the realm of fantasy novels is surprisingly wide-ranging, with numerous sub and hybrid genres existing within. From full-blown fantasy featuring witches, dragons, magic and mayhem, to dystopian takes that offer an almost satirical commentary on contemporary reality – the choices are endless and rather daunting, making it difficult to know where to start. An enduring genre nonetheless, it’s particularly fascinating that so much of our adoration for fantasy novels comes from our experience of them as children. When reread...

Recent years have seen successive waves of book bans in Republican-controlled states, aimed at pulling any text with “woke” themes from classrooms and library shelves. But at the same time, the appropriate response is, in principle, simple... and we can replace those individuals with people who want to reverse those policies. Defeating the open conspiracy to deprive students of physical access to books will do little to counteract the more diffuse confluence of forces that are depriving students of the skills needed to meaningfully engage with those books in the first place. As a college educator, I am confronted daily...

A long time ago, there was a Free Republic Book Club ... mostly because I opened my mouth and a bunch of people told me to organize one. I haven't pinged it in a long time. (Actually, another book club started, so I stopped.) Any way, has anyone read any good books lately. Fiction, non-fiction, genre, mainstream. Anything you want to share? Has anyone WRITTEN any good books that the rest of us should check out?

Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) signed legislation repealing the basic skills test that had been previously required for college graduates to be certified as teachers in the state's public schools. "Forcing people to prove they are proficient in reading, writing and math in order to be accepted as teachers is out-dated," Murphy said. "In today's world these are no longer essential skills. Tik Tok videos and texting are the main methods of communication used by today's youngsters. This is what our teachers need to be using." Angela Morabito, a spokesperson for the Defense of Freedom Institute and former press secretary for...

Oregon school chiefs have again suspended the need for high schoolers to prove their math, reading and writing skills in order to graduate. The State Board of Education voted last week to continue the suspension for another five years amid claims they are unfair on minority students who don't test well. In order to earn a diploma, graduating students were previously required to earn standardized test scores indicating proficiency in reading, writing and math. But this was put on pause during the pandemic as standardized tests weren't happening amid school closures. Following a unanimous vote by the Oregon State Board...

Oregon high school students won’t have to prove basic mastery of reading, writing or math to graduate from high school until at least 2029, the state Board of Education decided unanimously on Thursday, extending the pause on the controversial graduation requirement that began in 2020.

Oregon high school students won’t have to prove basic mastery of reading, writing or math to graduate from high school until at least 2029, the state Board of Education decided unanimously on Thursday, extending the pause on the controversial graduation requirement that began in 2020. The vote went against the desires of dozens of Oregonians who submitted public comments insisting the standards should be reinstated, including former Republican gubernatorial candidate Christine Drazan. Backlash against the lowered standard had already delayed the vote, originally slated to take place in September. Opponents argued that pausing the requirement devalues an Oregon diploma. Giving...

Diego Fonseca looked at the computer and took a breath. It was his final attempt at the math placement test for his first year of college. His first three tries put him in pre-calculus, a blow for a student who aced honors physics and computer science in high school. Functions and trigonometry came easily, but the basics gave him trouble. He struggled to understand algebra, a subject he studied only during a year of remote learning in high school. “I didn’t have a hands-on, in-person class, and the information wasn’t really there,” said Fonseca, 19, of Ashburn, Virginia, a computer...

What qualifies as being literate in the United States? It all depends on your measurement. According to the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), literacy is defined as, “understanding, evaluating, using and engaging with written texts to participate in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential.” This seems quite broad, yet is used to show the Literacy Gap Map on the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy site. It is here that the map details where 36 million of U.S. population doesn’t meet the threshold for even basic literacy. However, there is...

For nearly all of his 77 years, Henry Winkler says he has been dealing with a learning challenge that he'll never overcome – dyslexia. "There are times when I am so frustrated by my brain that I hit my head," Winkler tells TODAY.com in a sit-down interview. SNIP Upon being diagnosed at 31, the "Barry" actor says he finally realized that he was dealing with "something with a name." His initial reaction was anger at his parents. "I was so angry that I was yelled at, humiliated. I was grounded. I was punished. For what? For nothing," he says.

