Vol. 39 No. 1 December 2007 Tucson, Arizona

Goodman GazetteTwo Weddings in Summer of 2007

On June 15 ,the family celebrated the wedding of grand daughterShoshana Castro(25), to Justin Pearson in Houston. Then on September 2 wegathered again to celebrate the marriage of grandson Reuben Goodman (26)to Retzina Meyer in Gloucester outside of Boston. Reuben and Retzinatraveled to Norway for a friend’s wedding prior to their wedding so they movedimmediately into the residence hall at MIT where they will be RA’s for theacademic year. Retzina continues her doctoral studies at MIT. Reuben worksfor a tech firm in Boston. Shoshana and Justin spent time in Edmonton withKaren and Carl . They then went to Spain visiting her father Rodolofo Castro.Shoshana completed her BA in art at the University of Houston in May. Theyhave now settled in Phoenix . (See below for more news)

Re-engagementKen and Yetta continue to enjoy life inAcademy Vilage in the Tucson desert. Bothare reengaged (Yetta prefers that toretired.) Her new book, Critical Issues in

Earky Literacy,came out this year.

Ken’s critque ofDIBELS, the world’sworst test came outlast year. A new book,Scientific Realism inStudies of Reading isjust out.

TThe EurpoeanReadingConference inBerlin wasemotional for us.We traveledacross Germanywith SteveStrauss, Bess

Altwwerger and Barbara Flores. We werein what was East Berlin. at HumboldtUniversity Einstien taught there. We heardabout literacy issues in many countries.Teachers in Finland are committed toholistic education and they top theinternational studies. When we visited theBerline Jewish museum and the BerganBelson camp, which was strangely beautifulwe wondered why the world has notlearned the lessons of the holocaust.

We also saw the Grimm Bros museum in Hesse and flew home from Dosseldorf, asurprisingly cosmopolitan city.It has aHeinrich Heine Square and Rabin strasse.

Other foreign trips in the last year were to Guatemala, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Ken got an award from the National Councilof Teachers of English in November for hiscontributions to literacy and to NCTE.

The Goodman Diaspora

The family continues to spread. Wendy andBob and Rachel are in Tucson. Wendy stillis enjoying pre-school special ed. Bob is anexample of what NCLB is doing to reallyqualified teachers. He’s on sick leave froman untenable and demeaning position. Rachel (17) is a senior at Tucson high.

Aaron is a 2 year lawyer with a new firm..nd

Josh shares Aaron’s house in Phoenixworking in a restaurant while preparing for alaw enforcement career.

Karen and Carl continue to enjoy their 40acres of Canadian woods in Edmonton. Seebelow for their farm adventures. They arebusy researching and publishing. Karen presented in London and Copenhagen. Carlcontinues work in reduction of harm whilefighting the battles of academia.

Noah spent the year at a college in CostaRica. His courses were all in Spanish. Heplayed on the Costa Rican national Rugbyteam. Now he is at the UC Berkeleymajoring in international business.

Debi is chair of the Literacy Studiesdepartment at Hofstra. Its been a hard year

for Cheryl who lostboth parents. Theyhave just sold one of two houses in Detroit,the worst market in the country.

Eli is a sound techie for Rhino. He continueswith his music and poetry and has an on-going relationship with Marcie who moved toa better chemistry job in Phoenix.

Aaron chooses to Run

When I started running about eight monthsago, it was hard to run a mile.

Fast forward 8 a.m..9/22/07 The Flagstaffmarathon: 26.2 miles ofdifficult mountain foresttrails; elevation 8,000 to8,600 feet; 2,200 feet ofincline gains, ruggedterrain; temperatures in thelow 50s, winds gusting upto 15 mph, and intermittentrain.

Four hours, 51 minutes,13 seconds, 73songs, 4 gum packs, 5 orange slices, 64ounces of gatorade, 3 falls and 1 rolledankle later I crossed the finish line.

The post race sensation is odd, like beinghung over after a night of drinking. You arehungry but your digestion is thrown off bysupplements, protein bars, gatorade, andpain killers taken to get through the race.You are exhausted but can't sleep. You wantto lie down and stop moving.

n hour later I was sitting in shock at a Thairestaurant in Flagstaff. Had I actuallyfinished? I could hardly believe I prevailedagainst myself and overcame elevation,weather, terrain, and distance. Only 28 menwho started crossed the finish line of the fullmarathon. Most, if not all, are accomplishedand experienced runners. I was nineteenth.

