The Green Footprint Project: How Middle School Students Inspired Their Community and Raised Their Self-Worth

       How does this sound for a school project? - “Students complete Internet research, create pamphlets, give presentations, and take on other activities to alert the school community to local environmental issues.”  With the focus on the human environment’s impact on Earth, a fifth grade teacher embarked on an experimental project with her students and reports very positive results in this article. Students brainstormed ideas and collectively chose the focus of local air pollution.  This was inspired by their observation of idling cars outside their classroom’s open windows.  The project was multidisciplinary. Of course, science was used to design research like collecting data by timing how long individual cars idled over a three week period.  Critical thinking skills where taught and developed as well.  Using math, students analyzed the data on idling cars and computed such things as amount of gas and money wasted by idling.  This led to ideas like parents walking their students home, carpooling and turning off the ignition while waiting. Social studies came into play with students attempting to get community and governmental support for “idle-free school zones.”  English Language Arts were incorporated into the project with written and oral presentations.

It is difficult to be critical of an article and project that I feel has great merit.  The one problem I had with the article is the “Self-Worth” factor.  If this factor is important enough to include in the title of the article, I would expect much more attention and discussion devoted to it within the body of the article. The only mention of this aspect is the author’s sense that students’ observation of their project’s impact on their community gave them a stronger sense of self and that research suggests that students who use their own ideas and language develop a positive sense of self-worth. I’m not sure how one would measure self-worth, but I feel it is essential to expand on this if one makes the claim, or leave it out of the title and have it be more of an interesting side note to the project which, again, is a great idea, was implemented well and deserves acknowledgement.

Cortez-Riggio, K. (2011, January). The Green footprint Project: How Middle School Students Inspired Their Community and Raised Their Self-Worth. English Journal, 100.3, 39-43.

Government Leaders, Senior Policy Makers, Domestic Violence Experts Discuss Most Effective Ways to Stop Dating Violence Among Middle School Youth at Capitol Hill Event

        Domestic violence is a pervasive problem throughout all socioeconomic groups in American society. This article identifies the value of targeting middle school youth to end the cycle of violence.  Teen dating violence is the beginning of the perpetuation of domestic violence. One of the goals of the groups and individuals mentioned was to educate the public “about the debilitating problem of dating violence among our young people.”  This group (tweens) are at the beginning of their explorations of dating and romantic relationships and it is at this time in their lives where the most effective change in their perception of dating/family violence can be implemented. The article states, “Middle school is an important time in the development of an adolescent’s view of what a healthy relationship should be.  The importance of teaching healthy relationship skills early on is integral in the prevention of teen dating violence, which is far too prevalent and prevents far too many students from being able to focus on their education.” Tweens are given resources and support to identify signs of abuse and to get help. 

This effort has support from many diverse groups and political ideologies. A partial lists of the participants who are commonly aligned to end the violence include; The Family Violence Prevention Fund, Jewish Women International, Republican AND Democratic congressmen and senators, Department of Education, Department of Justice, MTV, Liz Claiborne Inc., and the Los Angeles Unified School District.  The Robert Wood Johnson foundation and Blue Shield of California Foundation have invested $18 million to support this cause. 

It had not occurred to me that dating violence is an issue among tweens.  It seems more obvious to me now that there is a direct connection between this and the more “visible” domestic violence issue. I am encouraged that so many diverse groups have joined together to raise the “visibility” of and begin an attempt to bring an end to dating violence.  Wouldn’t this be a great topic for a tween program in a school or public library?

Government Leaders, Senior Policy Makers, Domestic Violence Experts Discuss Most     

       Effective Ways to Stop Dating Violence Among Middle School Youth at Capitol Hill   

       Event. (2011, February 10). Targeted News Service. Retrieved from ProQuest  

       Newsstand. (Document ID: 2264263281).

Social Media in the Classroom--for Kindergartners! Through High Schoolers

      This article, not surprisingly, is geared to teachers.  It acknowledges the many social media sites on the internet and encourages teachers to not only experience these sites for themselves in an effort to stay current with these sites in order to be able to speak from personal knowledge, but also encourages them to use these social media sites and skills in the classroom.  Using specific sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Blogger and Ning, the author (a Director of Technology at a California High School) poses questions about helping students learn global community social skills, incorporating these skill in schools and keeping students safe.  It is suggested that K-3 students begin conversations about and begin posting online with their class and even with other schools.  By middle school, students are prepared to have individual accounts.  Middle schoolers are considered a “tricky” group because 40 % of sixth graders will have already experience social networking at home or a friend’s house. What that lends itself to is providing a lot of guidance on appropriate use which may not have been emphasized at home. Excellent guidelines for teachers using social networking in classrooms are listed below:

* “Keep the network private, allowing only the students you choose to have access.”

