A SIM-PUH-THET-ICK VYOU of SPELLING!

Summer is wrapping up for kids around the country. Some are already back to school; some cling to summer until Labor Day. Either way, a new school year provides plenty of unknowns  for every age. 
One thing is certain, though. Decades of teaching experience, working with preschool through middle grade learners, whiz-kids through special needs students, makes me confident in saying:

• SPELLING (or letter knowledge) will be taught, tested, and reported. 
• Kids will compare themselves to peers. 
• Parents/caregivers will treat the spelling success or struggles of their charges as indicators of intelligence and effort. 
• Some teachers will do the same.
• All of the above can lead to false pride or unwarranted misery.

I share my attitude about spelling here, just as I shared it with families at orientations and conferences, and as I shared it with students. 

Spelling correctly is important, but it is NOT an indicator of general intelligence.
EASE or STRUGGLES with learning to spell words correctly is largely dependent on very specific areas of the brain, entirely separate from areas related to analytic or high level cognitive ability. We each come equipped with a brain that might naturally deal well with pattern recognition and sequential memory... or NOT. Either way, other areas of the brain operate in entirely different ways and with varying levels of aptitude. 
In other words, whether spelling comes easily to you or plagues you, it is not an indicator of your intelligence. 

For those with innate aptitude in this process, spelling study will require minimal effort. Success will come easily. For those with less adept pattern and sequence aptitude, spelling will require much more time and effort, often with frustrating results. Where each of us lands on that continuum of patterning predisposition can (and often does) generate mistaken self-concepts about our intelligence- or lack of it. Knowing the truth about spelling idiosyncrasies and incorrect conclusions that this reflects general intelligence can diminish stress and reduce comparisons and judgments.

This brain distinction applies regardless of the language involved, but is particularly true for those learning to SPELL in ENGLISH. Many other languages provide simpler and more consistent rules for spelling, pronunciation, and reading than English, especially American English.

A Paula Wiseman Book, S&S BYR, 2018

But don't take my word for any of this, ask BENJAMIN FRANKLIN and NOAH WEBSTER. Although they are both long dead, I advise all teachers and families to read and discuss the recent picture book, AN INCONVENIENT ALPHABET: Ben Franklin and Noah Webster's Spelling Revolution, written by Beth Anderson and illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley. Back-to-school time is an ideal opportunity to launch this discussion and return to it throughout the year. 
As the subtitle says, these highly respected founding fathers recognized the challenges of spelling correctly, especially in English. What's more, they took an assertive and collaborative approach to try to make spelling and reading more user-friendly. 
They failed.
All languages develop over time and evolve-adapt to cultural influences across centuries. English, though, particularly EARLY AMERICAN ENGLISH, was awash in influences from many languages, regions, and dialects. Accents from around the world and across regions only compounded an already deviously difficult language. From many centuries earlier, English was an amalgam of vocabulary and syntax absorbed from global languages, thanks in large part to wars, crusades, and imperialism.Some words that became conventional English retained their original French or German or Asian or Slavic spelling influences, while others emerged as more similar to "standard" English, as if such a thing exists.

Ben Franklin and Noah Webster are revealed as energetic advocates for creating a more consistent alphabet, uniform spelling, and greater functionality for the language of this newly launched country. The text and illustrations are as lively and colorful as our language is, with humor and appeal for every age. The clever dog and cat who accompany them throughout the story humanize two figures from history books who, until HAMILTON's success, were relegated to dusty reference shelves. (Both Franklin and Webster display better looks, plenty of swagger, and more fun-loving personalities than their official portraits suggest!)

As with many dynamic projects and lofty goals, even when pursued by those with power and influence, success was elusive. As Noah Webster eventually realized, he could at least provide an intricate and confusing system an accurate operating manual. So, he created the dictionary. 

Kids (and their caregivers) will enjoy this book as pure entertainment and also as a sympathetic glimpse into the challenges of English spelling. Everyone should be made aware that it's important to know our own patterns and study needs, and to invest time and effort accordingly. Spelling correctly truly does matter.  When in doubt, LOOK IT UP! You'll make Noah Webster smile!

On a side note, the start of the school year is a great time to share the short but powerful read-aloud FRINDLE, by Andrew Clements. It explores ways that words are added to the dictionary, but offers a wonderful example of classroom and teacher bonding. 

Women (and Girls) and Glass Ceilings: Awesome Icons

Alfred A. Knoopf, 2016

When it comes to icons, perhaps no young girl has inspired as many people as Anne Frank. At a time when many people are Clinging to hope that these challenging, even threatening times will ever improve, we can turn to Anne as an example of hope in the face of hardship. 
Author Jeff Gottesfeld has explored Anne's source of inspiration and hope in 
THE TREE IN THE COURTYARD: Looking Through Anne Frank's Window. 
The focus is on the glorious and stoic chestnut tree outside the annex building in which Anne and her family hid before their eventual capture. Visible day after day, month after month, through the only window was that tree. Throughout their long exile in that hidden space, throughout seasons of change and  increasing threats, the tree's view of events is personified by the author. From the point of view of the tree the author emphasizes the universal humanity of Anne and her family by referring to them as "the girl", "the father", a "woman helper", and "men in gray uniforms". 
The chestnut tree's life eventually ends, but not without a concerted effort to support, sustain, and rescue the tree from eventual death. Lines like this are powerful without being maudlin:

"The tree recalled how few had tried to save the girl."

Both the girl and the tree passed on, and both live on. Anne's story is universally known, but this book shares the less-well-known story of Anne's inspiring chestnut tree's legacy. Seeds and saplings now grow in New York City where the Twin Towers once stood, and other chestnut tree offspring grow in significant memorial spaces around the world, along with this excerpt from Anne's diary: 

"The two of us looked out at the blue sky, the bare chestnut tree glistening with dew....

and we were so moved and entranced that we couldn't speak."

Illustrator Peter McCarty enhances this portrayal of Anne's family as representing universal humanity with muted details and facial features, minimal backgrounds, and grainy sepia monochrome on off-white pages.

* * *

Simon & Schuster BYR, 2016

While Anne Frank was hiding, then losing her life in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, another young Jewish girl was growing up in Brooklyn, New York.  Ruth Bader, daughter of a Russian immigrant, was raised among a city of immigrants with vastly different cultures, but a common understanding:  Boys could do anything, but girls got married. 

That, her mother believed, was foolish. Ruth's childhood was filled with contradictions: books about inspiring female leaders and signs like "No Dogs or Jews Allowed". 

Following her mother's example, Ruth disagreed, spoke out, dissented, and argued when confronted with injustice- toward her, her gender, her religion, or anyone else's, for that matter.

I DISSENT: Ruth Bader Ginsberg Makes Her Mark is a biography that humanizes the iconic side of Ginsberg while presenting her childhood story as one kids today can emulate. 
Author Debbie Levy's narrative is as straightforward and energetic as her subject, enhanced by colorful and dramatic book design that expands and magnifies repeated key words. The narrative reveals the heartfelt core to Ginsberg's  will of iron. 
Elizabeth Baddeley's illustrations play a significant role in allowing young readers of either gender to recognize and respect that Ruth Bader Ginsberg confronted challenges, even welcomed them, despite her very human fears and heartbreak. 

In the midst of uncertain and even frightening times for many young people (and others!) these are stories worthy of reading and rereading, inviting discussion and questions. During any year I'd recommend both titles, but this year they feel especially deserving of our attention.