Reuben & RetzinaShoshana & Justin

Barbara, Bess and Steve with Yetta

You can dowload a color copy of theGazette at www.u.arizona.edu/~kgoodman/

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We Lose Erwin Brandt

After an extended illness Erwin Brandt,husband to Yetta’s sister Minnie, died March2007. Noah, who couldn’t get to the funeralfrom Costa Rica, sent this tribute thatShoshana read for him:

At the present moment mylife is on freeze frame.Sadness fills my heart. Wehave lost one of our wisestand most fun lovingrelatives. I know that thenext time I visit my auntMinnie or the next time Iattend a family gathering Iwill expect to see UncleErwin. He will not be with us

in the physical sense. But his spirit willalways remain in our hearts and memories. In the days to come we will share ourreflections of this wonderful man that weall loved. Through such a process wecan all come to terms with our own grief.

As I grew up in LA with my mom and sister, Minnie and Erwin’s house wasalways a strong base for us. Their homein North Hollywood, which has notchanged since the day I was born, wasa beacon of family identity for me. Erwinwas a comic relief to the systematicorder that Minnie likes to maintain. Hewould set the mood as soon as I walkedthrough the door. I’d say, “Hi Erwin” andhe would respond with, “Who’s that,Susan?” Sometimes he would call meby my sister’s name, but it was all ingood fun. I was shocked the first time Ifound his walking stick and my mom toldme that he was practically blind. Acouple years ago. I had just finished a stonesculpture for my grandparents. I took it overto show Minnie and Erwin’. He was veryimpressed as he analyzed the contour of thesculpture with his hands. He told me that hehad never been able to appreciate asculpture so much because he had not beenso close to the artist. His words made mefeel very proud of the work that I had done .As I knew him, he was never angry andalways had a joke to tell. He was my greatuncle and I will miss him very much. Noah

Shoshana’s Events (Including Blessed)

For me this past year has indeed been aneventful one. In April I got married to anamazing, gorgeous young man namedJustin Ray Pearson. Love at first sight: wemet completely by chance one warmsummer night in Houston Texas. In May, Igraduated from the University of Houstonwith an art BA. My family flew to Houston towelcome our union and meet Justin’s family.

After that, we left Houston, (our few specialbelongings in storage) and enjoyed sunnySpain. And our sweet little twosome isbecoming a very exiting threesome!!! Theultrasound tells us to expect a baby girl inMarch 2008. To honor my beloved greatUncle Erwin she will be called Ezrial RaynPearson. Her middle name honors atradition in Justin’s family Though I’ll alwaysbe a Goodman, I’m beginning the rest of mylife as Shoshana Castro Pearson. With myhusband we welcome a whole new lifestyleas we make ready for our little one.

On the North 40 AcresKaren and Carl are enjoying being part timefarmers (n Edmonton We live at 51540 RangeRoad 223, Sherwood Park, AB T8C1H4 Canada. Caution:. To send us something to arrive quicklyand in good condition please email us for a betteraddress karen_j_goodman@yahoo.ca; carl.v.phillips@ualberta.ca

U.S. cell phone numbers: Karen 832-423-4322,Carl 651-503-6746. Home phone 780-922-7388Edmonton cell phone 780-554-6746.

Ken and Yetta’s Asilomar song (words by Eli and cousins. Music by Justin)Written at a family reunion at Asilomar CAattended by 44 of the Goodman, Brandt,Rapoport and Karger families age 1 to 90.

ChorusTime runs out fastRe-instated through paragraphAnd I remember whenWe were only children

So the man pulled up and was asking us-“Can I help you?” and “Who do you knowhere?”And I replied-“It’s none of your business sir”And Ken and Yetta told me to behaveJust tell him I’m a Goodman kid

And the neighbors all wonder ifThere’s a ladder up to the Goodman roof

Cause they said they saw a lot of furnitureAnd some monkey kids out on the roof.

And plus at four in the morning the guycame by and called Yetta up, said There are people iaying n your driveway”But Yetta was cool and the story moves on.

-Chorus- And we used to take trips as a familywe’d travel about and have a beautiful timewhen we went to Hawaii Reuben got somenun chucksand Debi wasn’t happy- but she’s alright nowand the Luau and the seven poolsand the black sand beach in Oahu

And we’d go to Muskegon and Shirley wouldcookAnd Dan would sail with us out on the lake Out there in Puerto Rico we were somerowdy kids

And someone said- “ah, no more trips”So it stopped for a while but now we’reback,At Monterey, next year Hawaii again?Chorus

And Ken and Yetta should have nevermovedFrom the house they had with thememoriesWith the citrus trees and the swimmingpoolWhere we use to swim in the Tucson sunBut I guess that they had to move along,With the rest of life and the rest of us. But I guess that they had to move along,With the rest of life and the rest of us.

