| Yes - it's true - many people have learned to | | | | class who struggled enormously. There were no |
| read and write through varied approaches | | | | teaching assistants to give them extra help and |
| including: | | | | there were no 'catch-up' programs of work. We |
| 1) teaching themselves (my oldest daughter falls | | | | all sat at desks according to the class pecking |
| into this category) and; | | | | order resulting from spelling tests, comprehension |
| 2) by mother's knee' (I suppose my daughter did | | | | tests and maths tests. There was no such |
| enjoy some 'mother's knee' experience as well as | | | | concept as worrying about 'self esteem'. |
| 'teach herself' such as hearing stories read aloud | | | | There would have been no suggestion that the |
| to her and sharing simple drawing and writing | | | | teachers were simply not teaching effectively |
| activities!). My next two children, however, did not | | | | enough - after all, some of us were doing very |
| have the same natural capacity to acquire a good | | | | well with those same teachers. The 'fault' would |
| level of reading and spelling knowledge and skills | | | | be laid at the parents' door and the children's own |
| with their varied experiences at home and at | | | | 'inability'. We now know the capacity to 'pick up' |
| school. | | | | reading is not related to intelligence or background. |
| Sadly, despite the fact that I was a trained junior | | | | Many children of well-to-do parents have struggled |
| teacher, I had no idea how to teach reading nor | | | | to learn to read and often, in desperation, the |
| did I realise that these two children were actually | | | | parents may seek explanations such as 'dyslexia' |
| struggling to keep up with the level of text | | | | and turn to tutors for additional help. Not |
| expected for their age. They were able enough | | | | unsurprisingly, English-speaking countries have |
| to understand the text - in fact their levels of | | | | unusually high percentages of 'dyslexia' which |
| comprehension disguised their personal difficulties | | | | miraculously stop at the borders of countries with |
| with the technicalities of reading and spelling. How | | | | easier, more transparent Alphabetic Codes! |
| many other young people to this day reach a | | | | A hotch-potch of reading instruction methods, |
| personal ceiling and cannot keep up with | | | | whilst appearing to serve many pupils well enough, |
| increasingly difficult secondary school and | | | | has not served many other pupils well enough. I |
| university reading material? | | | | would go further than that and suggest that even |
| Many people have learned to read and write at | | | | the many people who have left our schools very |
| school and/or at home through; | | | | literate would have been served much better still |
| 3) a 'mix of methods' consisting of some Alphabet | | | | with a good, systematic and rigorous programme |
| work and simple phonics work, learning to | | | | of synthetic phonics teaching. In any event, we |
| recognise some common whole words by their | | | | have statistics across English-speaking countries |
| global shape, working through 'look-say' reading | | | | indicating high levels of illiteracy and semi-illiteracy |
| scheme books to build up a basic sight vocabulary | | | | to support what I am saying - and we have |
| and by applying a range of reading strategies | | | | knowledge of schools with intakes from poor |
| involving plenty of guessing words through picture | | | | socio-economic circumstances (and/or where |
| cues, first letter triggers and context cues. | | | | English is an additional language) where standards |
| This was certainly my own childhood experience | | | | of literacy are very high showing us that good |
| and I can generally read well and spell well - | | | | evidence-based reading instruction makes a huge |
| although I am lazy when reading challenging words | | | | difference to educational outcome. |
| such as Greek mythological names and new | | | | I'm actually very excited to see just how much |
| technical vocabulary - I 'blurgh' over them silently | | | | we can improve educational standards in our |
| in my head rather than trying to pronounce them | | | | schools with the advent of modern synthetic |
| accurately. How many young people and adults | | | | phonics teaching - and I believe that we have |
| are 'blurgh' readers who skim over a surprising | | | | enormous scope to improve current standards of |
| number of words when they read silently to | | | | literacy - and consequently standards of enjoying |
| themselves? | | | | good literature - with the uptake of major |
| Do teachers in primary and secondary schools | | | | publishers producing systematic synthetic phonics |
| have a true picture of how many of their | | | | programs along with cumulative decodable books |
| students are 'blurgh' readers? To what extent | | | | for beginners (and for older students who have |
| does this skew full comprehension of the | | | | yet to be served well by reading instruction |
| literature? I suggest that there are untold | | | | approaches and others for whom English is an |
| numbers of 'blurgh' readers - many of whom will | | | | additional language). |
| drop out of school or college because they don't | | | | So what next? |
| really cope with advanced reading material. | | | | The key is surely the spread of good knowledge |
| My childhood experience at school served me well | | | | and information about the complexities of our |
| enough even though it did not resemble a modern | | | | English Alphabetic Code and about the three skills |
| synthetic phonics approach - so why do I now so | | | | we need to apply the code (blending, segmenting |
| strongly advocate a detailed synthetic phonics | | | | and handwriting). |
| teaching program? | | | | With the advent of the internet and email |
| My experience of being taught to read and spell, | | | | communication, this basic knowledge can be |
| the experience of my own children and the type | | | | spread rapidly across most of the world |
| of teaching I have witnessed of many, many | | | | wherever there is an interest in teaching reading |
| pupils in our infant, primary and secondary schools | | | | in the English language. Furthermore, with the |
| is simply not good enough, not consistent enough, | | | | advent of the internet, we can soon read up on |
| nor research-based. This is hard to believe in this | | | | the research on reading instruction which supports |
| day and age - and I suspect that at least some | | | | synthetic phonics teaching as being the most |
| readers of this email may by now be jumping up | | | | effective. What is the most noticeable contrast |
| and down with indignation about my comments! I | | | | with 'whole language' and 'mixed methods' teaching |
| remember very clearly that there was a group of | | | | is that no children risk short or long term damage |
| children throughout my schooldays who could all | | | | to their potential literacy when taught by the |
| read and spell pretty similarly to me - but, | | | | synthetic phonics teaching principles. And all this is |
| tragically, there were many other children in the | | | | verifiable at the touch of a button! |