* “Decide if you want parents to have access, and, if you do, give them their own accounts.”

* “Monitor the network regularly.”

* “Share both appropriate and inappropriate posts, discussing why something should not have been posted (and remember to remove inappropriate posts).”

* “Be specific on what the network is to be used for and what it is not to be used for.”

I appreciate the article’s focus on safety and including parents in the process.  Issues of privacy, privacy settings and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act are also great attributes of the article.  The article is informative, thoughtful, thought-provoking and inspiring to me as a teacher. 

Ramig, R. (Nov-Dec 2009). Social media in the classroom--for kindergartners (!)     

       through high schoolers.  Multimedia & Internet@Schools, 16, 6. p.8   

       (3). Retrieved April 25, 2011, from Academic OneFile via Gale.

TWEENS ONLINE: Kids rule.

         This article begins with the statement, “Today’s pre-teenagers are the next generation of consumers and they already know what online experiences they want.”  This is another acknowledgment of the market power tweens hold.  They flock to the web and want fun, friendship and education.  The major players, Disney, Viacom/MTV (Nickelodeon), Habbo, Stardoll and Turner Broadcasting are keenly aware of the potential earnings from tweens and are giving them what they want; gaming, video and the beginnings of social media experiences.  Astounding is the precise focus on several specific age subgroups within the standard 8 to 12 year old tween definition.  Disney has developed Disney XD for boys aged 6 to 14 years old. Turner relaunched its Cartoon Network website for 7 to 11 year olds. Nickelodeon also focuses on 7 to 11 year olds. Teen Nick was specifically developed for 10 to 13 year old girls. Habbo looks to market to a group beginning with 11 and 12 year olds. 

The article states, “Tweens may not have the spending power and influence of teenager, but... is just a few years away from being able to put their consumption habits into action.”  This doesn’t seem to account for the dollar amounts reported in the article included in this collection “How to Hype-proof your Tween” which reported tweens spending $50 billion dollars a year of their own money and $170 billion dollars spent on them by others. $220 billion dollars spent on/by tweens in one year does not equate to “not having the spending power.”  If, in fact, this is what the New Media Age staff believe, then it would have been helpful for them to provide a dollar amount that their comparison group (teenagers) spend annually. One other significant fact reported in the article is that 87% of 8 to 12 year olds go online at home or at school.

TWEENS ONLINE: Kids rule.  Feb 11, 2010 p19New Media Age, p.19. Retrieved April       

       25, 2011, from Academic OneFile via Gale.

How to Hype-proof Your Tween: Marketers want to sell stuff (lots of stuff) to your kid. Here's how to short-circuit their 'spend more' messages.

      This article serves somewhat to balance out or respond to the article I last listed titled “Targeting the Tween.”  as the title to this article makes clear, strategies are offered to parent and teachers to help combat the onslaught of advertising directed at tweens.  The massive amount of money spent on tween products is too tempting to be ignored by marketers.  According to this article, there are 20 million tweens in the United States who spend approximately $50 billion a year of their own money!  Parents and other spend an additional $170 billion! Legislation was passed to limit advertising to children on television, however websites on the internet, magazine ads and apps for iPhones bombard tweens with advertising. Not surprisingly peer pressure plays into a tweens desire to spend on specific “must have” products. 

So parents are given tools to attempt to temper the urge for tweens (and their parents) to buy. Parents are reminded that they are not “bad parents” if they don’t purchase everything a tween wants.  The author states that establishing rules and setting limits on spending actually helps kid to feel secure. “Kids respond well to boundary-setting, it increases creativity and confidence.”  Parents and teachers are urged to help tweens develop critical thinking skills to be able to analyze marketing information. Open conversations with tweens about advertisements is very powerful.  Describing the fact that “Miley” was given those sneakers by the company or paid to wear them begins the process of analysis. The article provides a great website called Don’ Buy It, Get Media Smart where kids can play interactive games to discover the tricks of advertising, how to buy smart and free stuff. The link is: http://pbskids.org/dontbuyit/  The author acknowledges the difficulty in avoiding all advertising and that sometimes kids need to have those special clothes to help them fit in, but setting limits, procrastinating on purchases, and limiting temptations help parents to strike a balance in spending for tweens. This article offers practical advice to arm parents in the “commercial wars” of the tween years, is well-written and supports ideas and strategies with studies of children’s buying behaviors.

