This month, a fascinating study was reported, showing that dyslexia affects different parts of children's brains depending on whether they are raised reading English or Chinese. The study was conducted by Li-Hai Tan, a professor of linguistics and brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Hong Kong and was reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI's), Tan's group studied the brains of students raised reading Chinese. They then compared those findings with similar studies of the brains of students raised reading English.

What appears to happen is that different writing systems (i.e., the symbols the child has to read) require the use of different areas of the brain. For example, English-speaking children have to deal with letters and learning how the sounds of letters combine to form words. By contrast, Chinese youngsters memorize hundreds of complex symbols which represent whole words. In other words, the reader uses different parts of the brain depending on the writing system that he or she has been born into.

These changes occur in all children. However, what also happens is that some children have difficulty with the process. Often their difficulties are placed under the rubric of dyslexia. Keep in mind that most children who have difficulties in reading are not dyslexic. However, that term has had a kind of magnetic attraction that has led to its becoming prominent in the field of reading difficulties--and almost synonymous with reading failure. It is also a term that is marked by major misconceptions. For example, though it has long been shown not to be the case, many people think that dyslexics see backwards, or in reverse.

What is known is that dyslexia is a language-based learning disability that can include problems in reading, spelling, writing and pronouncing words. Reading an alphabetic language like English requires different skills than reading Chinese, which relies less on sound representation, instead using symbols to represent words.

Given the importance of reading and reading disability, the findings have naturally led to the issue of intervention: How can they be used to help the children learn more effectively? Tan has suggested different treatments are needed for different languages. As a general principle, this is excellent.

As so often is the case, the devil is in the details. For example, one of the first suggestions is that treatments of English dyslexia focus on letter-sound conversions and sound awareness--since those skills seem central. But this is exactly what has been done for years--with little success. What comes to mind is Albert Einstein's definition of insanity which is said is "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

It's not difficult to figure out why the failure rate remains stable and high. As I have indicated over the course of many blogs, current techniques focus endlessly and almost exclusively on sounds and sound analysis--the areas that pose greatest difficulty for the children. From the perspective of learning and motivation, this cannot be a recipe for success. What is needed are new approaches that via more appealing and less stressful methods offer the children entry into the world of print. What is not needed is using brilliant, intriguing studies to reinforce tired, ineffective methods.

Posted by Marion Blank at 04:15 PM
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We hear over and over again about the problems in American education. Unfortunately, dire warnings have become so commonplace that we often don't pay them much heed. But Bob Herbert, a columnist in the New York Times, has offered some facts and figures that should make us take notice.

For example,

An American kid drops out of high school every 26 seconds.

More than a million drop out every year.

These are among the highest dropout rates in the industrialized world. Roughly a third of all American high school students drop out. Another third graduate but are not prepared for the next stage of life — either productive work or some form of post-secondary education.

Think about it! Two-thirds of all teenagers old enough to graduate from high school are leaving, without the skills to negotiate the modern world.

Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, offered a brutal critique of the nation’s high schools a few years ago, describing them as “obsolete” and saying, “When I compare our high schools with what I see when I’m traveling abroad, I am terrified for our work force of tomorrow.”

Said Mr. Gates: “By obsolete, I don’t just mean that they are broken, flawed or underfunded, though a case could be made for every one of those points. By obsolete, I mean our high schools — even when they’re working as designed — cannot teach all our students what they need to know today.”

The Educational Testing Service, in a report titled “America’s Perfect Storm,” cited three powerful forces that are affecting the quality of life for millions of Americans and already shaping the nation’s future. They are:

• The wide disparity in the literacy and math skills of both the school-age and adult populations. These skills, which play such a tremendous role in the lives of individuals and families, vary widely across racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups.

• The “seismic changes” in the U.S. economy that have resulted from globalization, technological advances, shifts in the relationship of labor and capital, and other developments.

• Sweeping demographic changes. By 2030, the U.S. population is expected to reach 360 million. That population will be older and substantially more diverse, with immigration having a big impact on both the population as a whole and the work force.

The nation’s future depends on how well we educate the current and future generations. Our "score" in this realm is abysmal and, unless dramatic change occurs, it reflects a time bomb that will cause unbelievable destruction.

Posted by Marion Blank at 12:02 PM
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With all the many problems that are swirling around us, it's easy to feel a bit downcast. When that happens, a smile can work wonders. Hopefully some of these one liners will do that for you.

Time is a great healer, but a terrible beautician.

If #2 pencils are the most popular, are they still #2?

I live in California, and my watch is three hours fast, I can't fix it, so I'm moving to New York.

Living on Earth is expensive, but it does include free trips around the sun.

If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked and drycleaners depressed?

It's not who you know, it's whom you know. (It's so nice when jokes also teach some language.)

There are two rules for success: 1.) Don't tell all you know.

If your feet smell and your nose runs, you're built upside down.

A clean desk is a sign of a cluttered drawer.

I had amnesia once - maybe twice.

Originality is the art of concealing your sources.

Photons have mass? I didn't even know they were Catholic.

Wear a watch and you'll always know what time it is. Wear two watches and you'll never be sure.

How long a minute is depends on what side of the bathroom door you're on.

Two can live as cheaply as one---for half as long.

Is Marx's tomb a communist plot?

That guy is so old he shops at EXTREMELY Old Navy.

If you're riding ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there.

Am I ambivalent? Well, yes and no.

Red meat is not bad for you. Fuzzy green meat is bad for you.

All power corrupts. Absolute power is pretty neat, though.

A hangover is the wrath of grapes.

If at first you don't succeed, redefine success.

Failure is not an option. It's bundled with your software.

I just got lost in thought, and it was unfamiliar territory.

I feel like I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe.

