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by Bruce Deitrick Price
Special to VNS
Recently in Virginia Beach, I was talking to a sixth-grade teacher. She estimated that only a third of her students, at most, could read the daily paper. She suggested in so many words that part of the problem is that the school is in a poorer neighborhood. Kids aren't motivated, etc. We hear this explanation a lot, but I tend to think it's disingenuous. A fancy way of saying it's far from the whole truth.
I asked her, "Is the school still using sight-words? Dolch words? High-frequency words?"
Casually she shrugged and said, "Oh yeah," as if this went without saying.
"Well, that's the problem," I said. "Almost nobody can learn to read that way."
It really is an amazing phenomenon. More than 55 years after Rudolf Flesch explained "Why Johnny Can't Read," many public schools go right on making sure that Johnny can't read. Wrong-headed reading instruction is the main problem. And if you want to know the simplest, easiest way to turn the schools around, here it is: make sure children learn how to read by the second grade. That's a very routine result if phonics are emphasized. Conversely, children in the eighth grade won't know how to read if sight-words are emphasized.
If parents want to prevent the worst outcomes, they should start teaching their kids the alphabet and the sounds when the children are still three or four. Early literacy, in every home, that's the answer.
I just finished a sort of manifesto called “A Bill of Rights for Students 2012.” The first and most important right is THE RIGHT TO LEARN TO READ. Nothing is more crucial in the child’s educational life. Nothing is more commonly violated and neglected. There is so much talk in our society about rights and entitlements. Surely there's hardly a more obvious right, when we’re talking about children, than the right to be taught to read.
The other rights deal with what were traditionally considered to be the whole point of going to school: arithmetic, spelling, geography, history, science, etc. All of these things are now neglected. Have you ever watched Jay Leno go Jaywalking? If not, you ought to take a look. You can find many wonderfully scary videos on YouTube showing how ignorant the public has become.
David Morris (davmo), one of Tidewater’s best artists, put a rant on Facebook a few days ago about the clueless college student recently questioned by Jay Leno. As Morris himself put it: "This reaffirms my belief that at least half the population is walking around brain dead. How can these people be this stupid and ignorant???? It's unbelievable!!!!"
Leno first asked about “Boardwalk Empire,” then shifted to questions about Atlantic City. This undergraduate--he looked about 22--believed it was an island. It sank into the sea sometime in the 1920s. Well, where did this island used to be? The guy thought it was in the Pacific Ocean. Sorry to be cynical. But it seems to me that this level of ignorance cannot be casually achieved, and the schools have to work at eliminating the last bit of content.
Aren’t you tired of your public schools being so mediocre? It doesn’t appear that the business community, the military, or the mainstream media will provide leadership. Everyone should do what they can to take back the schools.
Here's another bit of the story. A few days ago I heard about a man who was moving his family out of Williamsburg because the schools there are so bad. He had heard they were good in Virginia Beach. I've been told that many are. I've also been told there are still some schools that never got the news about why Johnny can't read.
( "A Bill of Rights for Students 2012" can be found here: www.improve-education.org/id90.html If you need analysis of the dubious methods used in public schools, call me at Word-Wise Education at 757-455-5020.) You can also contact Bruce through his email at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
and the following websites:
- Improve-Education.org
- Lit4u.com
- ArtNorfolk.com
- Ieducate.info
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