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Nancy Bailey's Education Website

Revive, Rally and Recover Public Schools

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How School Reform, Including Common Core, Has Devastated Children and Their Joy of Learning to Read

January 4, 2019 By Nancy Bailey 134 Comments

School reform has taken a toll on children starting in kindergarten (even preschool). There’s little doubt that children are being forced to learn to read earlier than ever before. The reading gap likely reflects the developmental differences found in children when they are forced to read too soon. Why are schools doing this? Forcing kindergarteners […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Common Core, Emily Hanford, Joy of Reading, McGraw Hill, National Council on Teacher Quality, National Reading Panel, phonics, reading, Reading Instruction, Reading Teachers, Reading Wonders, science of reading, teachers

Hemingway for 5 Year Olds? Do These 22 Things To Teach Reading Instead!

December 29, 2016 By Nancy Bailey 5 Comments

In “Forget Pat the Bunny: My Kid’s Reading Hemingway,” The New York Times hypes KinderGuides where children read the simplified versions of adult novels converted to picture books–without the X-rated parts. The whole purpose of this is to get 5-12 year old children ready for adult books. I am not one to hold children back […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Book Programs, Children's Books, Children's Literature, Dolly Parton, Joy of Reading, KinderGuides, Learning to Read, Library Story Hours, Pancakes for Breakfast, Pushing Children to read, reading, Richard Scarry, The Best Word Book Ever, Tommie DePaola

Preschool Common Core Dialogic Reading: Can’t Mother Goose Fly Alone?

December 28, 2015 By Nancy Bailey 12 Comments

Yes. Mother Goose can fly alone! She doesn’t need any help from dialogic reading, which is like close reading for preschool. This formulaic reading exercise was created by Grover J. “Russ” Whitehurst an experimental psychologist who is director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution. Here is more about Dr. Whitehurst. […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Common Core, Dialogic Reading, Joy of Reading, Mother Goose, Picture Books, preschool, reading

Stealing the Joy of Reading—How Common Core Destroys Reading Pleasure

June 9, 2015 By Nancy Bailey 23 Comments

Who would have believed that it would come to this? Education Week is having a webinar on new approaches to reading aloud in K-2nd grade (New Strategies for Reading Aloud to K-2 Students, Thurs. June 18, 2-3 p.m ET). The underwriting for the webinar is through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and with Common […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Common Core, Evidence, Joy of Reading, Librarians, parents, reading, Reading Aloud, teachers, vocabulary

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An education glossary with an attitude.

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Do we really want an America where we no longer own our public schools?

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This book says “no” to the reforms that fail, and challenges Americans to address the real student needs that will fix public schools and make America strong.

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