"Remediation at a Crossroads" by Mike Rose

I really enjoy Mike Rose's books about adult learners and "second chance" opportunities for non-traditional students.  No one better than he, I think, gets to the crux of these issues. The one thing I realize from my language and literacy courses is that academic underpreparation is a complex issue-- that there are no easy answers.  This acknowledgement can be frustrating, but I also believe, that it gives us--as language and literacy students and future practitioners--the opportunity to develop creative solutions to these challenging problems.  Rose sees "...in basic skills instruction the rich possibility for developing literacy and numeracy and for realizing the promise of a second-chance society" (Berstein 30).  Basically, Rose is saying that he wants education to go beyond just acquiring fundamental skills so that students can develop "the broader habits of the mind" that will transform their lives and their communities.  I think Rose is on to something.  Too often, remedial education is about passing gateway tests that determine whether students can take college course for credit or if they will denied a pathway to higher education and the opportunity for economic and social success.