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An important objective of the conference was to review the contributions that research has made to education and to examine its potential for playing an even greater role in narrowing achievement gaps and helping all students reach high standards. An organizing premise was that research is one of the most important tools available to ensure that education policies and practices are thoughtful and effective. Yet the great potential of research to improve education has yet to be realized (National Research Council, 1999d:11; Shaw, 1997:8).
This principle was articulated by the many speakers at the conference and preconference workshops who underscored the importance of research-based reforms. Phyllis Hunter described her collaboration with researcher Barbara Foorman in implementing a research-based reading program in Houston and later throughout the State of Texas. Like several other speakers, she emphasized that the success of research-based reforms depends on developing a partnership among researchers, administrators, and teachers that is based on mutual respect. Like other speakers, she emphasized the importance of a two-way flow of information between the reformer or change agent and teachers. "Professional development is often based on fads, accountability pressure and is often coercive, so teachers just freeze up. . . . The lynch pin of any initiative to increase student achievement is a knowledgeable and caring teacher."
This chapter discusses the cognitive dimensions of learning and the immediate social contexts in which learning occurs. Much of the information presented is drawn from the presentations of Barbara Bowman,
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How People Learn
An important objective of the conference was to review the contributions that research has made to education and to examine its potential for playing an even greater role in narrowing achievement gaps and helping all students reach high standards. An organizing premise was that research is one of the most important tools available to ensure that education policies and practices are thoughtful and effective. Yet the great potential of research to improve education has yet to be realized (National Research Council, 1999d:11; Shaw, 1997:8).
This principle was articulated by the many speakers at the conference and preconference workshops who underscored the importance of research-based reforms. Phyllis Hunter described her collaboration with researcher Barbara Foorman in implementing a research-based reading program in Houston and later throughout the State of Texas. Like several other speakers, she emphasized that the success of research-based reforms depends on developing a partnership among researchers, administrators, and teachers that is based on mutual respect. Like other speakers, she emphasized the importance of a two-way flow of information between the reformer or change agent and teachers. "Professional development is often based on fads, accountability pressure and is often coercive, so teachers just freeze up. . . . The lynch pin of any initiative to increase student achievement is a knowledgeable and caring teacher."
This chapter discusses the cognitive dimensions of learning and the immediate social contexts in which learning occurs. Much of the information presented is drawn from the presentations of Barbara Bowman,
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Catherine Snow, and John Bransford, especially their discussions of the published findings of the National Research Council (NRC) committees that each chaired (National Research Council, 1998a, 1998b, 1999a, 1999b, 2000a, 2001b). The chapter also draws on the presentation of child development researcher Craig Ramey.
Specifically, the chapter presents research findings on human learning from the perspective of cognitive science; early childhood development and the characteristics of social environments that effectively promote it; and the teaching and learning of early reading skills. First presented are principles of learning as discussed by John Bransford. These general principles are derived from research in cognitive science and summarized in How People Learn (National Research Council, 1998a). These general principles of learning are applicable across the life span and inform material presented later in the chapter on early childhood development and education and on how children learn to read. The chapter concludes with a discussion of a theoretical model of school learning and instructional capacity developed by David Cohen et al. (2001) and presented by Cohen in a preconference workshop. This model provides a helpful conceptual and theoretical framework for uniting the cognitive and developmental perspectives on learning presented in this chapter with the social and cultural perspectives that are the focus of Chapter 4.
This review of research on learning and education, including its cognitive and social dimensions, necessarily is highly selective. Research discussed by conference presenters and reported here highlights findings on the above-mentioned topics of particular relevance to the conference themes. The reports of the NRC committees that Bransford, Bowman, and Snow chaired or cochaired are themselves selective summaries of major findings on learning, the development of young children, and early reading about which there is broad scientific consensus. For a fuller discussion of these topics, the reader is directed to the published committee reports and to other references cited in those reports and in this volume.
The Science of Learning
According to John Bransford, learning research can be an important tool for educators who want to help many more students develop the kinds of advanced intellectual skills that W.E.B. DuBois long believed were the province of only "the talented tenth." Although research from the cognitive sciences on learning is not the sole answer for closing the achievement gap and bringing all students to high academic standards, it can be considered a good starting point.
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Cognitive science originated in the late 1950s when the complexity of human behavior and its causes was becoming increasingly apparent. At that time, new experimental methodologies, theories, and conceptual tools were emerging that enabled scientists to transcend both the nonscientific formulations of philosophy and the empiricist limitations of the then-dominant behaviorist model. The new discipline of cognitive science facilitated for the first time the formulation and testing of scientific theories of mental functioning, including the processes of learning (National Research Council, 1998a:8).
New ideas about ways to facilitate learning—and about who is most capable of learning—can powerfully affect the quality of people's lives. At different points in history, scholars have wor ried that formal educational environments have been better at selecting talent than developing it.
National Research Council, 2000a:5
A focus on learning with understanding is the hallmark of much research in cognitive science (e.g., Piaget, 1978; Vygotsky, 1978). The research focus on learning with understanding that emerged in the latter half of the 20th century is fortuitous, given education's evolving role in preparing young people for full participation in the emerging technology- and information-intensive economy. Schooling in the early 20th century was mostly limited to the "three Rs"—reading, writing and 'rithmetic—and certain essential facts considered important for citizenship and functioning in an economy dominated by agriculture and manufacturing. By the end of the 20th century, the ability to think and read critically, to express oneself in a logical and persuasive manner, and to solve complex problems involving science and mathematics had become the new educational standard. As noted by Herbert Simon, the meaning of "knowing" had shifted during the course of the 20th century from being able to remember and recite information to having the skills needed to access and use it (National Research Council, 2000a; Simon, 1996).
Personalization and Learning for Understanding
Accessing and using information requires more than the ability to remember seemingly unrelated facts that teachers deem important for reasons unknown to the student. It requires that one be able to juxtapose—to put together in new ways—information from various sources to
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address problems or issues at hand. In other words, it requires learning for understanding and that students be able to integrate school learning into the fabric of their own lives. Learning for understanding, in turn, means that students are personalizing the lessons they are taught in school.
Each student brings to school understandings and beliefs derived from his or her own idiosyncratic experiences that, in turn, are shaped by socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, gender, religious, and other social identities that come into play in various social contexts. A premise of learning science is that humans are goal-directed agents who actively seek information from the environment (National Research Council, 1998a:10). How students seek out and interpret information at school and whether they make the mastery of academic lessons an important personal goal is profoundly affected by how preexisting knowledge and interests from the home and community environments mesh with school-based meanings and identities. Information is transmitted to students at school both through formal instruction and through informal interaction with teachers and classmates. Lessons learned at school may be essentially consistent with lessons learned at home and in one's community. Alternatively, school lessons may be rather different from lessons learned at home and in the community, or perhaps even dissonant with the meaning system, interests, and identities of home, peers, or community.
Learning research suggests that there are new ways to introduce students to traditional subjects, such as mathematics, science, history, and literature, and that these new approaches make it possible for the majority of individuals to develop a deep under standing of important subject matter.
National Research Council, 2000a:5
Bransford noted that people are inherently motivated to solve problems and to maintain a sense of competence in activities that are important to them (National Research Council,1998a:48; White, 1959). Teachers who respect and make an effort to understand the interests of their students make it easier for those students to appreciate the relevance of lessons taught at school (Garcia, 1999). Similarly, teachers who respect and draw on the knowledge, beliefs, and interests of their students help them feel that school is a place where they belong. Bransford cited Robert Moses' Algebra Project as a good example of an instructional strategy that draws on these principles.
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The Algebra Project curriculum links mastery of algebra to the civil rights struggle. The successes of the civil rights movement cleared obstacles out of the pathway from poverty to the middle class. A message of the Algebra Project is that to walk down that pathway, students must demand a quality education and then take full advantage of the learning opportunities it offers. Mastering algebra in the 8th or 9th grade is seen as the unavoidable gateway to a college preparatory curriculum. Part of the project's methodology is to help students make the connection between their personal experiences and the struggle for civil rights, and then to link what they have learned from visiting civil rights historical sites and related hands-on experiences to mathematical constructs. The project has been successful in helping some low-income minority students who otherwise might not understand the relevance of algebra to their lives (Moses and Cobb, 2001).
If teachers make the effort to connect their lessons with the preexisting knowledge base of their students, they increase the probability that the students will master the lessons. If this occurs, students are likely to feel that they are respected and competent actors in the social environment of the school. This reinforces their personalization of school lessons, their identification with learning objectives, and motivation to establish a sense of competency in relation to the curricula.
This strategy is consistent with an important tenet of learning science—that people construct new knowledge and understandings based on what they already know and believe (National Research Council, 1998a:10). The greater the social and cultural distance between the school environment and the home and community environments, the more difficult it is for students to draw on their preexisting funds of knowledge (Moll et al., 1993) as they work to understand school lessons.
