ABSTRACT
Language capacity is the root of all learning experiences. Elementary school teachers launch children into a world of words by devoting hours of instruction to increasing their language skills. Middle and high school teachers often deal with over a hundred students in a day, and they base their assignments on the assumption that the students can read and react to the text. Teachers are very dependent on each other to build and sustain these fundamental tools. Academic literacy in the public and private schools is a K–12 problem. It is critical to revisit the role of the teacher and the way teachers communicate with each other about their learners. To be crystal clear, standards may come and go, but there will always be an unrelenting need to develop a learner's language capacity in order to function in the world and have a meaningful life.
