Perhaps the most urgent problem facing American education, say Murnane and Steele, is the unequal distribution of high-quality teachers. Poor children and children of color are disproportionately assigned to teachers with the least preparation and the weakest academic backgrounds. Teacher turnover is high in schools that serve large shares of poor or nonwhite students because the work is difficult, and the teachers who undertake it are often the least equipped to succeed.

What Is the Problem? The Challenge of Providing Effective Teachers for All Children

Richard J. Murnane and Jennifer L. Steele

kazia

upside/down

aviyah is really doing here signs so well. she knows shoes (na'alayim), more (od), food (ochel), milk (chalav), giraffe (well, giraffa), monkey (qof), elephant (pil), dog (kelev), cat (chatul), bird (tzipor), fish (dag), rhino (b'chamut), kisses (nishekot), hat (kova), and all done (zehu). she can point now to her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth in hebrew and chinese.

it's a bit crazy. sometimes i say she's either really going to understand everything or be really confused. : )

i thought signs were crazy when we saw "meet the fockers" (did i write that once already?), but i think it's especially helped her because of the different languages. eli, kc, and ainsley helped buy us a book/dvd, and david and jenny helped make us signing dvd's she likes to watch.

i think the signs help ground the different words from the languages. she may still think it's weird that we all sound different, but when we make the signs it can help her see the connection. i think it's also possible that it helps her to be less frustrated when she wants something. when she does get fussy, it's normally when she can't tell us.



but, to be honest, we're just super super thankful that everybody is healthy.

furry happy monsters

mahna mahna

walker

aviyah started walking today!!!

she's not a professional yet, but she's officially on the move. papa is visiting from chicago, and we all saw her first steps. yay!

we've been trying to encourage her to crawl and walk with support more and more to help her along. and, uncle sean bought her a walker to help too.

no pictures yet, but hopefully soon.

: )

happy father's day!

irony

ארנב

aviyah heart papa

aviyah's second word is papa. she knows how to do so many signs now. i don't think we thought about it this way, but i think the signs also help her to get the differences between languages. she sees the foundation sign, and she can translate in a way to different words. she's certainly got to know that mommy and daddy are speaking differently. . . oh, oh, she knows how to kiss and point!

ברווזוני