Reengagements 2006-7

As you see above, we stay involved inwriting, speaking, research and working withcolleagues including past and currentstudents. Our national and internationaltravelcontinues in spite of a bit more difficultygetting through airports for Ken. Yettawarned her remaining doctoral students tofinisih by May 2008. She is at the Universitya few days a week for them, to supervise theeye movement lab and work on a grant onreading in Asian languages. Ken and Yettahave a series of dissertations by brightstudents from China, Taiwan, Korea andJapan.

In addition to his writing on the reading process, Ken fights NCLB, Reading First,and other educational absurdities. He’s hadsome input through local Congress Reps.

We were honored by our LRC Departmentby a Festschrift to celebrate our retirement.This was a small invited conference with

Alpaca shearing

Chicken Yard

Potato Crop

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scholars outside of Tucson, colleagues andgraduate students presenting papers. Somepresented on closed- cirrcuit TV. An editedvolume will be published..

We’ve had many visits from friends,colleagues and family who come for localevents and the warm weather. We enjoysharing the beautiful Rincon Valleysurrounded by the mountains and flora andfauna of the Sonoran Desert. We welcomeothers- just call ahead to be sure we’ll behome at Academy Village. We’re at:7914 Galileo Lane, Tucson, Arizona 85747 Ygoodman@u.arizona.eduKgoodman@u.arizona.edu520 7456895Emails for our spreading and growing family:

Reuben Goodman and Retzina MeyerReuben_Goodman@yahoo.comEli Bedrosian bedosian6@hotmail.comDebi Goodman and Cheryl Bedrosiandebra.goodman@Hofsta.eduNoah Castro soldesangre@yahoo.comShoshana and Justin Pearsonshosha420@yahoo.comKaren Goodman and Carl Philips(see above)Aaron Goodmancommercial.litigation@gmail.comJoshua GoodmanJ_Goodman85@yahoo.comWendy, Bob, and Rachel Goodmantwinky2@mindspring.com

Some thoughts from Yetta

Teachers, Kids and Schools

Some of the stories we hear from Americanteachers about the impact of testing,narrowing curriculum, and mandates thatrestrict their ability to use their professionalknowledge in their teaching continue to bedisheartening. Yet at the same time we meetteachers and educators and visit schools ,both here and abroad, where kids areengaged in rich curricular experiencesasking their own questions, exploring booksand learning without the limits of one-sizefits all tests and text books.

Our German experience

As we met warm and friendly Germanswherever we went we could see how eventsin our own country could easily lead to theinhumanity and destruction that Germanyinflicted on itself and Europe. We cameaway more committed than ever to support aprocess of peace and social justice withothers at home and around the world. Weneed to work with those who are committtedto caring for each human being in everynation so that they may have a safe learnngand living environment free of hate andtyranny. The alternative can lead too easilyto genocide and the destruction of humanity.

And a Thought from Ken

For a variety of reasons I’ve been personallyactive in opposing the punitive No Child LeftBehind law.and similar legal mandates ineach of the states.

The best reason is that Yetta and I andeverything we have learned about literacyand how it develops are marginalized by themandates of this law.

It establishes what I call the Pedagogy of theAbsurd. NCLB treats science fiction asscience. It has put the astrologers of literacyin charge of literacy’s space program.

This year NCLB finishes a seven yearauthorization. If it’s reauthorized for anotherseven years public education will have beeneffectively destroyed by 2014. If the lawremains as it now is it is no exaggerationthat virtually ever school in America will belabeled as failing.

Now it appears we’re won a major victory.We’ve raised issues about the need tochange or abandon NCLB sufficiently thatwe’ve countered those in the Bushadministration and the neo- conservativeswho wanted to renew NCLB and make iteven harsher. The decision of whether torenew it and in what form will be put off until2008. And that should make it an issue inthe Presidential election.

But to really win we have to convince thepoliticians that parents, teachers andstudents will not tolerate renewing NCLB.I’m now calling for resistence. ThomasJefferson taught us that resistence totyranny is an essential of democracy.Parents must protect their children from theabuses of tests. Teachers must refuse tocarry out the absurd mandates. Andstudents must demand fair and flexiblecurriculum

Travels withKen and YettaGuatemala, Taiwan, Berlin,Istanbul,, Puebla,Budapest

Join us to Celebrate

Did you know that the man you may know asKen,Kenneth, Kenny, Grandpa Kenny, Uncle Kenny, Dr. Goodman or simply, Yetta's Husband,

Will be 80 December 23, 2007

We’re having an Open House at the Goodman Abode 7914 S Galileo Lane, in Academy Village Tucson, Arizona 85747

Beginning at noon until..... Please join us for food, fun, friends, neighbors,, family RSVP to Wendy Goodman by e-mail: twinky2@q,com

or phone 520-326-7049

Please indicate if you will be traveling

from out-of-town. We have a special rate for rooms at

the Radisson Suites on Speedway in Tucson.

Please, no gifts!