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The Jenkins County Times
Wednesday, September 6, 2023 - Page 5
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" Millen's Florist"
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O/t'j £3 The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want. ETe maketh me to lie down in green
pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He
restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righ
teousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff
they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me
in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my
head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness
and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and
I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Governor implements new
literacy-education laws
Special
to
The Times
Georgia is gearing up to
implement a new approach
to teaching reading in the
early grades.
Gov. Brian Kemp
recently signed into
law two literacy bills
passed during this year’s
legislative session.
About 36% of Georgia
third graders read below
grade level, according to
the state’s 2022 Milestones
test results, and around
17% of the state’s adults
lack basic literacy skills.
The new laws aim at
improving those numbers
by introducing two related
approaches to literacy
instruction: “the
science of reading”
and “structured
literacy.”
“Science of
reading is sort of
a relatively new
term that bundles
together ... the
role and necessity
of systematic
instruction on
phonics, phonemic
awareness,
fluency as well as
comprehension and
vocabulary,” said
Sarah Woulfin, an
associate professor
at the College of
Education at the
University of Texas-
Austin.
“It’s become a kind of
streamlined way to talk
about evidence-based
reading instruction in an
effort to change reading
instruction in one particular
direction.”
“Structured literacy,” as
defined by one of the new
literacy laws, refers to an
“evidence-based approach
to teaching oral and written
language ... characterized
by explicit, systematic,
cumulative, and diagnostic
instruction.”
The new law names six
specific topics of focus:
phonology, sound-symbol
association, syllable
instruction, morphology,
syntax, and semantics.
“The idea is giving
guardrails and a strategic
mindset to how literacy
instruction is delivered,”
said Matt Smith, director
of policy and research at
the Georgia Partnership for
Excellence in Education
(GPEE).
“We’re talking about
making reading instruction
in the early grades more
systematic. ... There’s a
process. You screen and
identify the students that
have reading deficits.”
Many of these ideas have
been around for decades
and are already included
in Georgia’s education
standards. The new
laws, however, mandate
that school districts
use evidence-backed
approaches and aim to
ensure consistent adoption
across the state.
That’s key to ensuring
educational equity,
proponents of the approach
argue.
“Literacy is the social
justice issue of our
time, and the science of
reading is our best tool
to accomplish that,” said
Ramona Brown, a science
of reading professional
development coach at
the Rollins Center for
Language and Literacy at
the Atlanta Speech School.
“It is helpful for all
students and harmful to
none, and ... through
these approaches, 95% of
children will learn how to
read whether they are here
in Atlanta or they are in
Crisp County.”
“For a majority of kids in
our country, whether you
have dyslexia or whether
you have experienced
generational lack of access
to opportunity, or you
speak English as a second
language ... what we see
from research is that an
overwhelming majority of
children require explicit
instruction,” added Ryan
Lee-James, chief academic
officer at the Atlanta
Speech School.
“The explicit nature of
the teaching means that
we’re not leaving things to
chance or for you to figure
out on your own.”
The lofty literacy goals
found in the new legislation
will need to be backed by
careful implementation
at the district and school
levels to produce results.
“There really needs to be a
lot of systems and supports
and resources in place so
that people can have the
time and space to learn
about these approaches
to be developed,” said
Woulftn, the University of
Texas professor.
“If you don’t have the
aligned professional
learning opportunities for
teachers and principals, so
that everyone has time and
space to learn about these
new curricular materials,
to try out these new
instructional approaches,
at the end of the day,
classroom practice is not
going to change.”
“There is an opportunity
for this to go really well
with different pieces
collaborating and
interfacing together,”
Smith added. “But there
is another kind of concern,
which is that there is a lot
going on, and so we have
to keep our eye on the ball
because a lot of different
things are going to be
going on at the same time.”
One of the newly signed
laws creates a literacy
council made up of
legislators, educators, and
experts. Smith said that
could be helpful in ensuring
a unified approach and
keeping things on track.
“I’m glad that both laws
passed at the same time
because I think it’ll be
mutually beneficial for
both in terms of strategy,
public messaging around
literacy, [and] also around
the scientific evidence-
based components of
reading,” he said.
Funding is another
possible obstacle to the
success of the initiative.
The early literacy bill did
not have specific funds in
the budget eamiarked for it.
It’s possible that additional
funds could be allocated to
the measure during next
year’s legislative session.
