Students at Whitney Young must prepare for five standardized tests, he states. All this focus on proficiency and test results worries Amy McClure, professor of education at Ohio Wesleyan University. McClure points to her daughter's experience as a case in point. She's in 5th grade and is concentrating on finding metaphors and similes, rather than reading a story for its wonderful language. If we can read, we can live . . .
Books are a natural way to introduce character education.
She admits that some people think that hers is an elitist point of view, but she shrugs off that criticism. Students need to understand the allusions because it never feels good to be clueless. And I love a good story.