Kluger, J. (July 2010). How to hype-proof your tween: marketers want to sell stuff (lots of    

       stuff) to your kid. Here's how to short-circuit their 'spend more' messages.  Good               

       Housekeeping, 251, 1. p.85(5). Retrieved  from Academic OneFile via Gale. 

Targeting the Tween

I find it remarkable, but not surprising that advertisers focus on tweens as a target audience.  This article is found in B & T Magazine which is a business publication that focuses on marketing, advertising and media. Throughout the article references are made to Generation Z, the first generation born into the world with the internet. Their world is dominated by Google, Facebook, My Space, Wikipedia, Hotmail, Gmail, iTunes etc.  It is the knowledge of this generation and their world that savvy advertisers target for tween products.

In Australia, six to thirteen year olds account for a full 10% of the country’s population. In a survey there of 1200 six to twelve year olds, it was revealed that 67% of them own an iPod, 64% own a mobile phone and 44% have a Facebook profile. (The Facebook statistic is interesting because my understanding is that you must be thirteen years old to have a Facebook account.) In the same survey, tweens responded to the question of activities they enjoy with: 70% reading magazines, 69% reading books (encouraging to this librarian), 67% listening to music and 61% watching TV.  Compare this to the finding in the same study that the respondents watched TV for 14 hours, spent 7 hours online and 2 hours reading magazines in a one week period.

The theory for advertisers is to shift focus from traditional media to these areas where tweens spend their time (and their parents money?)  The article points to Disney’s Club Penguin as a current successful model. It is a virtual world where children can play interactive games, connect with friends and has an emphasis on safety.  Social gaming is part of the tween world allowing them to be connected to a larger group, and advertisers will spend $220 million worldwide this year in this realm.  The advice for companies targeting the tween can be summarized with “the media owners evolving best are those no longer creating just magazine titles or shows, but brands, with associated extensions such as online games, toys, CDs. books, and events such as Nickelodeon's Kid's Choice Awards, as well as sponsorships such as Total Girls.”

I did not react with disgust to this article (I have bristled at other tween targeted advertising.)  Advertising to this group is obvious, ever present and a reality of today’s tween world.  As parents, teachers,and librarians we would be best served to be knowledgeable of the process and help tweens to be informed as they make their choices.

Ryan-Segger, T. (2010). TARGETING THE TWEEN. B&T Magazine, 60(2725), 20-25.                    

       Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

The Middle School Mess

The majority of tweens find themselves being educated in middle schools between the fifth through eighth grades.  This article takes a look at the history, wisdom and current trends of middle schools.  The article targets principals, teachers, and parents as its audience. It seems that the idea of middle schools historically came about after educators, not mistakenly, identified tweens as suspended "between childhood and the adult world”, and that “pre-teens have been called the toughest to teach."  As we have discovered, tweens do in fact hold a unique place in the physical, intellectual and emotional development of human beings. The article aptly describes tweens as youngsters whose "bodies and psyches morph through the most radical changes since infancy, leaving them torn between anxiety and ardor, dependence and autonomy, conformity and rebellion. "The middle school model was to provide this unique group of students with a safe and nurturing environment where they would have more opportunity for self-discovery, exercise, exploration, resources for their growing needs and a lessened emphasis on academic subjects.

Perhaps the grand experiment has failed. The deemphasis of academic subjects, not surprisingly, has left middle schoolers, in general, scoring low in both math and English on standardized tests. Several studies cited in the article confirm the low academic achievement of students enrolled in middle schools.  A powerful conclusion is that “These statistics about young adolescents' poor academic performance suggest that many middle-grades schools are failing to enable the majority of their students to achieve at anywhere near adequate levels."

With the evidence mounting, many parents are leading the call to eliminate middle schools and return to a K-8 and 9-12 model for education.  The K-8 model is also confirmed through studies as an environment where tweens actually have higher academic achievement.  Studies also support the finding that K-8 schools reduce behavioral problems.  A study as recent as 2010 in New York concludes that middle schools are not the best way to educate students and that “ the effects are large, present for both math and English, and evident for girls as well as boys.”

There is a trend across America to move away from the middle school. In 2005, there were 9000+ middle schools and today that number is down to 7,950.  My sense from the article which is well written and research supported is that a return to the K-8 model is worth considering.

