hi – 11jul

Hi. I hear that there are six “lady bloggers” at the DNC but like much else at this point, it’s just so much hearsay. I plan to use this opportunity to, among other things, answer “reference” questions about the whole event in case anyone is interested. I’m overwhelmed even thinking about it, so back to the daily parade of links.

Posted in hi

reading “at risk”

Please keep in mind that any non-fiction you read last year would not have been counted as “literary reading” for the purposes of the NEA’s Reading at Risk report that has been getting a lot of discussion lately. While I think it’s really important to try to raise a nation of readers, creating distinctions like “literary reading” and then handwringing over its decline as if it were reflecting an actual drop in literacy [it isn’t] seems disingenous and divisive. I’d like to see the NEA take on the incredible backwardness of No Child Left Behind to see what effect incredible testing pressure in schools has on kids’ interest in reading for fun. Or do some statistical analysis into how many Americans feel they have time to do anything for fun lately. [thanks eoin]