July 2009 Archive

Alligators in the Boardroom and Urban Legends about Nonprofits (July 20, 2009)

(From Board Cafe, by Jan Masaoka, published on Blue Avocado, June 2009)

An influential but under-the-radar form of popular culture is the urban legend. Like the mythic alligators in the New York sewers or the man who woke up in an ice-filled bathtub without a kidney, nonprofits are the victims of urban myths and legends. Common assumptions -- just by being passed along through so many people -- gain a measure of credibility just by their frequent telling and longevity. This Board Cafe article may be useful for your fellow board members, your neighbors, and others.

Click here to read seven urban myths, now debunked.

Questioning the Author: A Reading Comprehension Strategy (July 15, 2009)

Questioning the Author is a protocol of inquiries that students can make about the content they are reading. This strategy is designed to encourage students to think beyond the words on the page and to consider the author's intent for the selection and his or her success at communicating it.

The idea of "questioning" the author is a way to evaluate how well a selection of text stands on its own, not simply an invitation to "challenge" a writer. Students are looking at the author's intent, his craft, his clarity, his organization...in short, if the author has done well, students can say so, and they can identify why they say so. Likewise, if students are struggling over a selection of text, it may be because it hasn't been written very clearly. Students can see this, and say so, but then they are invited to improve on it.

To find out more about this strategy, go to Reading Quest.org, Reading Comprehension Strategies; Questioning the author. http://www.readingquest.org/strat/qta.html

The State of Learning Disabilities (July 7, 2009)

The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) has released, The State of Learning Disabilities (2009), a new report on the status of children and adults with learning disabilities (LD) in America. The comprehensive report shatters common myths about LD and provides benchmark data to compare and contrast how people with LD are faring in school and work.

You can access and print the actual report at:
http://www.ncld.org/images/stories/OnCapitolHill/PolicyRelatedPublications/stateofld/stateofld2009.pdf