Meyer, P. (2011). The Middle School Mess. Education Next, 11(1), 40-7. Retrieved from                

             Education Full Text database

Coming Out in Middle School

This New York Times article has impacted me greatly.  I am reminded, as set out in the article “In Search of the Roots of Adolescent Aggression”, that is included in another of my professional reading log entries, “We go through seven profound biological changes during our life, and three of these generally occur from ages 10 to 14 - the middle school years!”  The three which occur in a portion of the tween years are; shifting from childhood to puberty (the beginning of reproductive capability), shifting from concrete to formal operations (the maturation of intelligence) and shifting from an authoritarian to consensus morality (the maturation of personal and social identities).”  As if this weren’t too much for tweens to cope with already, add grappling with being gay to a tween’s life and it seems daunting! 

The author spent time with a 13-year old gay middle schooler named Austin who lives in the heart of America, Sand Springs, Oklahoma.  One of the disturbing aspects revealed is that for gay youth, “middle school is more about survival than learning.”  A parent of a gay teenager compares her child’s middle school as a “war zone.”  This would not sound like an exaggeration when confronted with the statistic that 81% of gay middle-schoolers report that they are “regularly harassed on campus because of their sexual orientation.”  The severity of the burden for openly gay students who experience gay bullying is evident in the significant number of suicides attributed to this behavior.

Thankfully present in the article are many trends in schools to positively support openly gay students.  Shifting attitudes among teachers is vital.  Using the expression “That’s so gay” should be dealt with as seriously as if the expression were  “That’s so Black” which would never be tolerated. At least 120 middle schools across the country now have active gay-straight alliance (G.S.A) groups. These G.S.A.’s are providing much needed awareness, anti-bullying programs, gay issues resources and organizing events like the Day of Silence. 

As a public school teacher, I feel a need to not only continue my tolerance, but to be more aware of this student population and do everything I can to support them in many of the ways described in the article to assure equality and help students to navigate the incredibly murky journey of being a gay tween. Please click on the link below for a mind opening reading of the full article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/magazine/27out-t.html

Bully, Bullied, Bystander...and Beyond

     I have become acutely aware of the prevalence and seriousness of the reality of bullying in the world of tweens. Please visit the blog “Non-fiction for Tweens: Bullying” http://nonfictionfortweens.blogspot.com/ of which I was a part of a collaborative process to bring awareness to and offer support for the topic of bullying. 

This article is provided by the Teaching Tolerance project and offers teachers an opportunity to impact the solution to this problem.

The article begins with (not to be minimized) examples of children ages 11 to 19 years old who committed suicide after being relentlessly bullied. They felt alone with no solution and made tragic choices to end their pain.

The article identifies three main characters in the act of bullying which are not new, yet deserve to be mentioned: the bully, the bullied and the bystander.  Bystanders play a critical role in supporting, even if apathetically, the act of bullying. For me the most important aspect of the article is the identification of a “fourth character.”

This fourth character is the “anti-bully”, that person who will summon courage and have the strength to assume one or more of three vital roles to taking a stand against the bully: resister (who stands up to and speaks out against the bully), defender  (who aligns their self with the victim)and witness (who makes public the bullying that usually escapes adult detection.  It is here that teachers can influence students to make a difference and begin ending the cycle of violence. “It is a daunting task but a necessary one. 

I support and believe the foundation of this article.  My concern, when I look at this objectively, is that there is no research cited to support the data. This is clearly more than just a passionate opinion offering one possible solution to a complex problem that should be addressed with many different solutions, however the addition of citations would greatly increase the credibility.  

Coloroso, B. (2011). Bully, Bullied, Bystander ... and Beyond. Teaching Tolerance, 51-3. Retrieved from Education Full Text database

A Case of the Worries (Tween)

     It is no surprise that this article is published in Scholastic Parent & Child magazine because all parents of tweens should be aware of this topic.  The article is about anxiety  in tweens.  Although all tweens will likely experience natural anxiety, this age group is especially susceptible to anxiety that can spiral out of control. Some of the direct causes for this might be problems in the home, having to move, dealing with middle school, friendship issues, puberty or bullying. As has been pointed out in the article In Search of the Roots of Adolescent Aggression, there are profound biological changes that occur in this age group.  The one that stands out especially for this topic of anxiety is that children are shifting from concrete thinking to formal operations, the maturation of intelligence, which puts them in the position to be “able to think ahead more clearly and anticipate more problems than before.”