Despite the cost of living, have you noticed how popular it remains?

Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane and going the wrong way.

To succeed in politics, it is often necessary to rise above your principles.

The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.

A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

Change is inevitable except from vending machines.

Can vegetarians eat animal crackers?

I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman where the Self Help section was, she said if she told me it would defeat the purpose.

Is there another word for synonym?

Isn't it scary that doctors call what they do "practice"?

What should you do if you see an endangered animal eating an endangered plant?

If a parsley farmer is sued do they garnish his wages?

Would a wingless fly be called a walk?

Is a shell-less turtle homeless or just naked?

What was the best thing BEFORE sliced bread?

If people from Poland are called "Poles," why aren't people from Holland called "Holes"?

If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?

Heck is where people go who don't believe in Gosh.

It's hard to make a comeback when you haven't been anywhere.

We have enough youth: how about a fountain of "smart"?

Two rights do not make a wrong, they make an airplane.

Two wrongs do not make a right, but three lefts do.

Is reading in the bathroom considered multi-tasking?

Why do bankruptcy lawyers expect to be paid?

How do you tell when you run out of invisible ink?

Polynesia - memory loss in parrots.

A good pun is its own reword.

A bartender is a pharmacist with a limited inventory.

I have friends who swear they dream in color; I say it's just a pigment of their imagination.

3 out of 4 Americans make up 75% of the population.

An unemployed court jester is no one's fool.

Cole's Law: Thinly sliced cabbage.

Help stamp out, eliminate and abolish redundancy!

I wouldn't touch the metric system with a 3.048m pole!

And finally--
Take everything in moderation. Including moderation.

Posted by Marion Blank at 05:41 PM
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Many of the families who consult with me for help have children with attention problems. Often medications such as Ritalin are being used--or even more often, such medications are recommended. But many are reluctant to take this path.

Fortunately, there are other paths that are open. Reichenberg-Ullman & Ullman in a well researched book Ritalin Free Kids report their experiences in treating ADD children via homeopathy. If you are interested in learning more about this, you can go to http://www.amazon.com/Ritalin-Free-Kids-Effective-Homeopathic-Behavioral/dp/0761507191

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Posted by Marion Blank at 04:20 PM
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One of the great pluses of language is the sheer fun it offers. You need look no further than the top 10 winners in the International Pun Contest. Here they are:

1. A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at him and says, "I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger."

2. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says "Dam!"

3. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.

4. Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says "I've lost my electron." The other says "Are you sure?" The first replies "Yes, I'm positive."

5. Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal? His goal: transcend dental medication.

6. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories . After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse. "But why?", they asked, as they moved off. "Because," he said," I can't stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer."

7. A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named "Ahmal." The other goes to a family in Spain ; they name him "Juan." Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, "They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal."

8. A group of friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him. So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to "persuade" them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that only Hugh can prevent florist friars.

9. Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and, with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him (Oh, man, this is so bad, it's good) a super calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

10. And finally, there was the person who sent ten different puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did.

Posted by Marion Blank at 02:31 PM
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If you were buying a car and found one that had a 70% chance of ranging from fair to downright bad, you would almost certainly turn away. But that level of performance is being welcomed by officials when it comes to the writing skills of American students.

According to a new national study, about a third of the nation’s eighth-grade students are proficient writers. The results are even worse for high school seniors where only roughly a quarter achieve this level. The results are about the same as those in 2002, when a similar exam was last given.

A success rate of 30% may not sound like much--and indeed, it isn't. But it is the best performance by eighth-grade students in any subject tested in the national assessment in the last three years. For example, only 17 percent of eighth graders were proficient on the 2006 history exam, for example.

That is why officials such as Michael Casserly say they are "pleased and encouraged" with the findings. He is the executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools, which represents the nation’s 60 largest urban districts. Some states, of course, did better than others. The top performers were New Jersey, where 56 percent of students scored at or above proficiency levels, and Connecticut, where the number was 53 percent. And as in the past, girls outperformed boys so that at eighth grade 41 percent of them achieved proficiency, compared with 20 percent of boys.

As with so many issues, there are those who are ready and willing to put their efforts into activities akin to re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. For example, some experts question whether the writing test, which requires students to compose only brief essays in a short time, is an accurate measure of their ability. But, for those who are willing to venture into the real world, the problems are clear. For example, a survey of 120 corporations conducted by the College Board in 2003, concluded that a third of employees in the nation’s blue-chip companies, including many recent college graduates, wrote poorly. Keep in mind, that these are "the best and the brightest."

So once again, our students are being short-changed by a system that leaves them without the skills needed for the modern competitive world.

What is a parent to do? Waiting (and hoping) that the system will change is not an answer. Fortunately, for those who are willing and able to make the time, there are pathways to follow. One activity for children who are in fourth grade or higher is the following. Take an article from a reasonably well-written newspaper or magazine. Of course, the level should be one that is appropriate for your youngster. The article should be on a topic that relates to "school type subjects" such as government, health, science, and so on. Have your child read a paragraph. Answer any questions and give any help that is needed. Then put the article aside and, either via paper and pencil or on the computer, have your child re-construct the paragraph.

It will take time to see the effects of this work. At first, your child is likely to feel overwhelmed and keep turning back to the article. There are also likely to be complaints about "how boring" the work is. But writing, like all diligence- based activities, involves a level of attention that children in the modern, glitzy, high-tech reject as boring.

At the same time, "being bored" is often a cover for "being unable." A good paragraph has three to four major points. Without training, it is difficult for novices to "take in" and then reformulate those points. But if you willing to persist by regularly doing this activity twice a week throughout the school year, you are almost certain to see steady growth.

Posted by Marion Blank at 02:19 PM
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