Learner-Centered Teaching
Effective teachers have both the interest and the skills needed to link the lessons and culture of the school with those of the home—to tie school lessons with the preexisting knowledge base of the student. That is, they have the ability to make their classrooms and their teaching learner centered (National Research Council, 1998a:122). Engaging parents and other caregivers as partners in their children's education is one obvious strategy to do this.
Bransford used the term constructivism to refer to a tenet of learning theory that all learning necessarily involves the use of existing knowledge to construct new knowledge. The term also is used, however, to describe a pedagogical theory emphasizing active learning, discovery, and problem solving rather than direct instruction and lecturing. According to
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Bransford, equating these two usages of constructivism is a common misunderstanding of learning theory.
Certainly, if a school provides instruction through active learning and discovery (e.g., doing a science experiment) students are constructing knowledge. However, as described by Bransford, the student who listens to a lecture also is constructing knowledge as he or she tries to make sense of what is being said by integrating the new information presented into his or her preexisting knowledge base. A student who attends to a teacher who is giving direct instruction is constructing meaning, no less than the student who is engaged in discovery learning (Adams and Englemann, 1996).
Transfer from school to everyday environments is the ultimate purpose of school-based learning.
National Research Council, 2000a:78
Efforts to teach children about the concept of mass and the density of matter can quickly illustrate why active learning sometimes is preferable to lecturing. However, there are situations in which teaching by telling may be more effective (National Research Council, 1998a:10, 11). In either case, teachers who provide learner-centered instruction will take into consideration the preconceptions that students bring to the learning situation to help them integrate new information with the old.
Knowledge-Centered Teaching
Bransford emphasized that providing instruction that is learner centered is not enough. To use a metaphor from How People Learn, "if good teaching is conceived as constructing a bridge between the subject matter and the student, teachers must keep a watchful eye on both ends of the bridge" (National Research Council, 1998a:124). That is, instructional environments should be knowledge centered as well as learner centered. Teachers who are learner centered work to understand what students know, care about, are able to do, and want to do. Knowing this, they are better able to establish and maintain the flow of discipline-based knowledge across "the bridge." But research has shown that thinking and problem solving require mastery of well-organized bodies of knowledge to support planning and strategic thinking (National Research Council, 1998a:9). Learner-centered and knowledge-centered teaching intersect when awareness of students' preconceptions are used as a starting point
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to gain a deep understanding of subject matter and eventually to retrieve and apply relevant concepts in a variety of problem-solving situations. For the latter to occur, it is important that students' retrieval of information not be contingent on the context in which it was learned. Appropriately selecting and applying knowledge in a variety of problem-solving contexts require understanding the relationships among ideas within and between domains of knowledge.
In knowledge-centered learning environments, the content, organization, and sequencing of curricula are carefully constructed to facilitate students' development of a deep understanding of the subject matter. Knowledge-centered educators organize instruction in a manner that helps learners to understand the inherent structure of the knowledge domains and disciplines that are taught. Standards that have been proposed or established in such areas as mathematics, science, and reading help to define the knowledge and competencies that students should acquire and the instructional strategies that will help them develop a deep understanding of it (National Research Council, 1996, 1999b; American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1989; National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2000). To extend Bransford's metaphor, knowledge-centered instruction entices students to cross the bridge that leads from their familiar, comfortable intellectual environment to new domains of knowledge.
Assessment-Centered Teaching
In addition to being learner centered and knowledge centered, Bransford argues that learning environments also should be assessment centered. What students are learning should be assessed frequently to measure whether they understand the relationships among ideas presented, not just how well they have memorized facts. In other words, students should be frequently tested and their learning evaluated by other means to measure whether they are learning for understanding. Frequent assessment of progress toward mastery of explicit learning objectives provides valuable feedback to both teacher and student. These kinds of assessments (called formative assessments) provide the teacher with valuable real-time information to use in modifying instructional plans to better accomplish learning objectives.
Frequent formative assessments also provide students with valuable feedback that can help them to reflect on their learning strategies and to modify them if necessary. In other words, they help students to become metacognitive. Being metacognitive means that they can reflect on the soundness of their reasoning and make changes in thought processes as necessary. This is essential if they are to successfully adapt what they
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have learned in school to address problems in everyday settings. According to How People Learn, this, after all, is the ultimate goal of schooling (National Research Council, 1998a:66).
Increasing the amount of information available to teachers about what is working would be a very helpful thing to do. Technology can start making this happen. Having well-aligned goals and frequent formative assessments are the most important things [that could be done to improve student learning].
* * *
Doing frequent formative assessments is the single most impor tant thing I know for helping teachers see which kids are making the kind of progress you expect and which kids need extra help. Increasing the information that is available to teachers and par ents to make decisions about what is working would be a very helpful thing.
John Bransford, Chair,
Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning
Community-Centered Teaching
Finally, learning environments also should be community centered. Ideally, students, teachers, and other interested parties have a common commitment to learning and high standards that causes the behavioral norms of school and community to reinforce each other. This ideal situation makes it easier for students to understand the importance of school learning in very concrete ways—to personalize it and integrate it into the fabric of their lives. That school-community ties always are important is clear, especially when one considers the small amount of time that students spend in school compared with community settings. Activities in homes, community centers, and after-school clubs can have important effects on students' academic achievement (National Research Council, 1998a:142). Schools that make deliberate plans to improve their ties to the community create more favorable learning environments for their students (Comer, 1980, 1989). Figure 3-1 depicts the overall concept.
Children's capacity for abstract thinking increases as they grow older and, although important throughout the life span, the relevance of learning for the satisfaction of immediate personal and emotional needs gradually decreases. Accordingly, knowledge-centered instructional strategies assume greater importance as students go through elementary and sec-
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FIGURE 3-1 Perspectives on Learning Environments. SOURCE: Bransford et al., 1998.
ondary school. Personalization and learner-centered instruction are most essential during early childhood, when children's socioemotional developmental needs are the most salient (National Research Council, 2000a:79-113).
In 1965, fewer than 20 percent of young children were enrolled in early childhood education. By 1997, 65 percent of 4-year-olds and 40 percent of 3-year-olds attended preschool. These figures strongly suggest that preschool enrollments are large, growing, and increasingly important in their potential contribution to academic achievement (National Research Council, 2001b:25). Whether at home or in preschool, the early learning experiences of young children have a profound effect on their later education.
For many years, the federal government has played an important role in helping young children get ready for school through its support of child health and nutrition programs and most especially through its sponsorship of Head Start. Since the 1990 launch of the first Bush administration's America 2000 initiative, having all children start school ready to learn has been at the top of the list of federal education priorities. This continued under the Clinton administration's Goals 2000 program. Yet much more can be done to improve the school readiness of many preschool children, as discussed by Barbara Bowman and Craig Ramey in Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers and in From Neuron to Neighbor-
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hoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development (National Research Council, 2000c; 2001b). According to Bowman and Ramey, we know how to improve the development and school readiness of young children. The question is whether the resources and political will can be marshaled to do it.
Ready to Learn?
The U.S. Department of Education's Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99, presents data on the cognitive development and learning of a nationally representative sample of young children. As outlined in detail by Zill and West (2000) and discussed by Bowman, school readiness skills are far from evenly distributed across racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Bowman noted that many sources have documented that both individual and group differences in learning achievement already exist when children first enroll in school. Without intervention, these differences tend to persist into the later grades. Gaps in early academic skills statistically explain much of the achievement differential apparent years later in secondary school and beyond (Phillips et al., 1998b). Both Bowman and Ramey argued that much could and should be done during the preschool years to counteract this by working to ensure that students from all backgrounds enter school on an even footing.
Eager to Learn (National Research Council, 2001b) focused on three questions:
What is it about young children that defines the parameters for thinking about early learning?
What should children learn and how should they be taught?
What public policies are needed to ensure that all children have the opportunity to learn what they need to be educationally successful?
Development and Learning
The Eager to Learn title refers to one of the committee's most important findings—that young children are naturally predisposed to learn. Cognitive, social-emotional, and physical development are complementary and mutually supportive. They occur naturally during the preschool years, given the active involvement of caring, knowledgeable adults. For this reason, Bowman reported, the study found the common semantic
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distinction between child care and child learning (preschool) environments to be misleading and unfortunate (National Research Council, 2001b:6-7). She argued that learning, especially learning that is related to school readiness, should be an explicit emphasis of all early childhood settings. This is especially true for settings that serve young children who are most at risk of school failure.
The most effective teachers of preschool children are adults who know and care about them, who recognize the developmental milestones that each child has passed, and who use that knowledge to guide children through new learning and to the next developmental milestones for which they are ready. That is, effective preschool teachers know how to assist each child to master those tasks that are within his or her zone of proximal development (National Research Council, 2001b: 42-43; Vygotsky, 1978; Rogoff, 1990).
[A]dequate care involves cognitive and perceptual stimulation and growth, just as adequate education for young children must occur in a safe and emotionally rich environment.
