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Why Johnny STILL Can't Read
New American ^ | 2/11/2011 | Sam Blumenfeld

Posted on 02/13/2011 4:44:10 AM PST by IbJensen

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The public schools have been dumbed-down ever since the federal government got unconstitutionally involved in them. Americans have an inherent distrust of government intrusion in their lives, but we allow it "educate" our children; what a travesty. Not only can Johnny not read, but he cannot analyze, he cannot make change without a computerized cash register to do the math for him, he cannot name two New England states and probably never heard of Nathan Hale.
1 posted on 02/13/2011 4:44:12 AM PST by IbJensen
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To: IbJensen
"-six years ago, in 1955 to be exact"

Apparently he can't do math either...

2 posted on 02/13/2011 4:47:10 AM PST by Mr. K ("Diversity is an obstacle to be overcome, not a goal to be achieved" -Ann Coulter)
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To: IbJensen

Granted you have to have phonics but we need a real alphabet for English; we don’t have one at present. Things like the German joke about English spelling involving the word “photi” which is pronounced “fish” should not be possible. I would say offhand that Russian is about 95% phonetic, German about 99%, and English about 60% at best.


3 posted on 02/13/2011 4:51:09 AM PST by wendy1946
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To: wendy1946

Theirs know way there learning they’re alphabet.


4 posted on 02/13/2011 4:55:34 AM PST by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin! (look it up))
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To: IbJensen

Phonics is a learning tool only, like training wheels. Taking in whole sentences at a glance is the end state of the highly literate. Many people who are ‘eulexic’ skip the phonics part almost entirely, and jump to the end state.

The mistake is the supposition that if some people can do this, everyone can.


5 posted on 02/13/2011 4:56:11 AM PST by proxy_user
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To: IbJensen

Johnny still can’t read and everyone will try another “one-size-fits-all” , liberal approach.

How stupid!

Every human learns differently. We are individuals who come from different backgrounds and different genes.

One program solutions stem from big gov’’t thinking.


6 posted on 02/13/2011 4:56:56 AM PST by Erik Latranyi (Too many conservatives urge retreat when the war of politics doesn't go their way.)
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To: IbJensen
This view of reading implies that there is no single “correct” meaning for a given text, only plausible meanings.

No wonder so many consider our Constitution a "living, beathing document" while foundering in a self-made world of moral relativism.

7 posted on 02/13/2011 4:58:09 AM PST by Fester Chugabrew
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To: IbJensen

Simple solution: cut 100% of Federal funding for “teacher’s colleges”.


8 posted on 02/13/2011 5:01:36 AM PST by montag813 (http://www.facebook.com/StandWithArizona)
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To: proxy_user

I’ve always found it to be interesting that we’re able to recognize misspelled words and read over them as if nothing is wrong.


9 posted on 02/13/2011 5:03:36 AM PST by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin! (look it up))
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To: IbJensen

“...cannot make change without a computerized cash register to do the math for him...”

A couple years ago I bought lunch at a fast food place. The power went out when it was my turn to pay. The very young boy behind the register didn’t skip a beat and counted out perfect change — something I hadn’t seen done in decades, even by adults. I praised him and asked why he was so good at it and he said that was part of the arithmetic class at the Christian school he attended in town. The other kids nearby watched like it was a magic trick or something.


10 posted on 02/13/2011 5:04:53 AM PST by MayflowerMadam (Whatever you are filled with will spill out when you're bumped.)
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To: IbJensen

That is the best article I’ve read on Free Republic since I’ve been here. Thanks for posting it.

It’s no joke, either.

When I was in school, in first grade I was placed in the “lowest reader” class. My parents were furious; I learned to read at 3 yrs old, and entered kindergarden at age four. They marched into that school and demanded a comprehensive reading test be administered to me. I was already reading at a 3rd grade level because my parents taught me phonics.

Things haven’t changed much, either. I went through this with my own son.

Same ol’ shit....even though he has mild Tourette’s Syndrome, I taught him to read....early. I got the same crap that my parents did, and I reacted the same way; I demanded a comprehensive test. In sixth grade, my son was reading at a college sophomore level, exactly the same level I read at HIS age.

This “dumbing down” of kids is intentional, as is the trying to convince parents that their kids are dumb, is.

Again, thanks for posting the piece.


