S1-02. Background knowledge and education reform: Robert Pondiscio
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Robert shares what inspired him to embark upon his esteemed career path and how we must acknowledge and address that children come to school from different places and backgrounds along their language trajectory in our schools. Susan and Robert discuss the latest in education reform, the knowledge gap, how it is only going to get larger as kids move through grades, the limited time we have to correct it, and how to start doing so.
Quotes:
\\u201cLanguage is heavily dependent upon readers making correct inferences about context, and that\\u2019s background knowledge.\\u201d
\\u201cLanguage is a series of inference-making, that\\u2019s all knowledge-dependent. And if we\\u2019re not operating from the same base of knowledge, it all breaks down.\\u201d
Resources:\\xa0
Robert Pondiscio's book:
How the Other Half Learns: Equality, Excellence, and the Battle Over School Choice
Robert Pondiscio's articles:
How to improve literacy after elementary school
The lost children of Hirsch: Will a fresh argument for content-rich curricula make a difference?
Additional resources:\\xa0
"How knowledge helps", an article by Daniel Willingham
Teaching Content is\\xa0Teaching Reading video by Daniel Willingham
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