Rather cryptic title isn't it? Let me explain. One of my students (formerly referred to as the little hockey player) did a reading test for me yesterday and his skill level has risen from grade one to grade three. This was accomplished in 21 hours. Hence the title of this post. When he started working with me he was only able to decode words at a grade one level. You can imagine how he felt about himself at that point. But yesterday, after succeeding far beyond his goal, he sailed out of here on cloud 9. He couldn't wait to tell his mom and show her his certificate of achievement and his prize. What he doesn't know is I feel ten times better than he does about his accomplishment. I know that now that he has been able to reach this one goal, he's going to reach higher and higher knowing that he can do anything he puts his mind and effort to.
I think that's all that I want to say on this post. I just wanted to celebrate this wonderful success with all of you.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
"Frank" "Phonics" and FSAs
I was watching a great old musical about Annie Oakley last night. (Yes, I know most of you don't have the faintest clue who she was, but bear with me) In the movie Annie doesn't know how to read and is being taught by her younger brother. When she comes to a word she doesn't know her brother tells her to "sound it out". She pronounces "Fuh er a n kuh and then says, with frustration, "I did what you said and I still don't know what it says." This is a perfect example of one of the problems with "Phonics" ( I told you I would get around to "Phonics".) "Phonics" proponents believe that each letter has its own sound. In reality there are quite a few consonants that have no sound at all. They are nothing but mouth movement combined with air. Let's take a really simple word, like cat, for our demonstration. A "c" is nothing but air so if I were teaching how to "sound out" cat with "Phonics" I would instruct the student to say "cuh" then "a" and then the "t" would be sounded out as "tuh". Now there are some students who could say "cuh" a "tuh" over and over and their brains would never translate it into the word cat. Remember this has nothing to do with intelligence, it is , however, about perception. The space in time created by the false vowel sounds makes it difficult for the brain to perceive a real word.
One of the other problems with "Phonics" is when sounding out a multi-syllabic word it takes so long by the time you get to the end you forgot what you said at the beginning. "Suh tuh er u cuh tuh er a uhl" so do you know what the word is? I was just about to tell you what it is, but I think I'll wait until the end of this post. Now admittedly some of you will be able to decode it, but at least 30% of the population won't. For that 30% "Phonics" is a nightmare that does not make any sense.
The worst thing about "Phonics" is it gave us "Whole Language". If "Phonics" had worked for every student the academic geniuses would not have had to look for another way to teach reading. So for that reason alone "Phonics" is responsible for a myriad of crimes against struggling readers.
So you're probably asking yourself by now; she doesn't like W.L and she doesn't like Phonics (From now on I'll just use the letter P) so what does she like? That's a fair question, but before I answer I have some more information for you. The debate between W.L and P is really a debate about a right-brain approach to reading versus a left-brain approach to reading. To explain further W.L is a global, spatial right-brain reading method and P is a logical linear left-brain reading method. What is really needed for successful reading for everyone is a whole-brain reading methodology. That's what I like and that's what I teach.
I'll tell you more about that in a later blog. Right now I want to get to the third part of my title; FSAs. It is that time of year again when the teachers start complaining about the Fundamental Skills Assessments for the grade 4s and 7s. These tests are designed to assess the ability of students in those grades to read, comprehend and do math. Teachers say they are unfair and are not a true example of what the kids can achieve. They also say that the results of these tests should not be used by the "Fraser Institute" to grade schools.
No bloody wonder they're not a true assessment! When I looked at the reading test one of "my kids" had completed I was shocked at his work and I told him I knew he could do better. He informed me that he knew that, but his teacher had told the students that they really didn't need to do their best on the test because it did not count toward their report card. Have you any idea how angry I was at that moment?! The one thing I strive to drive into "my kids" heads is YOU ALWAYS DO THE BEST YOU CAN DO! Now some teacher is telling them it's okay to be mediocre because it's not important. Please explain to me why teachers complain about these tests and then tell the students they don't have to try. Is that logical?!