The National Education Association (NEA) on Monday recommended that teachers include the controversial book "Gender Queer" on their summer reading lists. The book was featured in the NEA's "Great Summer Reads for Educators!" list that showcased 11 books. Among those books are "White Fragility," a book that insists that White Americans use anger, shame and guilt to avoid taking responsibility for racial inequality. Other sections included "books to help you forget about work" and "books to celebrate or help you understand Junetheenth." Under the "banned books" section, Gender Queer is recommended as a reading. "Gender Queer" has as courted major...

A Hillary Clinton campaigner has received backlash online after claiming that parents who support admission tests and gifted programs are part of the 'far right.' Amanda Litman made the comments last week while reacting to the results of a New York City parent council election that saw candidates endorsed by Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum and Education (PLACE) win a majority of seats. PLACE supports academic screenings policies like the Specialized High School Admissions Test, or SHSAT, as well as expanding accelerated curriculum options and gifted and talented programs, which critics say leads to segregation. The group also opposes lottery-based...

The average reading and math test scores for U.S. 13-year-olds have plummeted since 2020, according to data from National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The decline in math skills for children this age is “the single largest decline” in the past half century according to experts. The average mathematics score for 13-year-olds declined nine points between the 2019 – 2020 and 2022 – 2023 school years, and the average reading score declined four points over the same time period of time, according to the NAEP. “Green shoots,” a term used to describe signs of recovery during a downturn, “have not...

'Now in this country, "God" is a derogatory term,' Damon Atkins said after his arrest last weekend in Reading, Pennsylvania.READING, Pennsylvania (LifeSiteNews) — A Christian protester in Pennsylvania was arrested Saturday as he quoted Scripture verses in response to an LGBT “pride” month event. Damon Atkins was arrested by Reading, Pennsylvania, police officers on June 3 for “criminal disorderly conduct” for preaching against the Reading’s first ever “Pride March and Rally” outside City Hall on Washington Street. The event included men dressed as sexually exaggerated versions of women and the raising of an LGBT rainbow flag atop the City Hall...

In 2019, two-thirds of American fourth-graders scored below "proficient" in reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, scores declined again, reaching a 30-year low. However, despite a widespread national literacy problem among American schoolchildren, several states have managed to stave off the dramatic declines in test scores that plagued other states. Since 2013, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana have all passed legislation mandating that teachers be trained in the "science of reading"—methods that typically center around phonics, an approach in which children are taught to read words by decoding the sounds that different letters...

Mississippi went from being ranked the second-worst state in 2013 for fourth-grade reading to 21st in 2022. Louisiana and Alabama, meanwhile, were among only three states to see modest gains in fourth-grade reading during the pandemic, which saw massive learning setbacks in most other states. The turnaround in these three states has grabbed the attention of educators nationally, showing rapid progress is possible anywhere, even in areas that have struggled for decades with poverty and dismal literacy rates. The states have passed laws adopting similar reforms that emphasize phonics and early screenings for struggling kids.

Chancellor David C. Banks said the city is going to make major changes to how reading is taught in order to address the fact that half of city children in grades three through eight are not proficient in reading, according to the report. Banks noted in a recent interview that the city’s reading instruction methods are “fundamentally flawed” and fail to use scientifically proven ways of teaching students to read. “It’s not your fault. It’s not your child’s fault. It was our fault,” Banks said. “This is the beginning of a massive turnaround.” The city’s 32 school districts will begin...

n his rousing keynote address at The Heritage Foundation’s 50th anniversary gala last month, then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson offered an unexpected piece of advice: “Don’t throw away your hard-copy books.” Unlike digitized books, films, and albums that can be canceled, rewritten, or vanished altogether, physical copies are “the enduring repository that cannot be disappeared.” With their resurrection of poetry recitation requirements, educators in Georgia and Arkansas are protecting that repository in more ways than one, steeping students in a reality they can affirm, trust, and love. Both states’ departments of education recently proposed revised K-12 English language arts standards...

The state of New York has decided to permanently lower both its schools’ math and reading proficiency standards-- due to a dramatic fall in test scores since the COVID lockdowns played havoc with children’s educations. A scoring committee that reports to the Board of Regents recently decided that such action must be taken in light of last year’s abysmal test results for students in grades three through eight. For example, in Schenectady, not a single eighth-grader who took the math test scored as proficient. And the cumulative scores for the third through eighth grade tests throughout the state were much...