1 day Ago By Chicago Tribune
The well-timed editorial “On childhood literacy, Illinois could learn from the Bayou State” (March 26) is something every teacher, principal and school superintendent should read. I’m the founder of a company that has been implementing science of reading programs for nearly two decades, and the recent National Assessment of Educational Progress results were deeply disappointing.Year after year, millions of children fall behind in reading, and the consequences are profound: reduced lifetime earnings, higher dropout rates, poor workforce readiness and increased economic inequality, reinforcing cycles of poverty and limited opportunity.
The data paints a grim picture. But what makes this crisis even more unacceptable is that these outcomes are both preventable and addressable at scale.The devastating reality that only a third of our students are proficient readers has spawned a cottage industry of excuse-making.
Prominent among these are baseless critiques of the NAEP itself (lauded as the gold standard of achievement measures) and a lament that the science of reading — recently endorsed by more than 40 states — has failed.That is simply not the case, as decades of research have proved. We know how to teach reading effectively.
The shortcoming is not in the program or the science. The problem instead is that the gap between research and classroom practice remains as wide as ever.The science of reading is a body of research that explains how children learn to read and how we can best teach them.
Although most states have now adopted policies aligned with the science of reading, policy adoption alone does not change instruction. Many schools have been left to interpret these policies on their own.To move the needle, we must ensure every teacher has the right training, provide diagnostic tools to identify and address gaps, and support our older students with proven approaches.
We also need to hold schools and districts accountable for implementation. Schools must be equipped and required to implement best practices with fidelity. Finally, we need to engage parents and communities.
Literacy is not just a school issue — it also is a societal imperative.The NAEP results do not doom America’s students, but they do underscore a crisis of inaction. When we fail to teach students to read, we risk consigning them to a life of unmet potential and fulfillment.
— Scott DeSimone, Bethesda, MarylandEmbracing the basicsWhy is it not surprising that after emphasizing phonics and comprehension, Louisiana reading scores have improved? It’s no mystery. Phonics is the key that unlocks the door to the world of words. I always thought it was a cruel trick to expect kids to unlock a universe of words without giving them the key! So, even though I was schooled in whole language, I always taught phonics.
Simply pronouncing words, however, is not reading; it’s merely word-calling. In addition to phonics, the study of root words, prefixes and suffixes is essential. Reading also entails background knowledge, comprehension and vocabulary.
(See “The Early Catastrophe: The 30 Million Word Gap by Age 3” by Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley.) A great way to increase all three is to actually read: The more kids read, the better they read, and the more they read, the more they learn.
What’s often missing is motivation. Everyone’s interested in something. The trick to getting reluctant readers to read more is to find that something and to make reading fun.
Poetry, read-alouds and connected art projects are great ways to get kids interested. (I highly recommend “The Random House Book of Poetry for Children” by Jack Prelutsky as a great source of poems.) Since it’s usually an adult who’s reading aloud, the book can be far beyond their reading level — or even way below.
Nonfiction picture books are a fun way to build background knowledge, even for the teacher!I worked with a lot of kids with struggles with reading and discipline. I would select a high-interest read-aloud book, dramatically read to a particularly suspenseful point, pause, look at my watch and declare something like: “Oh, my, it’s time for math!” It was great to have a class full of “unmotivated” nonreaders beg me to keep on reading and then argue over who gets the book.So, phonics is basic and essential, but it’s not everything — not even close.
And whole language, which champions many of the excellent strategies still in use today, is not all bad. Knitting the two together looks a lot like the new “science of reading” approach heralded in the editorial.What’s old is new again.
— Sue Ellen Levins, retired reading specialist, ChicagoAI in health careHouse Bill 35 and Senate Bill 1425 would create the Artificial Intelligence Systems Use in Health Insurance Act. The identical bills, sponsored by state Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Highwood, and state Sen.
Laura Fine, D-Glenview, respectively. aim to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) in health insurance decision-making. While both bills’ goal of fairness and transparency is commendable, the legislation’s current provisions could unintentionally hinder innovation and efficiency in customer service.
AI systems are designed to analyze vast amounts of data quickly and accurately. Restricting the use of AI without clear and consistent guidelines may lead to administrative inefficiencies that reduce consumer experience and increase costs for customers. It is important that we build on existing insurance regulations and consumer protections to avoid conflicting standards by which insurance companies must comply at the state and federal levels.
As president of the Illinois Life & Health Insurance Council, I support guardrails that ensure this evolving technology does not circumvent existing protections designed to ensure human decision-making remains intact when there is an adverse determination related to care. However, HB35 and SB1425 as currently written could restrict the use of AI for other claims-processing functions designed to identify gaps in care and reduce administrative costs for payers. This could potentially make health insurance less accessible and affordable for Illinoisans at a time when health care costs continue to outpace the rate of inflation.
We are committed to collaborating with Morgan and Fine to ensure the legislation benefits Illinois consumers without hindering our health plans’ commitment to the responsible use of AI to improve health outcomes, increase access to care, enhance the consumer experience and lower costs for their customers.— Laura Minzer, president, Illinois Life & Health Insurance Council, SpringfieldInfamous ‘Edgar ramp’In his column (“Former Gov. Edgar exemplifies courage, candor, stewardship,” March 31), John T.
Shaw overlooks the most damning outcome of Jim Edgar’s time as governor: the infamous “Edgar ramp,” which stretched pension payments out 50 years. This kick-the-can-down-the-road approach directly contributed to the current $140 billion shortfall in the public retirement accounts that currently consume about 20% of the Illinois state budget. Think of what $10 billion a year would do for education and rivers, roads and rails.
Since Edgar did not need to make any significant pension payments while in office, he was able to “balance” the budget and increase spending for special projects, much to the delight of the legislators. So much for conservative values and good stewardship.The result of Edgar’s “focus on the future” is an obscenely underfunded state retirement account.
— Gerry Gosewehr, WarrenvilleProtecting IllinoisansThe length and severity of heat waves in the U.S. are increasing significantly, “with potentially devastating consequences for human health and wellbeing, particularly among the most vulnerable populations,” according to an August 2023 report by the U.
S. Joint Economic Committee. The report documents the mounting costs of extreme heat in the U.
S.In Illinois, 1.5 million workers — 25% of our workforce — are employed in “heat-exposed” industries such as agricultural production and construction.
Research shows that rural Illinois residents are hospitalized at higher rates for heat exposure than urban and suburban residents, while lower-income residents without air conditioning are at higher risk. And national heat-related health care costs have been estimated as high as $1 billion annually. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has worked with the Illinois Department of Public Health to develop climate and health educational materials for physicians and public health professionals, host webinars for family physicians and pediatricians, and provide graduate courses for public health students.
As a result, Illinois has better informed medical and public health professionals who are prepared to protect their patients from the health impacts of climate change and to discuss risks with their patients. The program also hosts a Health & Heat Tracker that Illinois planners can use to study the incidence of high heat days at a county level for planning and management.U.
S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Ill.
, has introduced HR1645, the Climate and Health Protection Act, to continue the federal program with $110 million, a small amount compared to the federal administration’s budget reduction goals.Our elected officials do care about their constituents. If you’re concerned about the impact of cuts on Illinois residents’ health, take a moment to call or email your elected officials.
Your opinion matters to them and to everybody who values these services— Scott Buckley, NapervilleSubmit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email [email protected]..