Without the funding,
the measure is like “an
unfunded mandate,” said
John Zauner, executive
director of the Georgia
School Superintendents
Association. He said that
when Mississippi sought
to turn around its
poor literacy rate,
the state backed
the effort with
millions of dollars,
something that is
currently lacking in
Georgia.
“We always need
resources in order
to teach reading
effectively,” added
Lisa Morgan,
president of the
Georgia Association
of Educators. “We
need books in our
classroom that
are engaging on a
variety of levels.”
“We need to
be providing our
students with
much more than just the
standard textbook. ... The
books that we have in
our classrooms need to
reflect the diversity of our
students in the world.”
When Chattahoochee
County implemented
a science of reading
approach, it took a large
commitment of resources,
said Kristie Brooks, the
district’s superintendent.
“It’s been a heavy lift
financially. And it’s
also a heavy lift, time-
commitment wise,” Brooks
said. “We have had two-
and-a-half years of intense
training and coaching and
classroom modeling. It
was so important that it
was done correctly.”
Brooks said the
investment has been worth
it for her district.
“We have been just so
pleased with the work that
we have seen,” she said.
flyrcns That
Touch th£ fteart
By Sam Eades, Publisher/Writer
for
The Times
John Fawcett
“Blest Be the Tie that Binds” is a sweet hymn
written about the Church with an even sweeter story,
especially meaningful to smaller, more modest
congregations. It is a favorite for many because of
its message of the bonds of Christian community. Six
brief verses describe hearts bound in Christian love,
deep fellowship, shared burdens and prayers, painful
separations, and the blessed hope of reunification that
lasts throughout eternity.
This hymn was written in England in 1782 by John
Fawcett. Fawcett was orphaned by the age of twelve.
He was reportedly apprenticed to a tailor but became
a Christian at age 16 after hearing the preaching of
George Whitfield. Fawcett then responded to his own
call to preach.
In 1765, he became pastor of a poor congregation
at a small Baptist country Church in Wainsgate,
Yorkshire. After just seven years, Fawcett was invited
to become the pastor of
a larger, wealthier, more
influential congregation
in London. He accepted
the call but on the day
of his departure, with
his farewell sermon
preached and all his
family’s belongings
packed and ready to
go, the congregation
pleaded with Fawcett
to reconsider and
remain their pastor.
He wrote this hymn
to commemorate his
choice to turn down
prestige and profit and remain bound to the poorer,
humbler flock in Wainsgate. He served as their
preacher for the remainder of his days. For fifty-four
years, John and his wife, Mary, remained with the
people they’d grown to love and felt called to serve.
They would seem a couple reminiscent of George
and Mary in the beloved Christmas movie, It’s a
Wonderful Life.
In the simple, humble lyrics of this hymn, there is
more breadth of information about Church life than
the soft, sweet tune advertises. Christ binds the hearts
of believers in a way that previews glory, in bonds
deeper than other friendships. We pray together. We
pray for one another. And our prayers and aims are
centered on a common, united goal. We care so deeply
for one another that we bear each other’s burdens.
When one of us hurts, we all hurt.
When we are separated from each other, either on
earth or by death, we have the hope of reuniting either
in this life or the next. This hope keeps the bonds
between us unbroken.
Because of this hope, we find the courage to face
whatever life brings our way as we live expectantly,
knowing Jesus’ return will unify us all with Him
and with one another. On that day, we will be free
and together. We’ll part eternally from all sadness,
unfruitful labor, pain, and sin, but our perfect love and
friendship will remain with us into eternity.
As Roman 8 proclaims that nothing can separate us
from the love of God, so we know that that same love
unites us in fellowship that nothing can divide.
The story of Fawcett’s commitment to ministry in
a humble congregation and the spirit of “Blest Be
the Tie that Binds” exemplifies the Apostle Paul’s
warnings to the church in Rome. “Let love be genuine.
Hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one
another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another
in showing honor. Do not be slow-moving in zeal, be
passionate in spirit, serve the Lord. Please sing with
me
1 Blest be the tie that binds
our hearts in Christian love;
the fellowship of kindred minds
is like to that above.
2 Before our Father’s throne
we pour our ardent prayers;
our fears, our hopes, our aims are one,
our comforts and our cares.
3 We share our mutual woes,
our mutual burdens bear,
and often for each other flows
the sympathizing tear.
4 When we are called to part,
it gives us inward pain;
but we shall still be joined in heart,
and hope to meet again.
5 This glorious hope revives
our courage by the way;
while each in expectation lives
and waits to see the day.
6 From sorrow, toil, and pain,
and sin, we shall be free;
and perfect love and friendship reign
through all eternity.