Educational strategies these days are focusing on getting students ready for college and the rigors of coursework. Programs in elementary, middle school, and high school are focusing on the idea of helping students understand pathways to college by providing information and skills on study skills. Some school districts are sending teachers to "extreme" training sessions and conferences to help gain new knowledge and ideas on how to reach students and help them be successful in school and thus, ready for a post-secondary education. All of these efforts are noteworthy because in the United States, we are trying to play "catch up" with many other countries that are at the "head of the class" in academic achievement. I agree that we cannot let up and must continue to do what we can to help secondary students achieve. However, if we are going to make any in-roads in educational attainment we must start at the beginning--at the beginning of the school journey.
One way that we will make a significant impact on graduation rates, college attendance, and college graduation - be it a technical, 2-year, or 4-year program, is to start now with our Pre-K through fourth grade students. We must help them develop the literacy skills which will launch them into a well-executed plan to learn to read, write, communicate, and problem-solve! These four basic literacy skills are connected to college readiness by big, bold dots. We will not see the fruits of our efforts in this year's graduation rate; but we will see a difference in eight to twelve years when the Pre-K to fourth grade students are ready to graduate! You might say - but wait - that's too long - we need results NOW! You are correct. We cannot drop the ball with our current students but somewhere along the way we have forgotten to help children love to learn, love to read for pleasure, express themselves through writing and speaking. Most of all, we have forgotten to help them use what they know to solve problems.
I remember asking someone, as I sat in a college Algebra class that I did not like, "when am I ever going to use Algebra in my life?" As it turned out, when I was well into my family and consumer sciences program and majoring in nutrition, I used algebra in my quantity cooking classes to take a simple recipe and quantify it to serve 100 persons! I finally "got it!"
College Readiness is defined as...the level of preparation that students need in order to be ready and to enroll and succeed without remediation in credit-bearing entry level coursework at a community college, trade school, or university. College is rigorous! College is designed to help students become professionals who will serve their communities in their respective careers and capacities. These same rigorous skills are needed in the workplace. So you are having surgery. Do you want the student who earned "C's" in college or "A's" to perform the surgery?
Reading is a given in college. You must read chapter after chapter in a variety of courses. Writing is a must in college. You must develop scholarly writing skills and write in a manner that you can communicate your message in a professional, articulate manner. Communications skills are so important because they manner in which you speak or communicate through your writing says a great deal about you. And then there is problem-solving as a key literacy skill for college readiness. Being able to read, comprehend, strategize and develop a plan to solve a problem by using what you already know plus what you read and learn is the key to life success.
College readiness? It starts by teaching very young children the magic information that they can find in books. It continues by helping them learn to understand the message and re-tell the story in their own words. Finally, it continues by asking them - "how would you end the story? What would you do differently?" The minds of young children are phenomenal! They can learn so much; but they need their parents and other significant adults to help them read, write, and problem-solve to guide then on the pathway to college readiness. We need to start NOW!
