Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Now in South Korea

Walch has always had strong international sales, of course, but we recently made a great leap forward with the announcement that IAM Books, located in South Korea, would print and distribute, in Korea, nine titles from our popular Daily Warm-Ups series.

As you might expect, out of the more than four dozen Daily Warm-Ups titles, those chosen have to do with mastering the English language: Spelling & Grammar, Level I; Grammar & Usage, Level II; Analogies, Level I; Analogies, Level II; Common English Idioms, Level I; Common English Idioms, Level II; Commonly Confused Words, Level I; Critical Thinking, Level I; and Critical Thinking, Level II.

If you aren't familiar with Daily Warm-Ups, they're meant to be used as supplements in the classroom; each book has 180 short exercises that take 5-10 minutes each. Something to turn down-time into productive time.

In any event, what makes this sale exciting for us is not only that it represents a positive foray into a significant market, but also that it validates the work we've been doing stateside. Educators have been responding to our Daily Warm-Ups with great enthusiasm for many years -- that's why there are more than four dozen titles! -- and it's great to see that these books can now play a part in educating foreign students, too. (John Spritz)

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

NCTE in NYC

This past weekend, we, along with a few thousand teachers, attended the annual conference of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE, http://www.ncte.org)/ at the Javits Center in New York City. If you've never been to the Javits Center before, it is truly overwhelming. The NCTE show was just one of several mammoth events occurring simultaneously within its halls. (In fact, the NCTE show itself was so large that many of its sessions took place at the Marriott, on Times Square.)

Several hundred education providers were on hand, in booths ranging from a few feet across to mega-booth pavilions that looked somewhat akin to Oz, the Emerald City. No matter their size, however, they all had something interesting to show or talk about -- and for the most part, that meant books. In fact, the number of vendors displaying video or audio materials was surprisingly small...can it be that the printed word will indeed triumph?

No question that author signings are a surefire attraction. Put an author down at a table (or better yet, an author and his/her illustrator) and the line forms almost immediately. And of course there is nothing like free books, either. For the most part, those consisted of advance copies of 2008 fiction releases, primarily for the young adult market.

But perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the show was the continuing appela of an author named...William Shakespeare. In booth after booth, there were reprints of his plays (often annotated in a variety of styles), videos of Shakespeare films, audio CDs of Shakespeare readings, even a "manga" version of Shakespeare (and if you don't know what manga is, ask your adolescent or teenage son or daughter). At least among English teachers, the Bard is alive and well and flowering in a myriad of ways. (John Spritz)

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Algebra and data analysis in Maryland and North Carolina

We’re just back from a couple of days visiting districts in Maryland and North Carolina. It was a fascinating trip, one in which we picked up many new insights into the issues and challenges facing educators in those states.

Let’s start with Prince George's County, Maryland, where we met with the mathematics team. They are a group of three intelligent, energetic women who were frank in describing some of the "unintended consequences" of Maryland's High School Assessment in Algebra and Data Analysis. Because the test includes as much as 45% data analysis items, the algebra curriculum has been "adapted" to incorporate instruction to prepare students for the HSA. Inevitably, this leaves out or gives short shrift to some important algebraic concepts.

The result? Geometry and algebra II teachers are left to fill in the gaps. Thinking through these issues, we realized that Walch could provide a solution for Prince George's County by developing a middle school algebra and data analysis program that addresses this domino effect before students reach high school.

Moving on to North Carolina, we found that math and science leaders in Charlotte-Mecklenberg Schools shared our enthusiasm for our new Building Math series. (http://www.walch.com/product/2137 These just-released books, created in partnership with Boston's Museum of Science and with support from the GE Foundation's Math Excellence program, provide middle school students with hands-on opportunities to apply algebra and engineering concepts in real-world contexts.

Building Math is getting a lot of accolades from educators who appreciate how the integration of math with basic engineering concepts can transform the learning experience in the classroom. The Charlotte-Mecklenberg folks are particularly excited about the opportunities for interdisciplinary teaching and learning, with potential for program crossover from mathematics to science and even social studies. We're hoping to return to North Carolina this summer to provide professional development for teachers who will be implementing Building Math there next year.

Our last meeting in North Carolina took place in Winston-Salem. There, we saw up-close a very real problem facing district level educators everywhere. The assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction had invited us to meet with all of the subject area specialists in hopes that we could "take something off their overflowing plates." The fruitful conversation that ensued reinforced a valuable lesson: educators often know what they want to achieve, but finding the time and capacity is a problem.

That's where Walch can help – developing materials and doing the work that curriculum coordinators and teachers would do themselves if they had the time. (Jill Rosenblum)