New and Good

New and Good is a tradition at The New School.  It was started in the 1970’s by Bob Newman, when he was the director of the Syracuse Institute for Enabling Education (the precursor) to The New School.  It has worked effectively during all these years to merge affective education, pre-reading and early reading  education.  New and Goods has many variations but, by and large, it is an opportunity for children to verbally share something that has happened or will happen in school or at home.  The teacher then writes it down on large chart paper using the child’s words or a summary.  As it is written many aspects of reading and writing are noted.  This is a chance to plant seeds for young children.  We talk about phonics, we talk about the meaning of words, the conventions of writing, punctuation, many things that children will be using in the near future.  For many children this is the opportunity to absorb all the pre-reading skills while sharing and celebrating information and ideas that are important to them.

            We look at word patterns and words that are contradictions.  They all know that our language is crazy  “This is ‘said’ (sed)…this is ‘is’ (iz)???”.  We jointly try to spell all the sounds we hear in a word and then figure out what letters are silent…like r-a-i-s-i-n-g or f-r-i-e-n-d. 

            In January, Dash told us, “a long time ago” pilots were playing checkers with people on the ground.  We sounded out all the sounds in “p-l-a-y-i-n-g, t-o-o-k, p-i-l-l-o-w and g-r-a-m-p-a.  Greer told us she “likes to play Sleeping Dragon”.  We looked at the “ee” in Greer and “sleeping”.   Muta told us he “had honey cereal” for breakfast.  And Syris told us “My great grandpa, my grandparents and my parents and my brother are going on a ship with 3 swimming pools.”  We had to think about all those generations. 

            In February, “Mae and other panda lovers are raising money to save pandas.  It will go to zoos that have pandas. “  We looked at “oll” words, “all” words, “ill” words and “ell” words.  And we always find “ing” words.

            On March 1, Lola said, “Yesterday, Lola went to the BIG Wegmans for dinner.  (That day we looked for all the different ways that “y” sounds in our language…silently, like in “ay” words,long ‘ e’ like in “party”,  short ‘I’ in “gym” and “Rowyn”, long ‘I’, like in “my”.  We saw how changing one letter changed a whole word in “went-want-won’t- wint(er).  Sarea told us “After tomorrow my brother’s birthday is going to come.  He will be 3.