The Wakarusa Valley writing venture is a good example of education success.
We get enough depressing and negative news about American education, its flaws and its severe challenges. Then along comes a report like the one in the Journal-World last week about our Wakarusa Valley School's admirable writing program. Such definitely brightens the picture.
Educators point out repeatedly that despite bad news about schools and teaching, a lot of good things are occurring. Certainly the Wakarusa Valley story is one that should cheer us all.
People in charge of the local program focus youngsters right away and start getting them in the habit of reading, writing and being critiqued. Wakarusa's principal stresses that the goal is to make all the school's 250 pupils fluent in narrative, expository, persuasive and technical writing by the time they reach junior high school.
What a wonderful goal! How marvelous is any program that brings this about!
And it would appear the Wakarusa effort is paying off big-time. On the latest Kansas Writing Assessment, a statewide test given in the year 2000, no Lawrence school matched the capacity of Wakarusa Valley's youngsters to effectively, even deftly, express themselves through the written word.
"The key is we have children writing every day," Rogers said. "We practice." And when there is practice in such things, education flourishes and pupils move along at a commendable rate.
Many of the finest public school teachers over the years have stated that one of their prime goals is to make sure first-graders get off to a good start in reading. Wakarusa Valley not only does that but causes children to shake off the fear and uncertainty of trying to write by writing, learning and improving.
There is no secret to education at its best: The best readers become the best writers, and the best writers are among the best readers. When a youngster learns expression via the written word, he or she becomes enamored with language, wants to see how others use it, reads more and becomes better educated.
It is not easy for many. And it may not always be "fun." But the rewards and dividends for the teachers and the pupils in a program such as that at Wakarusa Valley can be tremendous. There are more good writers made than born, no matter what some philosophers may try to tell us.
We never should get too comfortable with our schools, at any level, because they can always be better. But it's good now and then to take note of the many outstanding things that are happening and show them proper appreciation.
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