In Defense of Western Civilization

Everything you should know--but PC professors won't teach--about our Western heritage
Western civilization is the envy of the globe. It has given to the world universally accepted understandings of human rights (rooted in Judeo-Christian principles), created standards for art, music, and literature that have never been equaled, and originated political and social systems that have spread all across the planet.

Unfortunately, the fog of political correctness now obscures these and other truths about Western civilization. Leftists and Islamic jihadists find common cause in assailing Western "colonialism," "imperialism," and "racism" as its defining characteristics. Guilt-ridden Western leaders and public figures speak of their cultural patrimony in disparaging terms they would never dare to use about a non-Western culture. And in the academy, "multicultural"-minded professors flatter students into believing they have nothing really to learn from Sophocles or Shakespeare.

But now, Professor Anthony Esolen--one of the team-teachers of Providence College's esteemed Development of Western Civilization Core Curriculum--has risen to the West's defense. The Politically Incorrect Guide(TM) to Western Civilization takes on the prevailing liberal assumptions that make Western civilization the universal whipping boy for today's global problems, and introduces you to the significant events, individuals, nations, ideas, and artistic achievements that make Western civilization the greatest the world has ever known.

Today--with the West imperiled as never before by the global jihad and threats from China and elsewhere--defending the West has become an urgent imperative: if we don't value what we have and what we have inherited, we will surely lose it. The Politically Incorrect Guideto Western Civilization is an essential sourcebook for that defense.

Available on Amazon: http://ow.ly/HwdaZ 

What is Print Awareness? Why is it Important?

1. What is Print Awareness?

Print awareness is a child’s understanding that print has a function. As children develop print

awareness they begin to understand the connection between oral and written language. When

developing print awareness children learn that print carries meaning, is organized in a specific way, and

that there rules for how you read and write.

Several of the many ways children can demonstrate print awareness are:

● When a child holds a book the right way.

● When a child distinguishes between letters and words.

● When a child writes scribbles on paper and ask you to read what they wrote.

2. Why is Print Awareness Important?

Print awareness is important because it represents a group of skills that are necessary for children

to become successful readers. Children begin to develop print awareness as early as infancy and

continue to develop print awareness throughout early childhood. Children from the ages of 3­5 rapidly

develop print awareness when adults engage in activities to build their early literacy skills. Without print

 awareness children will not develop letter­sound correspondence, word reading skills, or the ability to

read and understand text.

3. Print awareness is important because:

● Print awareness is a prerequisite for learning to read.

● Children can rapidly develop print awareness when adults engage in literacy activities with them.

● Without print awareness children will struggle to develop other literacy skills such as letter­sound

correspondence, spelling, and comprehension.

4. What does the Research Say about Print Awareness?

Print awareness is a necessary foundational skill that children must possess in order to become

proficient readers. Print awareness is developed through daily adult/child interactions with print in the

child’s environment and through shared reading experiences. Print awareness can be increased with

structured adult/child shared readings that include an explicit focus on print using both verbal and

nonverbal cues. Research shows that shared reading, with prompts to focus on specific aspects of print,

accelerates pre­literacy skills for children who are typically developing and those who are at­risk for later

reading difficulties.

Research has linked the use of consistent and sustained print referencing during shared reading to

later literacy achievement. Preschool students whose teachers used shared reading with explicit print

references demonstrated higher achievement, in kindergarten and first grade, in the areas of

letter­word ID, spelling, and comprehension than those students whose teachers used a more

traditional approach to shared reading. By embedding explicit print referencing within preschool

curriculums teachers are able to significantly reduce risk for later reading failure for many

students. Using explicit print referencing during shared reading is a particularly powerful strategy for

increasing children's early literacy skills because it requires few resources and can be easily embedded in

existing instruction. And, with little formal training parents/caregivers can increase their child’s print

awareness by engaging in shared reading activities that include print referencing.

5. The Research Says:

● With little formal training parents and caregivers can increase their childs print awareness by

engaging in shared reading activities that include print referencing.

● Teachers, parents, and caregivers are able to significantly reduce risk for later reading failure

when they use explicit print referencing.

● Shared reading, with prompts to focus on specific aspects of print, accelerates print awareness for

both typically developing children as well as children at­risk for later reading failure.

● The consistent and sustained use of print referencing, by preschool teachers, during shared

reading is linked to increased reading achievement in kindergarten and first grade.

6. Examples of how to Increase Print Awareness

Print awareness is best developed by both parents and caregivers as well as teachers. Some

ways to increase children’s print awareness include:

● Reading to a child and talking about the print. This is the first word on this page. I am going to

start reading here, at the top of this page.

● Pointing out print in the child’s environment. Look at this sign, it says welcome.

● Discussing the form and function of letter and words. “This is an uppercase S, how is it

different from this lowercase s? This is the word “to”. We read the word “to” all of the

time, can you help me find the word “to” in this book?

References

Justice, L. M., & Ezell, H. K. (2002). Use of storybook reading to increase print awareness in at­risk

children. American Journal of Speech­Language Pathology, 11(1), 17­29.

Piasta, S. B., Justice, L. M., McGinty, A. S., & Kaderavek, J. N. (2012). Increasing young children’s

contact with print during shared reading: Longitudinal effects on literacy achievement. Child

Development, 83(3), 810­820.

Whitehurst, G. J., Epstein, J. N., Angell, A. L., Payne, A. C., Crone, D. A., & Fischel, J. E. (1994).

Outcomes of an emergent literacy intervention in Head Start. Journal of Educational Psychology,

86(4), 542.

http://www.iowareadingresearch.org/documents/PrintAwareness.pdf

My Philosophy of Traditional Catholic Education

As a veteran Catholic educator and administrator, my philosophy of a K-12 traditional Catholic education is threefold. A Liberal Arts curriculum is essential, in order to pass on and preserve Western Civilization, but is not heart of a Traditional Catholic school. The doctrines of our Catholic Faith and the incredibly rich centuries of Saints and their spirituality, should be the Hallmark of a Catholic school. The Catholic Faith is the identity and "raison d'etre" of Catholic schools.