National Research Council, 2001b:33
Given a safe and emotionally rich environment in which to grow and develop, Bowman stated all children have a similar capacity to learn— although what they learn depends on what the environment has to offer. Not all environments, however, are equally good at helping children learn. When there are too few resources, or when children experience overwhelming doses of hunger, disease, danger, abuse, or neglect, learning is compromised. Poverty is one of the major results of deficient environments. A large proportion of children—more than one-third of all black and Hispanic children—come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and many of these families are stressed by poverty.
Child Development and School Readiness
According to Bowman, just because children come from low-income families, it should not be assumed that their environment necessarily deprives them of the capacity to learn. Most low-income and minority children flourish despite hardships and can learn well—but often not in school. This is because school achievement requires a particular kind of learning. In school, children are taught to read, write, do arithmetic, sit in chairs at desks, not talk very much, line up, make friends, and do what
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Transactional Experiences Conducive to Learning and Development
Craig Ramey discussed at the conference a number of careful studies of high-quality preschool programs, including the Abecedarian Project, Project CARE, and the Infant Health and Development Program (Ramey and Ramey, 1998b). Distilling findings from more than 1,000 scientific studies, he discussed the following seven transactional experiences that children have with adult caregivers, including parents and preschool teachers. According to Ramey, all seven are important to children's learning, development, and school readiness. Research has shown that children who:
are encouraged to explore,
are mentored in basic skills,
have their developmental advances celebrated,
are guided in rehearsing and extending newly developed skills,
are protected from inappropriate disapproval and punishment,
are communicated with richly and responsibly, and
whose behavior is lovingly guided and limited at times
are children who are more competent when they enter first grade (Ramey and Ramey, 1998b). The evidence from studies of the above-mentioned programs and from many others makes it clear that high-quality preschool programs that emphasize these kinds of interactions between adults and children produce significant cognitive and social developmental benefits—especially for those children who are most at risk. Although studies show that measurable cognitive and social program effects often fade and sometimes disappear as children progress through elementary and secondary school, some programs appear to produce long-lasting effects, including lower dropout rates and delinquency rates. The size and duration of program effects appear to be related to preschool program quality, age at entry, length of time in the program, and the quality of subsequent educational services (Ramey and Ramey, 1998b; Campbell and Ramey, 1994).
Caring and Well-Educated Teachers
Because of the need to ensure that young children, especially the most at risk, are learning the early literacy and numeracy skills that they will need to succeed in school, Eager to Learn recommends that all preschool teachers have at least a bachelor's degree (National Research Council, 2001b:13). As Bowman put it, "Adults help [children learn] by knowing when to scaffold a new skill and when to back off and let children do
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things for themselves. In other words, the adult role is critical, and the more she or he knows about children, how they learn, and how to support their learning, the better children will learn."
For example, posting the alphabet on the wall and singing the alphabet song are not likely to enable children to learn how letters and sounds map to each other or how the sounds represented by letters are combined into words. These simple teaching devices are unlikely to help children to construct the various components of the reading process, from verbal language, vocabulary, phonemics, and phonetics to reading for meaning. Having a preschool teacher who is skilled in helping children—especially the most disadvantaged—learn these skills is essential if progress is to be made toward the goal of having all children start school ready to learn. Preschoolers need to be well on their way to learning these and other sophisticated tasks as they make the transition to first grade.
Bowman noted that there is a considerable gap between the kind of education and training that Eager to Learn concludes that teachers should have to do a competent job and what currently exists. This gap is partly due to the belief that preschool children are too young to need well-educated teachers. Yet the research consistently correlates teacher education, especially in child development and education, with children's improved performance in critical domains for school achievement (National Research Council, 2001b:261-276). Compounding the problem are low salaries that make recruiting college graduates to work as preschool teachers extremely difficult.
Early Reading: A Foundational Skill
Building strong reading skills beginning in early childhood is the foundation on which nearly all subsequent school-based learning is built. Yet many children—especially those who are black, Hispanic, or American Indian, come from low-income families, or live in high-poverty neighborhoods or attend high-poverty schools—are at great risk of not acquiring essential early reading skills (National Research Council, 1998b:96-98). Catherine Snow, who chaired an NRC study on preventing reading difficulties in young children, discussed the nature and extent of reading difficulties in young children, drawing on the study report in her presentation. While noting that the practical challenge of preventing reading difficulties in young children is enormous, she argued that this is one educational problem for which research has shown that there is a viable solution.
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The Risk of Falling Behind Early
Academic success, conservatively defined as high school graduation, can be predicted with reasonable accuracy by knowing how well a student reads at the end of third grade. The student who does not read at least moderately well by the end of third grade has a lesser chance of graduating from high school (National Research Council, 1998b: 21; Slavin et al., 1994). According to the National Assessment Governing Board (2000), 4th graders with basic reading skills are able to demonstrate an understanding of the overall meaning of what they read. They can make relatively obvious connections between the text and their own experiences and extend the ideas in the text by making simple inferences. On the 1998 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), 64, 60, and 53 percent of black, Hispanic and American Indian 4th graders, respectively, lacked basic reading skills. This compares with 27 percent of white 4th graders and 31 percent of Asian/Pacific Islanders who scored below basic (National Center for Education Statistics, 1999a; National Research Council, 1998b:96-98).
The concentration of poor readers in certain ethnic groups and in poor, urban neighborhoods and rural towns is a matter of great concern (National Research Council, 1998b:327-328).
The educational careers of…[these] children are imperiled because they do not read well enough, quickly enough, or easily enough to ensure comprehension in their content courses in middle and high school. Although some men and women with reading disability can and do attain significant levels of academic and occupational achievement, more typically poor readers, unless strategic interventions in reading are afforded them, fare poorly on the educational and subsequently the occupational ladder.
Problems in Early Identification and Treatment
Drawing on the report, Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, Snow argued that early identification, coupled with effective intervention, is essential to any effective strategy to address this problem. It is estimated that more than 2 million children—approximately 3.5 percent of all U.S. schoolchildren—have been diagnosed with reading disabilities and are enrolled in special education programs for that reason. Students identified as reading disabled constitute approximately 80 percent of all children receiving special education services.
Because of the diagnostic criteria commonly used by federally supported special education programs, many children are not identified as having a reading disability until 3rd or 4th grade. By then, they typically
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are lagging badly in their reading skills, which, in turn, increasingly causes them difficulties in other subjects. Without effective intervention, this situation saps children's natural enthusiasm and eagerness to learn (National Research Council, 2001b) and can lead to a downward spiral of demoralization and school failure.
Reading Benchmarks
Snow argued that one step toward preventing this from occurring is for preschool, kindergarten and early elementary school educators to frequently assess (i.e., on a monthly if not weekly basis) their children's prereading and reading skills in relation to relevant benchmarks. Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children established two sets of developmental accomplishments—one for children from birth to age 3, and one for 3- and 4-year-olds. It also includes four lists of benchmark reading accomplishments for children from kindergarten through grade 3 (National Research Council, 1998b:61, 80-83; 1999b:15-125). These benchmarks outline dimensions or types of skills that contribute to good reading.
Children's proficiency in these skills and, indeed, in reading itself tend to be normally distributed in the population. In assessments of reading skills, as is true with other normally distributed phenomena, such as blood pressure, there are no categorical markers that differentiate normalcy from disability or pathology (National Research Council, 1998b:87-93). With reading difficulties, as with hypertension, scores at the tail end of the normal distribution are interpreted to signify the need for remedial action. Although the reading difficulties of some children have clearly identifiable conditions associated with them—e.g., cognitive deficiencies, hearing impairment, early language impairment, attention deficit (pp. 100-108)—in most cases there are no clear causes for reading difficulties (pp. 85-96). For this reason, Snow suggested, educators should recognize that reading is a skill that simply is more difficult for some children to acquire than for others. Rather than categorize or label most children who are poor readers as dyslexic or reading disabled, Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children recommends that they be provided with high-quality reading support beginning in preschool (pp. 135-274). The quality of early reading instruction in classrooms serving at-risk children should be at least equal to, if not better than that available to children from more advantaged backgrounds. The report recommends that schools that enroll many at-risk children receive extra funding to pay for instructional programs that have been proven successful, reduce class size, hire the most capable teachers, and purchase a sufficient quantity of high-quality books and other materials (National Research Council, 1999b:133-134).
Snow commented on how her committee intended for its reading
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benchmark lists to be used. To illustrate, she noted that the following items were included among the benchmark reading development accomplishments for 4-year-olds:
showing an interest in story books,
telling a brief story,
recounting an event in his or her own words, and
knowing 10 letters of the alphabet.
She added that the reading development benchmarks were not meant to be used as tests: "They weren't meant to be the sorts of things you had to get to before you could have your fifth birthday party. They were meant to be helpful to adults in thinking about the kinds of experiences that we should be giving kids—what kids could be expected to be able to learn— not what they have to know. They can be helpful if used to judge the adequacy of reading instruction programs."
