17 October - Quick Notes

Big Class Takes a Big Step Towards Literacy

The number of illiterate adults in New Orleans is nearly twice that of the national average, a statistic that's all the more frightening when we consider their children. For an elementary school student coming home to an illiterate parent, basic literacy is the benchmark for average reading rates, not the starting point. This child will likely be unaware of literature’s loftier goals—expression and communication. Big Class is hoping to change that by involving elementary school students in the creative process behind words on a page. 

“Our schools are approaching literacy in a vacuum," says Keller. "They're treating literacy as a skill, and in doing so are leaving out literacy's grand purposes—put simply to communicate and express. Big Class engages students in literacy by reinstating that purpose.” Big Class No. 1: Animals was a collaboration between students and illustrators, designers, and artists. The result is a book written by kids and illustrated by adults.

New Orleans' distrust of the education system is palpable in the shaky relationships between parents and their kids' schools. “What this did was build the trust back into what was going on," says Keller. "There was a physical object that documented that their kid was learning and enjoying learning." Not to mention, it represents the great leaps forward the kids took with their writing.

www.newscientist.com 

Big bang re-spun

The infant universe was a lumpy, revolving mess. You'd think that might make cosmologists unhappy, but a big bang that was also a big spin could explain a surprising alignment of galaxies – not to mention the origin of matter itself. Anil Ananthaswamy reports in "Original spin: Was the universe born whirling?". Also coming up this week – or right now for subscribers: there's more to your mind than your brain – your clever body plays a part in everything from social savvy to mathematical ability; seven inventions they said were impossible; and get your teeth into some mathematics with spaghetti functions – the beauty of pasta boiled down to a few bare formulae.
Julian Richards, online subeditor, newscientist.com

Julian Richards, online subeditor, newscientist.com
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