Reading difficulties of older learners

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Debbie_Hepplewhite
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Joined: Sat May 23, 2015 4:42 pm

Reading difficulties of older learners

Post by Debbie_Hepplewhite »

I've already highlighted this blog posting some time ago, but I think this topic of struggling older learners needs raising again and in a fresh thread:

https://ofpossibleworlds.wordpress.com/ ... on-part-2/
Inclusion Confusion – Part 2

OCTOBER 18, 2015 ~ OF POSSIBLE WORLDS

As a teacher of English Language Arts in high school, by the time I meet my students, they’re at the tail-end of their mandatory schooling. I’ve encountered a number of students who are allowed special accommodations in the classroom and for exams due to the fact that they struggle with reading. In the previous post on this topic, I outlined that some of these students are even allowed to have reading comprehension tests read to them, either through a recorded audio version of the exam, or by an educational assistant who reads the exam to the student in person. I very much struggle with the validity of a test that’s meant to measure reading and comprehension that does not require a student to read the test on his own. In my experience, it seems that the incidence of students who are allowed such accommodations has increased, so I investigated whether or not there was a statistical record to support my suspicions. I found that, indeed, the number of students with exceptional needs seems to have increased, at least according to The Blue Ribbon Panel on Inclusive Education in Alberta, published September 2014:
In England, new Prime Minister, Theresa May - and her Secretary of State for Education, Justine Greening - have rekindled the issue of expanding the 'Grammar School' system.

This is hugely contentious as it is a 'selection by ability at primary school age' issue - and most relevant for IFERI in that the need to tackle underachievement (and therefore raising the capacity to succeed academically despite being disadvantaged economically or having more impoverished language from home) arguably starts in the early years and is linked to the nature of the 'reading instruction' in the first place.

In other words, pupils' aspirations (or the aspirations of the parents for their children) can be written off at the primary age range in the Grammar school system as it is divisive and this can be influenced by how the children were taught reading and writing in the first place.

Even though 'systematic synthetic phonics' is now embodied in statute in England, nevertheless, the reality is far from ideal with many phonics detractors in the national domain (who are vociferous in their criticism).

There are also signs of weak phonics provision in England (albeit 'systematic') and there is a continuation of the 'bookband' system whereby children's early reading books that they are expected to read INDEPENDENTLY are not necessarily designed with 'decodable' text which matches the alphabetic code they have been taught to date. The Bookbands catalogue system originates with the Reading Recovery programme and that is based on multi-cueing reading strategies amounting to much guessing of words - setting children off on the wrong trajectory for their future reading profile (reading habits).

This continuation of 'mixed methods' (some phonics with guesswork) goes under a number of names and guises - one of which is 'balanced literacy' which we read about in the blog posting - link above.

This is no small issue - it is a HUGE issue and life chance stuff for so many of our children.

The trouble is, the older the children get, the more their reading profile becomes attributed to the 'within child' difficulties and home-challenges - thus taking the focus far away from the initial teaching of reading methodology.

To make matters worse and further detract from the teaching methods, dyslexia organisations have sprung up in huge numbers everywhere - further attributing weaker standards of reading to the 'within child issues'.

When regions are identifying as much as 25% of children 'with dyslexia' then this really does flag up an issue of reading instruction specifically in English-speaking contexts. This is about the very complex English alphabetic code (the most complex alphabetic code in the world) and how it is taught - or not taught.

Professor Diane McGuinness pointed out that whilst there are children with learning and environmental challenges in all contexts around the world, it is in English-speaking contexts where 'dyslexia' is flagged up in such huge numbers. How can this be? Are we saying children are born with brain-glitches in huge numbers only in the English-speaking countries?

The featured blog is highlighting how weak reading in a technical way ultimately impedes language comprehension - and the gap between learners' knowledge grows ever wider when the technical ability to lift the words off the page is seriously impeded.

We need to address teacher knowledge and understanding - but this is very hard when so many influential people 'just don't get it'.

This tragedy is HUGE and UNNECESSARY.

IFERI cannot emphasise this enough.
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Susan Godsland
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Joined: Sun May 24, 2015 1:32 pm

Re: Reading difficulties of older learners

Post by Susan Godsland »

Sound Reading System author and trainer Fiona Nevola has also written about the contentious subject of introducing new grammar schools -and why she thinks it's a policy resulting from political panic from politicians who don't know what to do about the 'seemingly impossible to narrow' educational achievement gap.
It was a private communication but she's given me permission to share it.
I see the ‘grammar school’ debate as simply political panic. Theresa May has said she will change the status quo for ‘ordinary people’ and she has no real idea how to do it-but recognises that the roots of social problems (umbrella term) are rooted in education. No big deal, its obvious. Gove said he was going to teach every child to read. ( But he didn’t). He knew education was a root cause too. So did Blair: ‘Education education education’...his mantra. Parents know that school has a huge effect on their children. And will do anything to get their child into a ‘good’ school.

What doesn’t the UK have ? Good schools in every district across the map whether in high priced areas or not. In the Primary school, a stones throw from where I live in elite University Oxford, 40% of the kids don’t get level 4. But does the University know what to do about it? No they don’t. Or they would have done it.

Primary education is where the focus should be. Support for children ( and their parents) from birth is where the focus should be.

Above all, Theresa May wants ‘bright’ children from a ‘poor’ or ‘under- privileged’ background to have a chance ( perfectly understandable). She is looking at ‘bright’ children. In the UK today a ‘bright’ child is a child who learns to read early. Various primary heads across the years have explained that to me. As I have taught 100s of bright kids who have not learnt to read early because their heads have been scrambled by teacher methods I know this not to be true We all know this not to be true. But everybody doesn’t know that –and the academics don’t know it and the politicians certainly don’t.

Until the academics wake up and teach young teachers the anatomy of phonic teaching and equip them to go out and tackle the basic building blocks of education-literacy- we will remain in this position. MILLIONS of £s may now be spent introducing ‘Grammar’ schools, creating further (disastrous) chaos within the System: buildings, teachers, students, whole geographical areas of the UK turned educationally upside down. Who gains ? The politicians (an interesting race as they ‘govern’ from a position of almost total ignorance) who for a fleeting moment were in power and who can say ‘We tried’ ‘We did our best’....and plant their blame on the successive ‘governments’ who will go on tampering with the system with miles of sticky tape ( bureaucracy) and Elastoplast ( educational ‘directives’) that simply cause upheaval.....

So on we all go!
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Debbie_Hepplewhite
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Re: Reading difficulties of older learners

Post by Debbie_Hepplewhite »

Thanks, Susan, and to Fiona also for her comments.

IFERI features a letter and a longitudinal study on its blog written by Dr Marlynne Grant to Prime Minister, Theresa May, on tackling inequality.

This is relevant to this topic of the long-term reading profile of our pupils, and features various consequences of initial early years and teaching provision in our schools.

http://www.iferi.org/iferi_forum/viewto ... 1133#p1133
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