Potential Benefits of Early Intervention
Although many Head Start programs have not yet focused or are just beginning to focus on preliteracy skills, Head Start and similar publicly funded programs serving children from low-income families typically produce significant gains (e.g., one-half of a standard deviation) in reading-related skills (National Research Council, 1998b:150). In certain small, model programs such as the Abecedarian Project, effects can be larger and longer lasting. Participants in the Abecedarian Project received enriched day care services that stressed language and cognitive development from infancy through age 5. Former participants had statistically significant gains over control subjects in their reading achievement from age 8 through 15.
It is not reasonable to expect children to learn how to do this difficult thing if they don't know what it is good for; if they don't understand that reading gives them access to the pleasure of sto ries, to information that might be useful to them; that writing gives them access to very fulfilling, useful functions like making lists so you don't forget, labeling things, and sending off nasty letters to people who have offended you.
Catherine Snow, Conference Co-Moderator
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Opportunity to Develop Enthusiasm for Reading
Rather than focus on any specific program or strategy as being superior to others, Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children emphasizes broad principles for early reading instruction. One is the need for young children to have the opportunity to develop enthusiasm for learning to read and write. Snow noted the similarity between this finding and the comments of Edmund Gordon and John Bransford, both of whom emphasized the personalizing of school lessons. Reading and writing must be perceived as important or relevant in the context of children's lives at home and in their communities. As Snow noted, "Many kids encounter real problems [in learning to read and write] but, with sufficient enthusiasm for the task, it is possible for them to persist through the difficult moments because they understand the uses and functions of written language."
Research indicates that group differences in reading skills associated with race/ethnicity and class are not related to a lack of interest in developing literacy skills among minority and disadvantaged students or among their families (National Research Council, 1998b: 29-30; Nettles, 1997). However, the literacy experiences of children from different backgrounds have often differed. Some studies have found that although the amount of literacy-related homework done by young children with different levels of reading skills is similar, children with more advanced skills are more likely to play with books and read for pleasure (p. 31). The latter activities are more common among children from more affluent families.
Learning the Alphabetic Principle
In addition to providing young children with the opportunity to learn the pleasures and practical value of reading and writing, Snow argued that it is equally important that they learn the alphabetic principle—that written spellings systematically represent the sounds of spoken words. An early step toward learning the alphabetic principle is the development of phonological and especially phonemic awareness. Phonological awareness refers to the ability to attend to the sounds of language as well as to meaning. Phonemic awareness is the ability to divide words into individual sounds and to blend sounds into individual words. It is promoted by experiences of rhyming and sorting words by beginning and ending sounds. Singing songs and making rhymes in which the meanings change with these sorts of substitutions of sounds, syllables, and phonemes help develop these skills (National Research Council, 1999b:46).
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Achieving High Educational Standards For All: Conference Summary
Mastering the alphabetic principle means being able to fluently map letters to sounds and then to access the meaning of the word being read. Children who develop phonological awareness during the preschool years are less likely to have problems with 1st grade reading instruction. Deliberately teaching such skills from the preschool years into the early elementary grades is no less important than giving children the opportunity to appreciate written language by exposing them to good literature.
There is no single formula or mix of strategies that works equally well for all students in teaching sound-letter relationships, vocabulary, and comprehension. Each child needs varying amounts and kinds of knowledge and learning experiences to get started as a reader. After that, children need to acquire substantial reading experiences to build on these skills to the point at which associating meaning with written text becomes rapid and automatic. Awareness of the mechanics of reading should fade into the background as the reasons for reading are fulfilled (pp. 79, 84).
Correlates Are Not Causes
For a variety of reasons, children differ in how easily they learn to read and the age at which they acquire various prereading and reading skills. In her presentation, Snow cited a number of social correlates for the development of reading skills as well as risk factors for reading difficulties. She emphasized, however, that the correlates of reading skills should not be considered prerequisites and causation should not be attributed to the risk factors associated with reading difficulties for individual students. Snow argued that the knowledge and practice of teaching literacy skills to young children have progressed to the point at which the ability of educators to develop effective programs no longer is in doubt. A large number of programs that show impacts on reading outcomes already exist, including Success for All, described in greater detail in Chapter 6.
Knowing What to Do and How to Do It
According to Snow, effective reading programs for young children provide teachers with some "scripting" (i.e., a tightly structured instructional plan), along with effective professional development. They also have good curricula that are based on principles alluded to here and discussed in much greater detail in her study's two volumes (National Research Council, 1998b, 1999b), more time (especially uninterrupted time) on task, instructional leadership, and a conscious effort to recruit support for reading instruction from outside the school (especially from parents).
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While confident that educators have demonstrated that they know how to teach early reading skills, she was less sure about the ability of educators to develop the reading comprehension and vocabulary skills of older students. Although studies of model programs have demonstrated techniques that work well in deepening students' reading comprehension skills and expanding vocabulary, there is little to suggest that even successful model programs are sustainable—even when taught by well-trained teachers. As Snow put it, "it is not by chance that vocabulary instruction and reading comprehension are two domains where we don't know how to implement effective programs. It is because they involve many more unconstrained knowledge domains than does early reading instruction."
Snow also cited as a daunting challenge the task of implementing effective early reading programs while simultaneously attempting to do the same with mathematics and science. She observed:
Do we know how to do them altogether in the same school with the same teachers, when they are competing with one another for resources? Do we have any idea about how to stage the introduction of a successive focus on early reading, math and science? Strategies to get your faculty to do a better job with 1st grade reading may conflict with other things we are doing to help them do a better job at 2nd grade math instruction.
We need to think about how to develop schools into learning institutions that have their own internal development trajectories. We know how to do reform efforts that focus on one thing at a time, but we don't have any models for doing multiple reforms simultaneously.
Instruction as a Complex System of Social Interaction
David Cohen, who participated in one of the preconference workshops, described a conceptual model that clarifies some of the challenges in addressing this problem (Cohen et al., 2001). In Cohen's view, improving instructional capacity in reading or mathematics or across many fields is not simply a matter of improving the curriculum or teacher preparation. Drawing on the work of Vygotsky (1978), Cohen views instruction as a function of the interaction between students and teachers. Viewed in this way, the social environment of the surrounding community is not simply an extraneous factor that can affect instruction at school. Instead, Cohen argued, children could be considered "delegates" from the outside world who bring with them to instruction all sorts of knowledge, beliefs, and values that may be more or less familiar to their teachers and to other
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kids. Viewed in this way, the environment becomes active within instruction, as children enact it and teachers respond to it.
School improvement is a problem of knowledge use at many lev els. It is also a problem of creating organizations that respect and support knowledge use. . . . It is something that public educa tors have only begun in a few cases to apprehend as a real prob lem.
David Cohen, Workshop Presenter
Instructional capacity then, is not a quality of curricula. It is not an attribute of teachers, nor is it an attribute of students. Instructional capacity consists of their interactions. So, if one wants to improve instructional capacity and the learning that results from it, one must simultaneously address the many things that affect that interaction. In Cohen's model, then, considering the quality of instruction apart from the qualities that characterize school-community relations is necessarily artificial and incomplete. Cohen identifies four factors that are essential to improving instructional capacity:
coordination of instruction,
use of resources,
mobilizing incentives for performance, and
managing the environment.
To improve instructional capacity, one has to think beyond how to get teachers more professional development, how to improve the curriculum, and how to make sure that students have adequate nutrition, eyeglasses, etc. All of these things are important, but it is entirely possible to address each of them singly and still have teachers unable to make use of these improvements to enhance student learning. Rather, the various elements that could contribute to improved instruction must be coordinated with each other around the goal of learning. As Cohen put it, "because instruction is interactive, there are almost infinite possibilities for discoordination between teachers and students about what they are doing."
Linking School and Community in Education Reform
Many schools lack essential resources that could improve instruction. Cohen believes that many other schools, however, do not use what they
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have. Resources are of no value if they are not used. For example, a well-designed curriculum unit or readily available computer resources do no good if the curriculum unit cannot be fit into the schedule, or if there is no strategy for integrating computer use into a comprehensive instructional plan. Incentives must be mobilized to support both students' and teachers' motivation to excel. Finally, the environment of the school, along with the various environmental influences of home and community, need to be managed in a manner that is conducive to student learning. Ideally, the environments of school, home, and community function to mobilize the incentives of students to learn and the incentives of teachers to teach effectively. The incentives affecting the behavior of all actors involved in the instructional process need to be aligned, necessary resources must be available and used, and all of this must come together in a coordinated way to enhance instructional capacity.
When the four factors that Cohen sees as central to improving instructional capacity are addressed in a comprehensive way, then one can plausibly expect education reforms to take root. The seeming intractability of many educational problems over the years gives evidence of the complexity of this task, underscoring the limitations of unidimensional and scattershot approaches to reform. As Cohen put it, scaling in reform programs is a very difficult task that must be accomplished before one can plausibly expect to be successful in scaling up. Supportive government policies, superior curricula, well-prepared teachers, and ample educational resources are helpful to this task. However, there is no escaping the fact that implementing program elements that effectively coordinate these components so as to enhance instructional capacity must occur one school and one community at a time—a point underscored later in the conference by Robert Slavin.
