Topics: Is reading taught? Arts for Academic Achievement. Lynnell Mickelsen's latest SW Journal column.
In a message dated 12/5/2001 9:15:27 PM Central Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > It's probably time we changed the subject line on this thread, since > it's obviously ridiculous. I only left it on this time to point out the > hyperbole of the it's-always-midnight-in-the-schools crowd. > The idea that reading instruction doesn't ordinarily happen in the Minneapolis Public Schools may sound ridiculous. Reading is a fundamental academic skill, a prerequisite for effective participation in classroom activities that fill a large part of a child's day, even in the early elementary grades. However, it is self evident that 'effective' reading instruction doesn't ordinarily happen in the Minneapolis Public Schools because so many students do not learn to read well, and many do not learn to read at all, including students who are continuously enrolled in the Minneapolis Public Schools from Kindergarten to grade 3 and beyond. However, I think it is also fair to say that reading instruction doesn't ordinarily happen in the Minneapolis Public School at all because so many school administrators, parents, and teachers say that effective reading instruction can't be done at school. If it doesn't happen at home, it often doesn't happen at all. The problem with delegating the responsibility for reading instruction to parents is that most parents lack the expertise that may be needed, some don't have the knack for teaching (are too impatient, etc), and many parents have jobs and household tasks to attend to that renders it difficult or impossible to home school their children (a parent who provides primary reading instruction is basically a home schooler, whether their child is enrolled in a school or not). Of course there are exceptions to the rule. Reading instruction is done in some classrooms in the Minneapolis Public School system. I vaguely recall a story in the Star-Tribune about a model teacher in the 2nd or 3rd grade who brought most of her nonreaders up to grade level in reading by teaching phonics. This model teacher reportedly had some training and experience in special education. I'm sure that many other teachers make an effort to provide effective reading instruction in the classroom, but as in many other endeavors, it often takes more than the efforts of an isolated individual to succeed. In my opinion, the 2 biggest obstacles to providing effective reading instruction in the classroom are 1) an incoherent curriculum, specifically the look-say method. In theory, children should learn how to read with little or no instruction in much the same way that children learn how to speak or to sign. One isn't taught how to speak. One simply learns how to speak without instruction through exposure to speech at a certain age. If one does not learn the basics of verbal communication by age 2 or 3, one's ability to learn how to speak at all will be greatly reduced. Whether the look-say / whole language method is a method of reading instruction is debatable. It is predicated upon the idea that learning how to read is usually a matter of being exposed to reading: being read to by one's parents, by reading and rereading picture books, and by "reading" words that a child frequently encounters. Children will acquire and buildup their sight vocabulary, and figure out a lot of the phonetic rules and acquire the ability to sound out words in a more or less automatic fashion, in theory. However, in practice, many kids acquire only a limited sight vocabulary, and rely heavily on their limited sight vocabulary and other contextual cues to guess at the pronounciation and meaning of words that they don't recognize. Kids who develop a high degree of proficiency at sounding out words are able to make a better educated guess at what an unfamiliar word is. To develop fluency at reading, children should be encouraged to guess how to pronounce unfamiliar words, and to guess what an unfamiliar word means. However, it is likely that the guesses of a child who is proficient at sounding out words will be far more accurate than the guesses of a child whose phonics skills are poorly developed or nonexistent. Guess which child is more likely to become a proficient reader by grade 3? 2) Ability-grouping. Many teachers can get around the latest English language curriculum product purchased by the district, but it is far more difficult to get around the district's recommendation that teachers "ability-group." The ability-grouping model goes along with an approach to teaching that is very difficult to modify without active support from the administration, other teachers, and parents. The approach that goes along with the ability-grouping model generally involves an emphasis on teacher-centered learning activities. Instruction for most students is informed less by systematic observations and an individualized assessment / planning process than it is by preconceived notions about what a child can and cannot do. Some ideas about how to change teaching practices were raised in a presentation to the Minneapolis Board of Education at its last public meeting: Arts for Academic Achievement. It should be possible to catch it on cable prior to the next board meeting. I spoke at that board meeting about the Arts for Academic Achievement presentation. It was one of the rare occasions where I had something nice to say about a school program. I also tape recorded most of the radio broadcast of the Arts for Academic Achievement presentation. I hope to eventually compose and send a short e-mail message about it to the list. Regarding Lynnell Mickelsen's latest column in the SW Journal. It is obvious that the target audience consists of parents who, by and large share the prejudices of the author, a parent whose children are thriving in the public schools. The targeted audience is therefore likely to find her comments inoffensive. However, what is published in the SW Journal plays a role in shaping public opinion and the political agenda in Minneapolis. That makes her opinions about school related issues a matter of interest to the entire population of Minneapolis. -Doug Mann, Kingfield Doug Mann for School Board <http://educationright.tripod.com> . _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