Why is it so bad for a child's knowledge to be tested? Why is it so heinous to assess whether a teacher is doing his/her job? Please please explain this to me. Real life is full of tests every day. What other employer is not allowed to assess the work of their employee? Believe me the parents of "my kids" expect me to assess their progress constantly,and there had better be an improvement or I lose a student. Those parents are not going to pay me to teach their kids to read if their child is not improving and why should they. Successful teaching is all about results. It has to be. I love these kids and their success is the most important thing in the world to me.
So the title of this post is Frank Phonics and FSAs and I think I've said what I wanted to say, although you have to know by now that I have more to say on these subjects. So I'll say good night for now. Please keep reading and as usual I would love to see some comments. Oh and by the way, for those of you who couldn't decode the word, it's structural. (Now do you see why I dislike "Phonics almost as much as I hate Whole Language?)
One of the other problems with "Phonics" is when sounding out a multi-syllabic word it takes so long by the time you get to the end you forgot what you said at the beginning. "Suh tuh er u cuh tuh er a uhl" so do you know what the word is? I was just about to tell you what it is, but I think I'll wait until the end of this post. Now admittedly some of you will be able to decode it, but at least 30% of the population won't. For that 30% "Phonics" is a nightmare that does not make any sense.
The worst thing about "Phonics" is it gave us "Whole Language". If "Phonics" had worked for every student the academic geniuses would not have had to look for another way to teach reading. So for that reason alone "Phonics" is responsible for a myriad of crimes against struggling readers.
So you're probably asking yourself by now; she doesn't like W.L and she doesn't like Phonics (From now on I'll just use the letter P) so what does she like? That's a fair question, but before I answer I have some more information for you. The debate between W.L and P is really a debate about a right-brain approach to reading versus a left-brain approach to reading. To explain further W.L is a global, spatial right-brain reading method and P is a logical linear left-brain reading method. What is really needed for successful reading for everyone is a whole-brain reading methodology. That's what I like and that's what I teach.
I'll tell you more about that in a later blog. Right now I want to get to the third part of my title; FSAs. It is that time of year again when the teachers start complaining about the Fundamental Skills Assessments for the grade 4s and 7s. These tests are designed to assess the ability of students in those grades to read, comprehend and do math. Teachers say they are unfair and are not a true example of what the kids can achieve. They also say that the results of these tests should not be used by the "Fraser Institute" to grade schools.
No bloody wonder they're not a true assessment! When I looked at the reading test one of "my kids" had completed I was shocked at his work and I told him I knew he could do better. He informed me that he knew that, but his teacher had told the students that they really didn't need to do their best on the test because it did not count toward their report card. Have you any idea how angry I was at that moment?! The one thing I strive to drive into "my kids" heads is YOU ALWAYS DO THE BEST YOU CAN DO! Now some teacher is telling them it's okay to be mediocre because it's not important. Please explain to me why teachers complain about these tests and then tell the students they don't have to try. Is that logical?!
Why is it so bad for a child's knowledge to be tested? Why is it so heinous to assess whether a teacher is doing his/her job? Please please explain this to me. Real life is full of tests every day. What other employer is not allowed to assess the work of their employee? Believe me the parents of "my kids" expect me to assess their progress constantly,and there had better be an improvement or I lose a student. Those parents are not going to pay me to teach their kids to read if their child is not improving and why should they. Successful teaching is all about results. It has to be. I love these kids and their success is the most important thing in the world to me.
So the title of this post is Frank Phonics and FSAs and I think I've said what I wanted to say, although you have to know by now that I have more to say on these subjects. So I'll say good night for now. Please keep reading and as usual I would love to see some comments. Oh and by the way, for those of you who couldn't decode the word, it's structural. (Now do you see why I dislike "Phonics almost as much as I hate Whole Language?)
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