My daughter just finished an academic rights of passage.  She took the SATs.  Or – as I call them – Sad (but necessary) Academic Trauma Test.  Actually, she took the PSAT once, six practice SATs, and then two “the real things.”  Why so many times you ask?  Well, she never practiced free throws and she’s never had to shoot during clutch times.  “It’s like shooting free throws – it isn’t about your IQ, it’s a skill.”  I said so many times that even I got sick of hearing this.  I can’t really blame her when she growled at me, rolled her eyes, ran to her room, and shut her door in an attempt to block my incessant jabbering about what a game all this was.

I find it uncomfortably odd the the tests were originally termed the Scholastic APTITUDE Test.  The APTITUDE was changed to ASSESSMENT in 1990.  Even more unsettling to me is the background of the originator of the SAT.  The SAT has its roots with a psychologist at Princeton University, Carl Brigham – the leader of the committee that created the original SAT.  In his book, A Study of American Intelligence proclaimed the superiority and inferiority of the various races.  Surprise, Surprise!  Analyzing the data from the Army tests, Brigham came to the conclusion that native born Americans had the highest intelligence out of the groups tested.

The SATs have built an impressive industry.  “SAT practice” (without the quotes) and you get 24,600,000 hits!

Congratulations to those of you who breezed through these tests.  What does that tell us about you?  That you are good at the SAT skills?  Or you truly are better prepared for the workplace and hence should get into a better college?  Most likely a bit of both.  Or maybe neither.  I recall my own tortured time taking them.

But…WHAT IF…way before kids took the SATs – say back in pre-K, they started accumulating Experience Points?  Very similar to the scores they are familiar with playing video games and as they reached more advanced levels, they earned titles and trophies and acclaim for their mastery?  What if all the other kids new of their domain expertise and sought them out to help them learn whatever it is they have mastered – whether that be interpreting the meaning of poetry or the ability to make sense out of Calculus?

Your turn.  Try an original question from 1926 SAT test:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/sats/where/1926.html

First off, Happy 4^th of July! This is a very special day for America. I thank all the troops – past and present – who have allowed our great country to remain the land of the free.  And for the most part coffee drinkers instead of all that tea the British would have us drink

It is also a day where my favorite foods are cooked and baked. Hamburgers, hot dogs….and….and….APPLE PIE!

Reading to get an Early Reader’s Just Desserts

If you have an early reader, why not have a fun reading experience with your child by baking an Apple Pie? It is a great opportunity for your early reader to experience a really fun aspect of reading – you get to make AND THEN EAT desserts. Seems to me there is a lot of intrinsic motivation in making desserts. I bet your child will try very hard to pronounce the words, understand what they are reading (with your help of course and not the help we have in our Itza games when you are not around!)…because of the high value the reward of eating the delicious Apple Pie THAT THEY MADE has.

So grab your favorite Apple Pie recipe and get your early reader engaged in reading so that they may get their just desserts!

For those of you that do not have a favorite Apple Pie recipe, I have included one that I like from the CookingLight.com web site:

Apple Pie

The slurry (a mixture of flour and water that’s whisked together) is the secret to keeping the low-fat crust tender.

Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

6 tablespoons ice water

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons vegetable shortening

Filling:

8 cups thinly sliced peeled Braeburn apples (about 8 medium)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon salt

Remaining ingredients:

Cooking spray

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 450°.

To prepare crust, lightly spoon 2 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 1/2 cup flour, ice water, and vinegar, stirring with a whisk until well blended to form a slurry. Combine remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, powdered sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl; cut in shortening with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add slurry; toss with a fork until flour mixture is moist.

Divide dough in half. Gently press each half into a 4-inch circle on 2 sheets of overlapping heavy-duty plastic wrap; cover with 2 additional sheets of overlapping plastic wrap. Roll 1 dough half, still covered, into a 12-inch circle. Roll other dough half, still covered, into an 11-inch circle. Chill dough 10 minutes or until plastic wrap can be easily removed.

To prepare filling, combine the apples and lemon juice in a large bowl. Combine 2/3 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle sugar mixture over apples; toss well to coat.

Remove top 2 sheets of plastic wrap from 12-inch dough circle; fit dough, plastic wrap side up, into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate coated with cooking spray, allowing dough to extend over edge. Remove remaining plastic wrap. Spoon filling into dough; brush edges of dough lightly with water.

Remove top 2 sheets of plastic wrap from 11-inch dough circle; place, plastic wrap side up, overfilling. Remove remaining plastic wrap. Press edges of dough together. Fold edges under, and flute. Cut 4 (1-inch) slits into top of pastry using a sharp knife. Brush top and edges of pie with egg white; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.

Place pie on a baking sheet; bake at 450° for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350° (do not remove pie from oven), and bake an additional 40 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

CALORIES 293 (29% from fat); FAT 9.6g (sat 2.4g,mono 4g,poly 2.5g); IRON 1.4mg; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 10mg; CARBOHYDRATE 50.1g; SODIUM 153mg; PROTEIN 3.3g; FIBER 2.5g

Cooking Light, JULY 2002