Posted on 12/27/2022 8:28:25 AM PST by JSM_Liberty
For much of his life, Roderick, a high school junior, did not enjoy reading...But recently, he said, he has made strides, in part because of an unusual and sweeping high school literacy curriculum in Memphis... The program focuses on expanding vocabulary and giving teenagers reading strategies - such as decoding words - that build upon fundamentals taught in elementary school. The curriculum is embedded not just in English, but also in math, science and social studies... The program in Memphis is an extension of a growing national movement to change the way younger children are taught to read, based on what has become known as “the science of reading.” And it is a sign of how sharply the pendulum has swung in the decades-long, contentious debate over reading instruction, moving away from a flexible “balanced literacy” approach that has put less emphasis on sounding out words, and toward more explicit, systematic teaching of phonics. Brain science has shown that reading is not automatic, and longstanding research supports the need for sequenced sound-it-out instruction, along with books that build vocabulary and knowledge. Since 2021, Tennessee and more than a dozen other states have passed laws or policies reshaping reading instruction... But reform has largely centered on the early years, kindergarten through third grade, and millions of students have already progressed beyond those grades without getting the full support that they needed... At the start of each academic class at Oakhaven, students spend 15 minutes or so learning vocabulary and pulling the words apart. In biology, for example, students wrote down the definition of “prophase” (the first stage of cell division) and identified the prefix (“pro” means forward) before diving into the material... The district recently received the state’s highest rating for academic growth for the first time in seven years...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
No Times.
Is New York Times your favorite newspaper?
Well, clearly whatever they did between the country’s founding and the 1970s didn’t work.
It is my dog’s favorite newspaper...............
Couldn’t find another source with that story.
You mean another article claiming kindergartners take biology?
My first son was a spontaneous reader. When he was still in diapers he could read any word he had heard before. Even my college textbooks. But if you tried to get him to read a word he hadn’t heard before and he wouldn’t even try.
He was also verbally gifted. He started speaking late, but when he began speaking it was like an adult. Crowds would gather around him in stores, just to hear him talk.
Whatever it is (fill in the blank), the end result will be increased demands for $$$ for public schools and teachers unions.
Ya know, in the name of racial equity and investing in America.
The story doesn’t claim that kindergartners take biology.
We have it on good authority that the teaching methods used in certain education institutions controlled by Federal Gov’t agencies deliberately exclude (or try to exclude) phonics-based reading instruction.
According to “my people” the scientific evidence on reading shows students learn better and faster with phonics. And, of course, this better learning has cumulative benefits that grow over time and manifest in ALL subject areas. But the powers-that-be just haven’t cared enough to FOLLOW THE SCIENCE!
Apparently, the evidence is strong enough and has been available long enough, that most graduate and doctoral students that have completed advanced education degrees over the last 15 to 20 years have become aware of the science.
Ahhh, but inertia and lethargy (and possibly, other ill intentions) seem to be responsible for continuing with a non-phonics curriculum.
Yes it is a story.
“… reform has largely centered on the early years, kindergarten through third grade, and millions of students have already progressed beyond those grades without getting the full support that they needed... At the start of each academic class at Oakhaven, students spend 15 minutes or so learning vocabulary and pulling the words apart. In biology, for example, students wrote down the definition of “prophase””
Now, why would a civilized government want to make people illiterate or less capable?
Literacy makes minds open and growth oriented.
/rhetorical
Different sentences. The biology reference is to Oakhaven which is a high school.
So you edited it deceptively. Or poorly.
Even in my edited version it was clearly different sentences. But the 300 word limit does limit how much can go in the excerpt. But the title and overall content show that they article was about how phonics are being used in a high school.
Phonics decoding works. Helps kids understand reading. Taught 4 readers how to read with phonics. Best program? Abeka k 1 and 2
I teach struggling readers in high school. I use megawords and if they are really bad at decoding, I start with “on track reading.” It’s really difficult to catch up, and most never really do.
“It’s really difficult to catch up, and most never really do.”
That is the real problem.
Phonics can’t help if you don’t understand the word that you just successfully pronounced.
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