This chapter and the conference presentations on which it is based have focused primarily on cognition and learning, early childhood development, and teaching young children to read. Conference presenters highlighted the implications of this research for enhancing the education of minority and disadvantaged students and the theme of achieving high educational standards for all. A common thread running through all of the presentations is that education reform should not be thought of as something that takes place solely in school—although both basic and applied research have demonstrated school-based reforms that are promising and certainly would contribute to improved student learning.
The personalization of learning—tying school-based learning into the relevant structures of students and their families—is particularly impor-
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tant during early childhood. But, as emphasized by John Bransford, personalization is essential to learning for older children and adults as well, and it is especially important for minority and disadvantaged students. Personalization is a theme that cuts across all of the presentations discussed in this chapter.
There is much that educators can do to demonstrate the relevance of school-based lessons to minority and economically disadvantaged students in ways that can be both compelling and culturally sensitive. Yet, as argued by Edmund Gordon, the adverse effects of economic insecurity and the legacy of racial discrimination have had an enormous impact on the schooling of minority and low-income students.
How do race/ethnicity and social class affect student learning? What can schools do to mitigate their effects and ensure that all students, regardless of background, have an equal opportunity to learn? How close are schools to providing students with equal educational opportunities, when the educational outcomes of students vary so much by race/ ethnicity and class? These are among the issues examined in Chapter 4.


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Highlights from Oprah's Conversation with Author Daniel PinkPosted: Sun 02/26/2012 01:05 PM
Oprah and A Whole New Mind author Daniel Pink had a thought-provoking conversation about right-brain thinking this week on "Super Soul Sunday." Here are just a few of the best parts of their interview!
Find out why it's important to have job skills that are difficult to outsource and automate. See Daniel share the six senses of right-brain thinking. Watch as Daniel shares some of his favorite exercises from his book A Whole New Mind. What's Your Sentence?Posted: Fri 02/24/2012 03:30 PM
Is there a sentence that sums up your life? Read this excerpt from Daniel Pink's book, Drive, to learn how to create your own. Then, tune in this Sunday to watch Oprah's conversation with Daniel on "Super Soul Sunday" at 11/10c! By Daniel Pink FIRST, ASK A BIG QUESTION . . . In 1962, Clare Boothe Luce, one of the first women to serve in the U.S. Congress, offered some advice to President John F. Kennedy. "A great man," she told him, "is one sentence." Abraham Lincoln's sentence was: "He preserved the union and freed the slaves." Franklin Roosevelt's was: "He lifted us out of a great depression and helped us win a world war." Luce feared that Kennedy's attention was so splintered among different priorities that his sentence risked becoming a muddled paragraph. You don't have to be a president— of the United States or of your local gardening club— to learn from this tale. One way to orient your life toward greater purpose is to think about your sentence. Maybe it's: "He raised four kids who became happy and healthy adults." Or "She invented a device that made people's lives easier." Or "He cared for every person who walked into his office regardless of whether that person could pay." Or "She taught two generations of children how to read." As you contemplate your purpose, begin with the big question: What's your sentence? . . . THEN KEEP ASKING A SMALL QUESTION The big question is necessary, but not sufficient. That's where the small question comes in. Real achievement doesn't happen overnight. As anyone who's trained for a marathon, learned a new language, or run a successful division can attest, you spend a lot more time grinding through tough tasks than you do basking in applause. Here's something you can do to keep yourself motivated. At the end of each day, ask yourself whether you were better today than you were yesterday. Did you do more? Did you do it well? Or to get specific, did you learn your ten vocabulary words, make your eight sales calls, eat your five servings of fruits and vegetables, write your four pages? You don't have to be flawless each day. Instead, look for small measures of improvement such as how long you practiced your saxophone or whether you held off on checking e-mail until you finished that report you needed to write. Reminding yourself that you don't need to be a master by day 3 is the best way of ensuring you will be one by day 3,000. So before you go to sleep each night, ask yourself the small question: Was I better today than yesterday? Reprinted from DRIVE: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink by arrangement with Riverhead Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc., Copyright © 2009 by Daniel H. Pink First Look: Oprah Talks with Daniel PinkPosted: Wed 02/22/2012 12:41 PM
What does New York Times bestseller Daniel Pink tell young people looking for advice on what to do with their lives? Get his best advice in this sneak peek of Sunday's show! Don't miss Daniel's full interview on "Super Soul Sunday" this Sunday, February 26, at 11/10c on OWN. First Look: Oprah Talks with Daniel PinkPosted: Wed 02/22/2012 12:41 PM
What does New York Times bestseller Daniel Pink tell young people looking for advice on what to do with their lives? Get his best advice in this sneak peek of Sunday's show! Don't miss Daniel's full interview on "Super Soul Sunday" this Sunday, February 26, at 11/10c on OWN. Daniel Pink's Advice to Get Yourself MotivatedPosted: Wed 02/22/2012 09:00 AM
Tune in Sunday, February 26, at 11/10c to watch their conversation! Advertisement
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Originally Posted by hiker8261 on 12/31 starting at 5pm the entire 6 hour series will run end to end. You can go to the website and have them email a reminder as well. http://dsc.discovery.com/tvlistings/...=0&channel=DSC chris Thanks-I'm working OT that night, so I will try to catch it.
It's Smarter to be Lucky, then it's Lucky to be Smart Are you a Minion?
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Final Grades for Every Minnesota Vikings Starter in 2011
By Ray Tannock ,
Well, the 2011 NFL season is finally coming to a close for the Minnesota Vikings, and what better of a time than now to go through each stater and figure out what their final grade was for this disappointing 2011 season.
There were many players who started the season, but for one reason or another, were replaced—sometimes, certain positions saw multiple players—so we'll try to cover this squad as best as possible.
We'll start with the top of the class and work our way down the ladder, and there are a few "class valedictorians" to mention. One, of course, is Adrian Peterson.
The Vikings wanted to run through Peterson this year, and they did just that, which allowed the best RB in the NFL to prove it.
The issue with the Vikings, of course, was the often under-utilization of Peterson, which probably hurt them more than it helped, but his personal output was nothing short of fantastic.
Peterson did tear both his ACL and MCL in his knee this weekend, however, putting a horrible seal on what was otherwise a terrific season.
Final Grade: A
Jared Allen (18.5 sacks) has had one of the best seasons of his career in 2011, a season that is good enough to host him as the current sack leader above a very close Jason Babin (18, Philadelphia) and DeMarcus Ware (18, Dallas).
The Vikings pass rush as a whole has really played rather well this season, and it has been the one bright spot on this team—led by this man and the Vikings' other "A " student.
Final Grade: A
Sticking with the top of the class, we have Minnesota's "Mr. Do-It-All," Percy Harvin.
Harvin also enjoyed one of his best seasons in Minnesota, racking up 877 receiving yards with six touchdowns while also tacking on 326 rushing yards and a single touchdown.
Aside from Peterson, Harvin has been the best offensive weapon and secret weapon the Vikings have had all year long.
Final Grade: A
The Vikings passing game struggled to find its identity this season, but had a lot of help with veteran Visanthe Shiancoe.
"Shank" played in a more situational type role nearly all year and did not have the statistical numbers we're used to seeing him have, but that said role was crucial at times for both Donovan McNabb and Christian Ponder development.
Shanks' grade reflects both aspects of his game and role this season.
Final Grade: B
While he did not have the type of season fellow teammate Jared Allen had, Robison wound up being a solid supplemental player on the defensive line for Minnesota.
Robison was able to counter what opposing lines were doing to either he or Allen and still make a huge impact against the run and in the sack department respectfully.
His overall pass rushing could stand a slight improvement heading into next year.
Final Grade: B
The offensive line as a unit played miserably, but if there was any shining star in that front five, it was John Sullivan.
Sullivan played very well nearly all season long. His mistake level was pretty low—not necessarily common for a center—and his contributions in the passing game and ground game were enough to make significant impacts all season long.
Good to know he'll be around for a few more years.
Final Grade: B
The Vikings linebackers corps was a squad that played a little hot and cold all season long, but it was Erin Henderson that stood out in my mind.
When the threesome was on, they were on, but when they were off, boy, were they miserable to watch.
Henderson showed the most consistency against both the run and pass this season, but his age and inexperience made him a little jumpy at times—something that needs to be worked on this offseason.
Final Grade: B-
Coming into this season, Greenway was considered one of the best 4-3 linebackers in the league averaging 116 tackles each season—he is up to 144 total this season.
Greenway led this squad, and the Vikings knew what they had earlier this season when they wrapped him up for five years at $ 41 million.
The only issue I have with Greenway is he is a vulnerable on lateral coverage, but other than that, he is a solid player that the Vikings will enjoy for years to come.