The author has astutely set out signs and symptoms for parents to be aware of which might indicate an unhealthy or unmanageable situation for the tween experiencing high levels of anxiety. When experiencing anxiety, tweens may feel insecure, uneasy and frightened. They “may act withdrawn, inattentive, clingy or aggressive.”  Difficulty sleeping, headache and stomach problems, loss of appetite and withdrawal from social activities are also possible indicators of an anxious tween. They may be unable to take their mind off their troubles and can even reach the point of throwing up. 

The author offers practical ideas for supporting tweens experiencing anxiety. Communication with the tween is vital. The need to feel safe to express their deepest feelings. They need to know they are not alone. They need to feel loved and supported. Coping tips include, taking small steps to help solve the problem and give opportunities for success to improve self-image.  

I am encouraged that this topic is brought to awareness.  I am concerned that not every parent has a subscription to this magazine or is seeking the information through library resources.  It seems that there is a great opportunity for librarians to take an active role in providing parents with the awareness/resources they need to help their tweens with anxiety through community outreach.

HARTLEY-BREWER, E. (2011). A Case of the Worries. Scholastic Parent & Child, 18(5), 68. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Understanding Kids in the Middle

     What a great “hook”!  I was totally taken in by the author's first paragraph. An assessment of young people today included such things as; they have bad manners, disrespect old people, contradict their parents, tyrannize their teachers, and I am  reading along going yeah, that’s right, they do... And then the assessment is attributed to Socrates in 400 B.C. The point being that the developmental needs of young adolescents is the same now as it was over 2000 years ago.

  This article is written specifically for educators dealing with middle school students.  The foundation of the article is identified as the importance of teachers understanding the Physical, Intellectual Emotional and Social (PIES) development of this age group.  Clearly identified are some specifics within each of these areas of development. A sampling of these are:  Physical  - “musculoskeletal alterations” leading to “a difficult time sitting still for any length of time”, Intellectual - moving “from concrete to abstract thinking”, Emotional - “intense and unpredictable mood swings” and Social - needing to belong to a group.  

Excellent strategies are offered for structuring a middle school classroom and designing and delivering lessons to middle school students.  Some of these suggestions include having students get up and move around, providing students with choices for completing an assignment, providing praise and support and using cooperative learning groups.  I would like to have seen more details for the strategies offered or at least a link or list of resources for them.  One of the suggestions is “tiering assignments” and in my 17 years of teaching I have not encountered this term and would like to know more about it.

  My first full time teaching contract was to teach 5 periods of 7th grade World History.  I was ill prepared to work with this age group. This article would have given me a great first step in understanding this age group. I highly recommend this article to all middle school teachers.  You need to be prepared to deal with students who tend to be “self-conscious, lacking in self-esteem, concerned about peer pressure and highly sensitive to personal criticism.”

Weiner, C. (2007). Understanding Kids in the Middle. Principal (Reston, Va.), 86(4), 74-5. Retrieved from Education Full Text database

In Search of the Roots of Adolescent Aggression

  It may seem odd to include an article on adolescent aggression in a blog space dedicated to library materials for tweens, however I received great insight into the developmental stages of life and especially those that affect tweens.  

  The focus of the article is an attempt to understand and perhaps find the root of those especially violent aggressive acts perpetrated by a relatively small number of adolescent males.  Primary to the understanding is the role that the brain plays as a response system in humans.  The primarily cortical system which is slow and analytical and the primarily subcortical system which is fast, conceptual and reflexive.  

Astounding to me is the fact that “We go through seven profound biological changes during our life, and three of these generally occur from ages 10 to 14 - the middle school years!”  Birth, death, loss of reproductive capabilities and loss cognitive abilities are four of the biological changes.  The three which occur in a portion of the tween years are; shifting from childhood to puberty (the beginning of reproductive capability), shifting from concrete to formal operations (the maturation of intelligence) and shifting from an authoritarian to consensus morality (the maturation of personal and social identities). (p.67)  It is important for adults in the lives of this age group to be aware of these profound biological changes and to relate appropriately.  

  I appreciate that the author declares that there is not just one cause that can be linked to aggression.  Parents and environment, technology, violence, malfunctioning brain activity, chemical imbalance, drugs, and testosterone can all contribute to events leading up to deadly violent acts.

  Offered as strategies to reduce adolescent aggression are “intervention programs that will help develop social skills and coping strategies” and reducing stereotyping and ridicule. 