11 posted on 02/13/2011 5:10:58 AM PST by Daisyjane69 (Michael Reagan: "Welcome back, Dad, even if you're wearing a dress and bearing children this time)
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To: IbJensen

Johnny can’t read, but Johnny CAN:

1) Discuss his feelings
2) Celebrate diversity
3) Engage in Multiculturalism
4) Accept that Jane has two Moms
5) reproduce like a rabbit
6) Understands that Islam his a peaceful religion
7) Knows that rich white men exploit the American worker.
8) Name every winner of American Idol
9) Exhibit white guilt
10) All the worlds problems are because of America
11) Knows that Sarah Palin can see Russia from her home but could find Alaska on a map
12) GW Bush was a evil man


12 posted on 02/13/2011 5:16:59 AM PST by Le Chien Rouge
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To: IbJensen
I really can't remember how I was taught to read when I was back in grammar school (late 1960s/early 1970s). All I know was that by the time I was in 6th grade, I was able to read books at a college level and was reading novels, encyclopedias and history books just for fun.

The key to learning how to read is to...read. I think the turning point for me was a teacher I had in the 4th grade. Instead of forcing the class to all read the same thing, she let us read anything from the school library or what we brought from home.

Made all the difference. Instead of reading as a chore, as part of school, I found myself reading for fun. Sure, I initially chose to read Hardy Boys novels and MAD magazine, but quickly progressed from there to science fiction, non-fiction and then even literature so when I got into the later grades, I had usually already read what was being assigned to the class.

13 posted on 02/13/2011 5:19:42 AM PST by SamAdams76 (I am 27 days from outliving Vince Foster)
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To: cripplecreek

To your point, at least two of them are too learning their alphabet.


14 posted on 02/13/2011 5:24:54 AM PST by Hardastarboard (Bringing children to America without immigration documents is child abuse. Let's end it.)
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To: IbJensen

I’m a 3rd teacher. Johnny can’t read because there is no cohesive family anymore. There is no one at home who will talk to their children anymore. There are no books in the homes anymore. The vocabulary of the typical student these days is pathetic. We had a little girl in kindergarten the other day who couldn’t tell the teacher what a picture of a tree was. These kids have no life experiences . They have no common sense. They are living in an environment that is full of drugs, sex, poverty, and so on. The government has created an entitlement hell.

A lot of this article is true about phonics, but I never learned phonics until I began to teach. We have tried to fix reading so much that we are screwing it up even more. Any little problem and they try to label it as a deficiency. A majority of the problems could be turned around with a little help from Mom and Dad.


15 posted on 02/13/2011 5:32:37 AM PST by Sallygal
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To: proxy_user
Many people who are ‘eulexic’ skip the phonics part almost entirely, and jump to the end state.

True. Three of my sons have been able to read with great fluency at three years old. One started learning Greek when he was 4. The variations among people are infinite, which is why the factory model of schooling is a failure at producing anything beyond basic functionality (and in this country, a failure at that, too).

16 posted on 02/13/2011 5:34:24 AM PST by Tax-chick (All that, plus a real-meat cheezburger and wine.)
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To: Daisyjane69

Hell, the librarian at my sons elementary school would not let him check out certain books, because she said he could not read. He was in the first grade reading at the fifth grade level. At the first conference, I told the teacher to allow him to check out any book he damn well pleases. The teached said he could not read. I told her he started reading at 3 years old, and was reading me bedtime stories by the time he was 5. She just stated he could not read. He may recognize some words, but he could not read. I called my son in from the hallway. I then went to the teachers desk, grabbed the daily teachers memo, handed it to my son, and told him to read the second paragraph, out loud. He did, word for word. Then, I asked him to explain what he had just read. He did. I told him good job, and to go back out into the hallway. When I looked at the teacher, she looked me right in the eye and said, “ He cannot read.”.....


17 posted on 02/13/2011 5:34:38 AM PST by joe fonebone (The House has oversight of the Judiciary...why are the rogue judges not being impeached?)
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To: Mr. K
"-six years ago, in 1955 to be exact"

Apparently he can't do math either...

As sometimes happens when doing a copy-and-paste, the first word of the article was cut off. The article starts the sentence like this:

"Fifty-six years ago, in 1955 to be exact..."

18 posted on 02/13/2011 5:35:03 AM PST by Bob
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To: IbJensen
From McGuffey's Eclectic Primer, circa 1881 (copyright by Van Antwerp, Bragg & Company), within the Preface, page iii:

"The plan of the book enables the teacher to pursue the Phonic Method, the Word Method, the Alphabet Method, or any combination of these methods."

Beyond the Primer are six (6) Readers, one of the last offerings in the sixth reader is A Definite Aim in Reading by Noah Porter (1811-1892, from Farmington, CT).

For those interested, the McGuffey Cat - a stuffed toy animal - having a butterfly on its nose was often seen to accompany this set of books.

19 posted on 02/13/2011 5:40:10 AM PST by jamaksin
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To: IbJensen
cause they don't teach Phonics anymore???
20 posted on 02/13/2011 5:41:34 AM PST by Chode (American Hedonist - *DTOM* -ww- NO Pity for the LAZY)
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