[jimpick]

We pulled our son out of public school just because of this. He was a year behind grade level and we worked with him 3 hours every night to get him up to par. This did not work so we started home schooling him. With in about 6 months of teaching him phonics he was almost a year ahead of grade level.

He was falling behind because public school failed. It was not his fault. It was not us the parents fault. It was the schools fault. And for this failure of theirs they take over 75% of my property taxes.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE CRAP!!!!!!

[Roses0508]

Kudos to you. My daughter called me at the end of my grandson’s kindergarten year to tell me they were flunking him because he was behind in reading and couldn’t make it up. I picked him up as soon as school was out and spent the some part of every day teaching him phonics. I quickly learned that he loved math, and was soaking up the reading like a sponge. His father had the top TCAP score in the country the year he decided to go to medical school, I knew this kid couldn’t be dumb. Late summer I had him evaluated by a child psychiatrist. The outcome, grandson is of superior intelligence and was reading on grade level 1-1/2. He went to school with us for the first semester - earned high marks, always at the top of the testing. Second semester he was in a Montessori school and was put in the advanced reading and math classes. At the end of first grade he tested on the fourth grade level in reading. Make him repeat kindergarten indeed.

I endorse your last sentence 100%!!!!

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

There are plenty of people who do not want to hear that.

When the kids fail in school it is the kid's fault, the parent's fault, society's fault but not the school's fault and never ever the teacher's fault.

Kids can't read because the parents can't read.

But that is nothing new. It used to be that most students were first time readers and they learned to read.

It is because their home language isn't English.

Once again, nothing new. It used to be many students did not speak English in the home and they learned to read.

It is because their parents don't see the value of education.

Still nothing new. It used to be the parents of many students resented the time that their kids spend at school when they could be helping out at home and yet the kids learned to read.

There is nothing new with the students, there is a lot new with the teachers and the schools.

So why can't kids learn to read? Hmmmm I guess it is a mystery.

[dynachrome]

“teaching him phonics”

It works, that’s why alinsky-ites hate it.