The author has taken a contemporary issue and through a well- researched investigation attempted to articulate possible causes and even more importantly offered strategies to reduce the adolescent aggression which has produced some horrifically tragic results. 

Sylwester, R. (1999). In Search of the Roots of Adolescent Aggression. Educational Leadership, 57(1), 65. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

The effect of text messaging on 9- and 10-year-old children's reading, spelling and phonological processing skills

     This article explores a research study that was designed to measure the effect of text messaging on children’s literacy skills.  The specific study group were children ages 9 and 10.  There were 114 children selected to participate in the study.  All of the students had never owned a mobile phone before.  The participants were randomly placed into two groups.  One group was given mobile phones to use on weekends and during a one week vacation from school. The mobile phones were only capable of sending and receiving text messages. The other group was the control group who did no text messaging.  The study was conducted over a ten week period.

The motivation for the study came about from two conflicting points of view on the topic.  There was a widespread concern in the media that texting (using shortened or abbreviated or phonetic substitutes for words) was having a negative impact on childrens’ performance and scores on standardized tests and spelling skills.  A previous study suggested that the children’s literacy skills were improved through the text messaging process.  The researchers in this study found that the previous studies had some limitations in that the used contrived text messaging scenarios and not real world use and they were unable to show causality.

Both groups were given pre and post tests in reading and spelling.  The researchers took into account individual differences in IQ and the children’s performance on the pre test. After all of the components of the study were complete the findings were “that the children who were given access to mobile phones for the purpose of text messaging did not perform differently from the children who were not given mobile phones in terms of their literacy development.”  Also, “textism use during texting was linked to spelling development and the number of messages sent and received was linked to lexical retrieval skills.”  So the conclusion is that even though literacy skills were not improved by the text messaging, there was also no adverse effect on literacy skills from the activity.

This study appears to have been founded in highly scientific procedures and measurements of the data collected.  The one question I would have concerns the group selected. In the researchers own words “The majority of children aged between 8 and 15 years in the United Kingdom and United States own mobile phones, and text messaging (SMS) is a popular function of the phones among this age group.”  So the requirement of selecting students who had never owned a cell phone makes me question if there is a significant factor in this minority that would affect the outcome of the research. 

Wood, C. , Jackson, E. , Hart, L. , Plester, B. , & Wilde, L. (2011). The effect of text messaging on 9- and 10-year-old children's reading, spelling and phonological processing skills. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 27(1), 28-36.

Tweeting Tweens and Teens Improve Skills with New High-Tech Writing Coach

     The article addresses an ongoing need with tweens and teens which is the lack of adequate writing and grammar skills.  The author connects this lack of skills to the pervasiveness of text messaging and online social communication sites where the shortcuts to written language dominate the entries.  

Writing Coach is a high-tech tool created by Pearson, a global education and technology company.  The foundation of the tool is the ability to assess each student’s writing and grammar skills individually and then customize a program which provides immediate feedback. Writing Coach “looks at a student's work in progress, one paragraph at a time, and analyzes the ideas, topic support, and organization in their essay.”  

The results of working with this tool are dramatic.  Middle school students in one district saw an increase in fluency, length of written responses and quality of writing.  The claim is that these students “improved their proficiency as writers from 65 percent to 97 percent during the 2009-2010 school year.”

My experience as a public high school teacher certainly confirms the need for improvement in writing and grammar skills of students. I have seen the need overwhelmingly in English learners. There is no doubt that text messaging and online social communication is pervasive among tweens and teens.  I don’t know that the author provided enough support for the contention that the use of these shortened writing forms “causes” poor writing skills. I use text messaging daily and I include the shortened forms and abbreviations for words, however this would never spill over into or decrease my writing skills in a formal setting. 

The improvement claimed in increases in student performance are not supported by research - at least the article does not cite or present the data.  If these increases can be attained, let’s implement them, but they must be supported by research.  One missing element in the article that stands out for me is that there is no mention of the cost of the program.  I don’t have the sense that Pearson has developed this tool and is now gifting it to the world.  Education is in dire financial crisis and cost is critical to all programs.  It is certainly worthy of a closer look.

Tweeting Tweens and Teens Improve Skills with New High-Tech Writing Coach.  Feb 1, 2011 pNAPRWeb Newswire, p.NA. Retrieved February 05, 2011, from General OneFile via Gale:

http://find.galegroup.com.sdplproxy.sandiego.gov/gtx/start.do? prodId=ITOF&userGroupName=sddp_main