Final Grade: B
If Peterson's injury holds him out all the way to next year—a very strong possibility—the Vikings can at least take some comfort in knowing it will be the very serviceable Gerhart taking next year's first team reps.
As for this season, Gerhart not only filled in admirably when Peterson was out—some big shoes to fill, indeed—but also was an impact player for Minnesota every time he was on the field.
If Gerhart could just get a little faster, he'd be that much more deadly.
Final Grade: B
It may be a little harsh to grade out Ponder with a "C," but if you look hard at Ponder's short time as a starter, it's about right.
Ponder didn't have a lot fo time on the field this season, but he did show how fast of a learner he is, and showed an uncanny ability to move the chains with a pretty sub-standard offense.
No offense to Mr. Harvin and Peterson, of course.
Ponder must make the giant sophomore leap in 2012 if he is to solidify himself as a permanent stater, and he can do that by simply making adjustments to his reads, release and overall decision making process in heated times.
Final Grade: C
For a guy who had primarily played more as a blocking receiver than a true reception man, Jenkins did an admirable job.
The debate will be, however, whether or not he will be worth keeping around moving forward.
The issue with Jenkins is the fact that the guy has the speed to be a valuable possession receiver, but no other separation skills that cause defenders to respect him in coverage, which is a liability in any offense.
Still, for what his role was intended for, Jenkins didn't do all that bad.
Final Grade: C
Phil Loadholt keeps developing into what appears to be a solid member of this offensive line, but the issue here is the fact that it is taking him forever to blossom.
There are a lot of folks that are beginning to believe that after this year's up and down play, Loadholt needs to turn the corner next season, or be cut.
Loadholt showed tremendous promise throughout this season in both the ground game and passing game, but still struggled at times to establish his ground at the line of scrimmage, or really go above and beyond against the better defensive attackers this season.
Final Grade: C
The two game suspension hurt the Vikings a little bit, but Williams' play also hurt them as well.
We all know what Kevin Williams is capable of, and while his 4 sack 35 total tackle season isn't too shabby, some may debate it is well below the mark.
Williams did create a lot of trouble of front, but he seemed to play just about average this season.
Final Grade: C
Guion had an admirable year as the Vikings three-technique man, but also showed he has a way to go before playing at an elite level.
Guion has a lot of speed of his release and cause a lot of havoc in the trenches, but needs to make more of an impact on the line on a consistent basis before he rises to the next level.
All in due time.
Final Grade: D+
Ayodele initially showed some spark on that line, but was removed form his starting gig a while back due to ineffectiveness, and he is going to have to seriously step up his game with Christian Ballard now floating in the mix.
Ayodele has the tools to be that fixture on the line, but he almost seemed tom play very half-hearten, not ever really going that extra mile.
Another year will either do him good or expose him outright.
Final Grade: D
I am lumping the remainder of this squad into one squad simply because they all played equally poorly.
Anthony Herrera has been struggling for two years now to find his identity as a pro player in the trenches, and Charlie Johnson hasn't really amounted to much at all this season—both players need to be replaced.
The guard situation in Minnesota is a real issue as well, and while Joe Berger was the most serviceable option, he too is clearly not the answer.
Final Grade: F
I hate giving Griffin such a low grade because I know he can play better than he did this season.
The Vikings needed to have outside corners that could handle one-on-one coverage for the aggressive style of defense they wanted to play, and Griffin failed miserably against the faster, more physical receivers in the NFL.
Griffin never really found a way to learn how to be a man cover corner, and that could affect his future as a Vikings starter, or even member.
Final Grade: D
The old man played very well considering his age, but it was a split situation for him.
Against the run, Henderson played very well, but he lost many points in his pass covering skills, and it may be time for Minnesota to think about what they are going to do with Henderson, moving forward.
Final Grade: D
The old field General played through some injury this season and did play with a lot of heart, but at times, it was just sad to watch.
Not necessarily because his play was below standard, but because you can see his age catching up with him, and the tires have very little tread left, if any at all.
Winfield isn't the speedy crafty cover man that made so dangerous a few years back, and he could figure to be a backup next year at some point.
Winfield played very well in short coverage, but not so well in deeper coverage.
Final Grade: D
Asher Allen and Benny Sapp rounded out the secondary in various roles from slot coverage to player replacement, but never played above the spotty performances they turned in.
Allen and Sapp do, however, have promise. I feel they could be developed further into quality players, but I would also suggest a short leash.
Final Grade: D
There is a lot of work that needs to be done at safety in Minnesota.
Jamarca Sanford, Mistral Raymond and even veteran Husain Abdullah all played miserably despite turning in a few nice outings here and there.
This squad was horrible with their open-field tackles, less than desirable as a support group to the cover men and just flat out one of the worst squads int he league.
The irony? This group does have a ton of talent that can be developed if they somehow find the confidence in 2012.
Final Grade: D-


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the shot blog
It seems like our very first concert series, Who Shot Rock & Roll: Live, just ended though it's actually been several months since the free summer event concluded in August. We had such a great time working with our partner KCRW to put on these shows for the Los Angeles community. Who doesn't love impressive photography and great live music?
We now have a place on our website where you can relive those three nights which included performances by Moby, Pourtugal. The Man, Rapahel Saadiq and Band of Skulls. Click here to see several slideshows as well as full performance clips and experience the shows all over again.
Who Shot Rock & Roll: Live continued over the weekend with the second of three concerts we are presenting with KCRW - and what a show it was! The night served to bring people together to celebrate music and photography as well as commemorate the 40th anniversary of T. Rex's influential album The Slider - all for free! Portugal. The Man put on an amazing show - one that people were still talking about days afterward.
Droves of people filled the park outside of the Annenberg Space for Photography.
Everyone was in good spirits at this all ages show. Some adults even let out their more youthful and care-free side.
There was a line to enter to see the Who Shot Rock & Roll photography exhibit all day long.
One of the exhibit's featured photographers, Ed Colver, who also attended the Moby concert earlier this month, showed up with his lovely wife Karin.
Before the show, the members of Portugal. The Man came up to the Annenberg Foundation to play for a live televised news segment.
KCRW DJs Dan Wilcox & Gary Calamar began the entertainment part of the night by spinning some records.
The crowd had a good time listening to music...
...and dancing!
A concertgoer proudly shows off his newly purchased Who Shot Rock & Roll t-shirt!
Portugal. The Man came on stage shortly after 8 o'clock playing their own songs as well as covers of T. Rex tunes.
The band has even compiled their own YouTube video playlist inspired by the exhibit.
The crowd - really energized by the music!
The band ended their fantastic hour and a half-long set with a lively rendition of the Beatles' "Hey Jude."
Thanks to everyone who came out to this magical night to enjoy rock & roll images and rock & roll music. Our third (and final!) show in the free concert series with Band of Skulls & Raphael Saadiq will be Saturday, August 4. Find more information about that night here.
(All images by Unique Nicole for the Space)
We're excited for this Saturday's Who Shot Rock & Roll: Live concert with Moby! KCRW's Jason Bentley will be DJing on stage that night, too. It's going to be a real fun night. Whether you're coming to the Space to see the photography exhibit or just the concert, here's a quick rundown of some important info you'll need for that day.
For those of you who have re-confirmed your RSVP for this event through KCRW, please note that attendees will be granted entry on a first-come, first-served basis until we hit capacity. We are only able to accommodate the first 4,000 guests. One wristband per person will be distributed at check-in. Concert check-in begins at 5pm and the show will take place from 7:00pm - 10pm.
No outside food & beverage is allowed but most of the restaurants in the park will be open, including Piknic, Craft, The Stand, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. There will also be a beer garden for those who are over the age of 21. No chairs, umbrellas, pets, or outside food & beverage (including alcohol) are allowed into the venue.
The general public will be able to visit the galleries of the Photography Space to see Who Shot Rock & Roll from 11am - 5pm on Saturday without having to wear a wristband. After 5pm, the Space will only be accessible to those visitors who are wearing a wristband as a concertgoer. As a bonus, those guests will be able to enjoy the exhibit through 11pm.
Self-parking in the underground garage at Century Park is a flast rate of $1. You must bring cash and pay upon entry.
Who Shot Rock & Roll: Live is a free concert series created by the Annenberg Foundation and KCRW to benefit the community. The Foundation supports the arts as part of its mission to share ideas and knowledge. The Foundation and KCRW encourage you to copntinue to support the arts.
Follow the Photography Space and KCRW on Twitter for real-time updates on capacity on the day of the show. See you then!
Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History 1955 - Present will debut at the Annenberg Space for Photography in what seems like no time. Once here, visitors will be able to take in the amazing images, music videos and original documentary that are all part of the exhibit. But, that's not all. To further celebrate the exhibit (and also take advantage of the great summer weather in Los Angeles!), we're offering a free summer concert series that will feature Moby, Portugal. The Man, Raphael Saadiq and Band of Skulls. Very cool, right? We think so.
