Barnard College President Judith Shapiro Speaks on Literacy

Question 1: What measures would you take to increase literacy in our nation?

The issue in our society is not the lack of good programs to promote literacy; there are many effective programs and methods. What is lacking is the social will to provide sufficient financial resources to support schools in implementing these programs. It seems that a serious gap between rhetoric and reality exists on the political level. The current administration, for example, promotes the No Child Left Behind initiative as the solution to the achievement gap, but comes nowhere near providing the funding that could make a substantial difference. The same is evident on the local level; New York State passed a bill to reduce class size that cannot be implemented because of a lack of funds to support it. Yet at both the state and national levels, schools are being held accountable for improvements in educational outcomes, including literacy, without the means to implement genuine change.

Question 2: Do you think these efforts should be made at a national or local level?

Broad goals and resources should be provided at the national level without micromanaging their implementation. The local level should provide professional development support for teachers and resources to support literacy programs. This should include small class size, and books and materials that contribute to a language-rich school and classroom environment.

Question 3: Can you give an example of a successful program or do you have a program to implement?

Lee Anne Bell, Director of the Barnard Department of Education answers:

Rather than name a particular program, because there is no one program that meets the needs of all children, I would like to list a few components that make a good program: in the early grades a combination of whole language and phonics in context; exciting reading materials; adults reading to children and modeling the value of reading; frequent speaking and listening opportunities for children; daily writing integrated into ongoing classroom activities; and a small enough class size so that the teacher is able to determine students’ strengths and weaknesses to scaffold learning and build on what students already know. The place to start is in the early grades, grades one through three, since it is known that children who are not reading by third grade often stay behind for the rest of their school careers.#

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