Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 21, No. 33, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 17, 1972 Page: 12 of 32
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Pots, Pans and Mini-Bikes Used as Reading Aids
Pots, pans and
nnni-motorbikes have all
found a place in the reading
incentive program here at
South Junior High School,
along with go-carts, courses in
styling afro hairdos and some
topsy-turvey shop classes.
Using a $50,000 federal edu-
cation grant, teachers de-
signed the program around
the natural enthusiasms of
boys for mechanics, girls for
fashions and both groups'
sense of competition.
Called STAG ifor Student
Training and Guidance), it's
primarily aimed at 120 sev-
enth and eighth graders
whose reading is between the
third and sixth grade level
and who have low achieve-
ment in other basic skills.
"What this is is a 'hands on'
approach." says Principal
John T. Farrington.
"The idea is to get rid of
some of the abstract learning,
to get the kids interested in
reading about something by
having them work with it.
There's not so much new ex-
cept the attitudes of the kids
and their enthusiasm."
So far the plan has gotten
the checkered tlag from both
its pupils and teachers, and
even Uncle Sam. although
selling the government on
buying the minibikes and
three-wheeled go-carts was
"quite a job." according to
Farrington.
And perhaps the best mea-
sure of its success is the fact
quite a few regular students
also have expressed a desire to
join, adds the principal.
For the seventh-grade boys,
STAG means traditional
classes in science, reading,
math and literature and the
usual metal and woodwork
shops, but also a tussle with
cooking class and twice-a-
week sessions in the school
yard with the mini-bikes.
The half dozen bikes are
partly held out as a "carrot"
for good behavior and prog-
ress in classwork. and are
partly educational on their
own. said Bill Elam. who runs
the language arts program.
The boys assembled them
from kits, wrote instruction
and safety manuals on their
use, and had to learn the
names of the parts and how to
spell them. Aiding the process
has been the replacement of
some traditional textbooks
with magazines on cars and a
school book series geared to
mechanics.
The eighth-grade boys have
graduated to the faster go-
carts and to sewing class in
their STAG periods.
"We weren't sure they
would take to sewing." said
teacher Kathy Brandiger, "hut
they love it. and they seem to
take directions better."
Apparently the boys' gusto
for gadgets sold them.
"Yea. we like it," said Nat
Bellamy, 14. as he stitched the
sleeves for a wildly-colored
dashiki. "And we're better
than the girls because when
the thread locks we can just
take the machine apart and
untangle it."
Darrell White. 15. said he
sees "nothing wrong in boys
knowing how to sew. If you
get married you can show
your wife how to do it."
For the girls in STAG sew-
ing and cooking classes were
old hat. so the teachers decid-
ed to give them a dose of the
traditionally male-oriented
metal and woodwork classes
and designed part of their
reading program around fash-
ions, grooming and boy-girl
relationships.
Some of the biggest boost-
ers of the girls learning how-
to make metal rulers and
handle saws and screwdrivers
have been their fathers, said
teacher Ava Jones.
"We did mechanical draw-
ing too." said Rita Espinoza.
1:!, as she filed away at a
wooden ear on a profile of
Snoopy. "It's fun. 1 like it."
One of the highlights of the
program for many of the girls
was when they were given a
demonstration in washing an
afro, said Farrington. "It real-
ly made a hit with them."
The STAG program hasn't
had a lengthy test so far. but
reading exams taken last year
by pupils enrolled in its first
two semesters showed half
the boys gained a year or
more in reading comprehen-
sion and two-thirds of the
girls at least nine months
In addition, the students
showed marked improvements
in their attitudes and desire to
read and a drop in behaviorial
problems and absenteeism,
said Elam. Previously, discip-
line and absenteeism were big
problems with kids who
weren't advancing much, if
any. and were frustrated, he
added.
Initial Alphabet
Marks Decade in U.S.
Ten
years ago this fall, a strange
•14-character alphabet was
introduced to the first graders
in Bethlehem. I'a. Invented bv
Sir James Pitman and alreadv
achieving some success in
England, the new learning
llphabet was designed to
remove the confusion of the
traditional ABC's by having
one character for each sound
Now. a decade later, some
7t> studies involving over
35,000 children and costing
nearly two million dollars at-
test to the effectiveness of the
transitional alphabet. but
apparently have not convinced
the majority of educators that
they should
ditional ort
abandon the tra-
mgraphv
According to Dr. .I Richard
Block, director of the i t a
Foundation of Hofstra I ni-
versity, which disseminates
information about the alpha-
bet. "No other educational
program has been tested on
this scale or with such posi-
tive results,"
Point 11\ point. I)i Block
believes the research refutes
the fears (if educators about
it.a. For example, the re-
search shows little question
that i.t.a. actually teaches
children to read, its main
purpose.
For the
critics who were
One of the problems we
have w ith some youngsters is
sensitivity because they have
been branded dummies for so
long they believe it." said Far-
rington "They shouldn't be-
cause none of them are."
This coming year, he says,
he hopes to convince the gov-
ernment to pay for typewrit-
ers and calculators so STAG
can be expanded through the
ninth grade with instruction
in business skills.
afraid the children would not
learn to spell, research dis-
proved that For the teacher-
who worried about whether
children would make the tran-
sition to the regular \l!("«.
both the research and teach-
er's experiences show tliev
make the shift w it hoi 11 even
being aw are of il
If reliable research -liow-
nothing but good effects, w liv
ha- i t a not been w idelv
adopted? Dr. Block leels il
111av -imply be a natural re-i —
lance to change Beyond that.
he believes the available re-
-earch ha- not been -cell liv
enough parent- and educators
"We reallv believe." lie said,
"that il people Ivad a chance to
took at the ev idence. I hey
w on lil at least gj v e i.I a a
Irv." Dr. Block -aid.
For I lio-e w ho w ou Id like lo
see the studies, information -
av ailable from the i.I a Foun-
dation. Ilofsira Dnivcr-itv,
I leinpstead. S \ ll 550
iaii:
CfxaY".^
Yes...it's
back to
school already!
WE WISH to
WELCOME
all our faculties
students and
administrators to
a new school...
If during the year
we can serve you
COOKING COURSE for boys is included ir the student
training and guidance program a! South Junior High School
in Colorado Springs. It's a practical way to improve read-
ing. Recipes have to be understood.
Thursday] august 17.1972 the rio grande herald page 12
RIO GRANDE CITY
CALL US AT...
GUTIERREZ
LUMBER and HARDWARE
487-2360
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Trejo, Raul. Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 21, No. 33, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 17, 1972, newspaper, August 17, 1972; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth194367/m1/12/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.