On the nights of these special concerts, which are being put together in conjuction with our friends over at KCRW, the Photography Space will remain open until 11pm so guests can come to the galleries to experience the exhibition once the artists have put down their guitars and turned off their mics.
Details and dates are here. Be a part of the fun and RSVP for your free tickets now. Hope to see you all there!
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Posted in the Blairsville Forum
Since: Jan 13 8 |
Judged: 1 1 |
Judged: 3 |
Mississauga, Canada |
I swear I must did and it woke me up, it sounded like very loud screeching
Mississauga, Canada |
I just did
Judged: 4 2 2 Yes. Informed Opinion. |
United States |
Judged: 2 I am humbled by the respect you demonstrate for my posts by your careful consideration and commentary afforded each one. But thanks for the interest. |
Since: Aug 10 3,864 |
Judged: 1 You might want to check to see that the tin foil on your windows is tacked down good and firm. |
Judged: 1 You must have watched the whole Twilight Zone Marathon on SyFy last weekend. Don't worry, it'll be alright...... |
Since: Jan 13 1 Blairsville |
ty this on for size- screeh owl or bobat
Judged: 1 1 1 This is the core of what Scientology is. If you have a problem in your life, it's because these disembodied alien creatures are attaching themselves to you and preventing you from doing better. So Scientology is the one process, they believe, by which you can remove these alien souls. They're called body thetans and you can audit them away. |
Judged: 1 1 1 I hope you're making this up, because it's even weirder than Mormonism, and what could be odder than that? |
Judged: 3 1 1 I'm very sorry sir. I won't be able to sell you a gun today. But, thanks for coming in. |
Since: Jan 13 8 |
Wow. I was talking more about planes but it's good to know that so many of you have the authority to judge insanity. I'm guessing your combined IQ's don't even reach the double digits. I have never seen a more concentrated batch of stupid than those of you who sit around and insult people on the internet. Your parents/cousins must be proud of you all. Git 'er done.
Since: Jan 13 8 |
It's serious. They actually believe that. |
United States |
Judged: 1 1 1 Coyotes have been roaming also around two AM I'm the morning. Owls, bobcat, and coyotes screams sound like vampires that late in the night. All the National Forrests have closed down, trails blocked for bikers and atvs. This has caused all the animals to stay put. My bobcat has a mate now, sees me and Teddy and wonders off in different direction. I see them on our ten pm walk. |
Judged: 1 He can always go to facebook and buy one off the blairsvegas yard sale site,hiawassee yard sale site,etc...I just don't understand how they can sell them on there...Who would be doing the background checks,fingerprints and whatever else is required for purchase of gun??I asked one of the admins. on these sites, and did not receive reply..So are these legal gun sales(cuzs cuz, I'm asking you)?? |
Since: Sep 12 517 Location hidden |
Haven't seen anything but theres been a lot of odd noises around me for the last year.
Sounds like a plane but the volume never changes it'll just stop. Usually at night. I first heard it last year... Jan 18. It was one of the coldest days sink had thought it was the sound of a plane moving through the icy air. It amazed me because I'd never had temps that low before so I had just assumed this is what it was. But I never saw the planes. Than i read awhile ago this was all over. I dunno. But it does sounds like a planes or a large truck idling but never dies down it'll just stop. |
Well your wife has to sleep some time |
Yep, they are wandering around and enjoying the mountains. I love to see these critters. Man has almost run all the wildlife out of Union County. |
Judged: 1 The spirit of a youthful lady in a blood-splattered wedding gown showed up down near Haynes Falls after midnight calling names of people. When the ghost was spotted it vanished into the air. A dark bat that turned into a lady may be made out very frequently sniveling near Haynes Falls late at night. The ghost of an adolescent girl came into sight at midnight staring over Big Bald Cove. When made out the ghost came near the viewer who then ran off. The ghost of a female with half her head gone was noticed in Brasstown Wilderness at midnight screaming at the witness to stay away. There are several testimonies with reference to this spirit in the vicinity. Regardless of what, this ghost undoubtedly is bloodcurdling; one that is better not interrupted. The ghost of a young lady clad as a house keeper has purportedly been made out on a few occasions in Brasstown Wilderness on a dark night pulling a corpse over the grass. A chilling creature is occasionally made out glancing over Big Bald Cove late in the night. A number of of the people who live in this town declare this phantom loves scaring unwise people who come seeking phantoms in Young Harris. The ghost of a zinc-miner has allegedly been distinguished on many instances dragging a cadaver over rocks in Brasstown Wilderness before dawn. The ghost of an adolescent girl came into sight at midnight staring over Big Bald Cove. When made out the ghost came near the viewer who then ran off. http://www.ghostsofamerica.com/3/Georgia_Youn... |
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Related topics: home buying, homes, home selling, property taxes, foreclosure
Make $500,000 in one year! Buy houses for pennies on the dollar! The business of buying foreclosures and pre-foreclosures has never been hotter. The experts will guide you every step of the way to help you get rich quick. Just take a seminar or buy a book and you'll be on easy street in no time.
With foreclosure filings reported on nearly 4 million properties in 2009, it's easy to entertain visions of buying cheap houses and flipping them for quick profits.
The only trouble is, it's not so simple. New realities are changing the foreclosure business, and the unwary investor can be left in the lurch.
Here's what's changed and what you might want to watch out for:
There may be little or no equity on the table
Dana Mackey used to send 100 letters at a pop to distressed homeowners in the Agoura Hills, Calif., area. He would typically get about a 10% response. Of those, he would be able to work with several families either by carrying paper so they could stay in their homes or by purchasing the homes from them, and he'd make a good profit.
That doesn't work anymore. Most of the houses in trouble in his area are now "underwater" -- people owe more on their homes than the homes are worth. Many homes have $950,000 mortgages but are worth only $700,000 in today's market.
"Before, I was able to help them," says Mackey, of Prosperity4Kids. "Now, they're so far gone that there's nothing you can do. The banks don't want to negotiate. The banks don't want the property back, but they don't want to take the $250,000 hit right now either. And the market keeps dropping." Mackey has stopped sending the letters.
Foreclosures have become more emotionally and politically charged
Groups such as the Moratorium Now! Coalition are working to stop foreclosures and evictions nationwide. Frustrated with rising unemployment and foreclosures, the coalition's motto is "Bail out the people -- not the banks." Reading a few stories of families sleeping in trucks after being foreclosed on could make Scrooge cry. Few topics raise people's emotions as quickly as a classic battle between the haves and the have-nots.
You, as a buyer, may be an innocent bystander in this drama, but that might not keep you from having trouble taking possession of a home -- or keeping it.
The homeowners likely won't make it easy on buyers either. "What people don't count on is the high emotional stakes involved with someone who is in the process of losing their home," says Craig Venezia, the author of "Buying a Second Home." They may have been fending off pre-foreclosure buyers, feel they were pushed into the loan or be emotionally drained by the prospect of losing so much. They don't exactly welcome your contact; sometimes, they're hostile.
You've got more competition than ever
Once a homeowner receives a notice of default, the foreclosure process is public. Some homeowners report being contacted by as many as 65 people offering to "help" during the pre-foreclosure period. At an auction, it's no better. You register and get a bidder's card or paddle, but so do hundreds of other people. "People think, 'If I get a foreclosure, I'll be the only one,'" says Larry Loftis, the author of "Successful Real Estate Investing in a Boom or Bust Market." You could skip auctions and look for REOs, or real-estate-owned properties, where the bank has already foreclosed and owns the home. But those are put on the Multiple Listing Service rolls along with every other property. There's really no way to get around the competition.
Even before the current foreclosure boom and its fallout, buying foreclosures had major downsides. Here are nine more good reasons you may want to steer clear in any market:
Some pre-foreclosure tactics are sleazy
There's a whole seminar market that teaches you how to find people who are about to lose their homes and pretend to be their white knight. The seminars teach you to pitch that, yes, Aunt Martha will lose the property, but she'll save her credit. You use complicated contracts and high-pressure and scare tactics, and misrepresent what the homes are worth. What you're hoping is that Aunt Martha has about 60 grand in equity. You take over her property, her loan -- and her equity. Loftis says, "It's deceitful and unethical, but that's what they teach."
You can pay too much
Auctions are designed to create a buying frenzy. It's easy to get caught up and spend more than you'd planned. "People should not be misguided into thinking that the lenders just take a loss. Sometimes they do," says Venezia. "What I've seen is that more short-selling is happening, but it's still more of the exception than the rule." Remember, when a house sells for far less than both the market price and the mortgage, it makes the news exactly because that's not how it usually works.
You don't get much time to do your research
Foreclosure auctions are a quick process, so when you find out a property is coming up for auction, you don't have much time to research it. If a property sells at auction, all liens are wiped clean, but you are liable for any property taxes. That could wipe out any savings. "You're going to know less about the property," says Venezia. There's no home inspection. Some of the houses are sold sight unseen. And if you're the winning bidder, it's yours -- there's no going back.
