> Academic Senate of The California State University
>
> Opposition to Legislative Intrusion Into Teaching Methodologies For Reading
>
> RESOLVED:
> That the Academic Senate of the California State University express alarm
> that recent legislation threatens academic freedom by prescribing a
> particular reading methodology; and be it further
>
> RESOLVED:
> That the Academic Senate CSU also express alarm that requiring staff
> development providers will be required to sign a certification agreement
> that they teach reading by using that prescribed traditional methodology as
> required in AB 3482 (Chapter 196, Statutes of 1996) and AB 1086 (Chapter
> 286, Statutes of 1997); and be it further
>
> RESOLVED:
> That the Academic Senate CSU express concern that AB1178 (Chapter 929,
> Statutes of 1996), the Reading Instruction Competency Assessment bill,
> further threatens academic freedom of faculty in the CSU by requiring that
> credential candidates pass a test that, when implemented, may emphasize a
> single methodology which ignores the wide spectrum of current research in
> reading; and be it further
>
> RESOLVED:
> That the Academic Senate CSU urge the Commission on Teacher Credentialing
> (CTC) to insure that the required Reading Instruction Competency Assessment
> emphasizes a thorough and truly balanced approach to reading; and be it
> further
>
> RESOLVED:
> That the Academic Senate CSU caution the CSU Institute for Education Reform
> to refrain from joining any movement that prescribes curriculum content;
> and be it further
>
> RESOLVED:
> That the Academic Senate CSU urge the Chancellor and the Interim Senior
> Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs to join the Academic Senate in a
> commitment to remind the Governor, the State Board of Education and
> legislators that:
> . it is the CSU faculty who are qualified to determine those approaches
> that best address learning needs of students,
> . "quick-fixes" to teaching reading have not worked, and
> . they should not be in the business of micromanaging practice by mandating
> one curriculum and one methodology.
>
> RATIONALE: AB 3482 (1996) legislated that teachers would be provided
> professional development in specific reading methodologies AB 1086 (1997)
> requires that staff development providers be certified by singning a
> "McCarthy-like" agreement that requires the training provider will comply
> with all applicable provisions of law, including Section 24.03 of the
> 1997-98 Budget Act (Chapter 282, Statutes of 1998) which prohibits the use
> of the Goals 2000 funds appropriated for the training for any program that
> promotes or uses reading instruction methodologies that emphasize
> contextual clues in lieu of fluent decoding, or systematically uses or
> encourages inventive spelling techniques in the teaching of writing.
>
> There are long established procedures for establishing broad guidelines for
> preparing teachers of reading and legislative intrution is not an
> appropriate part of that process. Teachers need to have balanced,
> comprehensive programs which incorporate multiple approaches. It is teacher
> judgment (a teacher choosing just the right intervention for a particular
> child) as well as sheer quantity of reading and writing that are most
> closely associated with increasing literacy levels.
> (Morrow, 1990; Pappas & Brown, 1987; Adams, 1990; Anderson, et al., 1985)
>
> References:
> Adams, M.S. 1990. Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print.
> Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
> Anderson, R.C., Hiebert, E.H., Scott, J.A., & Wilkinson, I.A.G. 1985.
> Becoming a nation of readers: The report of the Commission on Reading.
> Washington, D.C.: The National Institute of Education.
> Morrow, L. 1990. The impact of classroom environmental changes on the
> promotion of literacy during play. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 5,
> 537-554.
> Pappas, C. & Browne, E. 1987. Learning to read by reading. Research in the
> Teaching of English, 21, 160-184.
>
> APPROVED WITHOUT DISSENT -- January 22-23, 1998
--
Kenneth S. Goodman, Professor, Language, Reading & Culture
504 College of Education, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
fax 520 7456895 phone 520 6217868
These are mean times- and in the mean time
We need to Learn to Live Under Water