February 06, 2005
Steve Fetbrandt
The Press-Enterprise (Southern California)
BEAUMONT - Fill a room with public-school teachers and administrators, give them an education topic to discuss and hunker down for the jargon fest that follows.
In Beaumont, however, school officials are doing their part to curb educationese¿jargon-laced education-speak. They've gone so far as to translate California's educational &lqt;frameworks&lqt; into &lqt;Kid Friendly Standards&lqt; so students know exactly what is expected of them academically each year.
Leading the effort was Karen Poppen, Beaumont Unified School District's assistant superintendent of instructional support services, who spent 30 hours painstakingly translating California Department of Education code language into simple English. For example, Poppen has translated Sacramento's &lqt;Phonemic Awareness&lqt; standard, as officially adopted by the state Board of Education in 1999, to mean:
I know the difference between sounds.
I can change a sound in a word to make a different word.
I can blend sounds into words.
I can rhyme.
I know the beginning and ending sounds of words. I can count syllables
&lqt;We're terrible when it comes to using jargon,&lqt; Poppen said. &lqt;The standards are written in adult language, not kid language. So our real dilemma was how to help kids become familiar with them.&lqt; ...
Full Story: www.pe.com/localnews/pass/stories/PE_News_Local_pfriendly06.a1074.html#
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