Your profit can disappear in the time it takes to rehab and sell a home
Even if you get a property at what you think is a good value, you have to factor in all your costs. It's not just labor and materials. It's the time you hold the property. It could take months to fix up one property and find a buyer for it, and all that time you're paying mortgage interest, utilities, property tax, insurance and more. You really have to do the math.
Say you manage to pay $200,000 for a house worth $250,000. You plan to put in $10,000 worth of carpet and paint before clearing a nice profit. Not so fast. There's always more that needs to be done than you had expected, so say the rehab actually costs you $15,000. Closing costs add $12,500. Then, say it takes you six months to fix the house and find a buyer -- and each month you're paying $3,000 in expenses.
The cost of flipping | |
Selling price, once flipped: | $250,000 |
Purchase price: | $200,000 |
Gross profit: | $50,000 |
Expenses | |
Closing costs: | $12,500 |
Rehab: | $15,000 |
6 months of taxes, interest, etc.: | $18,000 |
Total expenses: | $45,000 |
Net profit: | $4,500 |
That's a pretty slim profit margin -- one that's completely wiped out if the previous owners trash the place. Or if there are any unknown major defects, such as a leaking roof, a severely cracked foundation or mold. Or if it takes longer than you think to rehab the house in your free time. Or if selling the house takes longer than you anticipated. Not to mention that it could take two to three times longer to complete than a traditional sale, tying up your time and money.
That's a lot of risk, and it could turn out even worse. There are other ways to invest in real estate without exposing yourself to so much risk.
The owners or tenants may still live there
If you buy property at a foreclosure auction, you may have to be the one to evict the tenants. Do you have the stomach for that?
Vacant properties are a huge financial drain
Most foreclosures involve single-family homes. These homes feel like safer buys because they're what we know. But you're better off buying multifamily homes, with renters to cover the mortgage payments, taxes and utilities. "If you buy a quad, even if someone moves out, the other tenants cover your expenses," author Loftis says. "You rehab one unit at a time. You never have a property sitting empty that eats your lunch."
The neighborhood may have underlying problems
You need to ask, "Why is this house in foreclosure?" If the owner lost his job, that's one thing. But if many jobs are being lost in the area, causing a glut of homes on the market, stay away.
Financing a foreclosure can be complicated
At an auction, you have to bring a cashier's check for a down payment, and then you might have 24 hours to come up with the rest of the cash. Getting a traditional mortgage on a foreclosure would be extremely difficult. You would need to have different sources -- your own cash, access to trusts or hard-money lenders (which can charge exorbitant interest rates).
You can get great deals now -- without buying foreclosures
One of the best reasons not to buy foreclosures: It's a buyer's market. Loftis recommends that you look for properties that have been on the market six months or longer. You'll find sellers who are willing to give you a good price.
Still, buying a foreclosure might make sense.
If you're thinking of buying a foreclosure or pre-foreclosure for your own residence, it's an entirely different scenario. If you do your research, avoid occupied houses and never buy sight unseen, it could be worth the trouble. Georg Finder, an independent credit evaluator in Fullerton, Calif., bought a fixer-upper that way. He paid about half as much for his house as his neighbors had paid for theirs, and he used some of the savings to make cosmetic fixes. For Finder, the positives outweighed the negatives. He still lives there, 20 years later.


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Product Guide
All Product Articles tagged 'transcend'
Transcend ESD200 Portable SSD (256GB) - Flash in Your Pocket
The Transcend ESD200 is unlike other portable external hard drives because it packs an SSD as opposed to a traditional mechanical hard disk. However, can its USB 3.0 interface take full advantage of the SSD's performance benefits? We find out.
The Great High-end SSD Shootout
SSDs are the latest must-have components for users who are serious about performance. And with prices hitting record lows, there's no better to snap one up than now. To help you pick the right one, we tested 10 of the most popular SSDs from the biggest names around.
Transcend SSD320 (256GB) - A Mainstream SandForce Drive
The Transcend SSD320 Series is the company's mainstream SSD lineup. Featuring the tried-and-test SandForce controller but slower asynchronous NAND memory, we take it for a spin to see how it performs.
Transcend SATA III SSD720 (256GB) - More SandForce Goodness
The Transcend SATA III SSD720 is the latest SandForce-powered SSD to hit our labs. We put it through our tests to see how it fares against the current crop of SandForce drives.
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The Transcend ESD200 Portable SSD is an external portable hard drive that employs the use of an SSD and USB 3.0 interface for fast transfers...
The Transcend ESD200 Portable SSD is an external portable hard drive that employs the use of an SSD and USB 3.0 interface for fast transfers...
The Transcend SSD320 Series is targeted at mainstream users looking for a performance boost over traditional hard disks.
Transcend's latest 2.5-inch solid state drive uses the latest SATA 6Gbps interface and SandForce controller for blazing fast performance.


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Spa treatment for hotel HVAC system
In January 2009, construction began on a new, upscale Renaissance Boston Hotel & Spa at Patriot Place in Boston. The building's owner wanted a top performing, energy efficient HVAC system that had the capability to adjust... » more
Lights on Cowboys
When the University of Wyoming Cowboys meet rival teams on Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie, it is important to keep the lights on for tv cameras airing the big game. More importantly, in the case of an emergency,... » more
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Back when I was a young teen I had a exotic mature black neighbor lady who lived next door to us. Her name was Maggie but everyone in the neighborhood called her "Aunt Mag". She was a widowed lady of about 57 but looked at least 15 years younger than that due to her slim body frame and youthful alluring face. She was petite with graying short hair standing around 5'2 and couldnt weigh more...
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UK Lass in US has a great pattern and tutorial for this adorable travel doll house for you to make. She made a barn as well so be sure to check it out :)
Sarah Olmsted: Imagine Childhood: Exploring the World through Nature, Imagination, and Play
Amie Plumley: Sewing School: 21 Sewing Projects Kids Will Love to Make
Rae Grant: Crafting Fun: 101 Things to Make and Do with Kids
Marie Hablitzel: Draw Write Now, Book 1: On the Farm-Kids and Critters-Storybook Characters
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Santa Fe's professional full-sized orchestra with chorus
…bringing great music to life
The Santa Fe Symphony is Santa Fe's professional full-sized orchestra with volunteer chorus. We focus on orchestral masterpieces that thrill your senses and feed your soul. Please join us during our exciting 30th Anniversary Season of performances at the beautiful Lensic Performing Arts Center, featuring outstanding gold medalists, first prize winning soloists, and beloved masterworks. View season 2013-14 concert information.
Twenty-seven years ago, a group of dedicated musicians and music-lovers, under the leadership of Founder, Gregory W. Heltman, made a bold decision to establish a professional symphony orchestra in Santa Fe. Since then, the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus has continued to fulfill its mission to inspire, delight, engage, and enrich audiences of all ages and cultures in Santa Fe, Northern New Mexico and beyond, offering orchestral and choral concerts of the highest professional quality as well as education and outreach programs for adults and schoolchildren. Performing a regular subscription series at the 790-seat Lensic Performing Arts Center, the Santa Fe Symphony, conducted by Music Director Steven Smith, is recognized as a vital, community-focused musical organization. It is one of two fully professional, full-sized symphony orchestras in the state and is the largest professional symphonic organization in Santa Fe.


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The Granite Factory in combination with our on site manufacturing partner Unico have a wealth of experience in the countertop industry. We are one of the largest kitchen and bath countertop fabricators in the country. For over 40 years, we have manufactured and installed high-quality granite, quartz, solid surface, and laminate. Our 50,000 square foot facility features state of the art computerized equipment and includes the largest indoor slab viewing area in the Hudson Valley.COMMERCIAL CLIENTS
- We just wanted to thank you for the excellent job that your three guys did installing our new countertop. They were just the 'best', friendly, knowledgeable, patient, etc. The work that they did was absolutely outstanding!!
- This is to let you know that we were pleased with your recent countertop installation. The installation team arrived at the announced time and did a high quality job installing the Staron countertops. Everything fit and looked great.
- I just wanted to write and say how satisfied we are with our new counter top. Also, the men that installed it were very professional and friendly. I will recommend your company to everyone I know. Thank you.
- Just wanted to say thanks for a great product! Your granite countertop was the final piece that brought our kitchen together. Accommodating our schedule and the prompt, courteous installation crew are to be commended.


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Love in A Cup Frozen Yogurt Bar
At Love In A Cup, frozen yogurt isn't just a dessert—it's a way of showing your body that you care. The shop's natural yogurt boosts bodies' live, active cultures, which have been shown to bolster the immune system and protect the intestinal tract from the harmful bacteria that steals its lunch money. Eight frozen flavors swirl from self-serve machines, presenting taste buds with a continuum of sweet and tart tastes to explore. The toppings bar rolls out a smorgasbord of fresh fruit and candy to add crisp and crunchy textures to the mix, preventing diners from needing to head to the wilderness to forage for berries and discarded cookie crumbs.
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