Higher grades, lower scores

[Maratom]

Plain and simple: our children can’t read.

sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/04/EDGC7N6OSM1.DTL

 

[puzzleannie]

I would say at least half, maybe more of HS students in our CCD classes read at an elementary level or lower. When they pick up a book to read, for many of them it looks like the first time they have every seen a textbook. Their handwriting is abominable, and most write in some kind of printed script of their own devising, very few write in cursive, which is unreadable if they do. They cannot write a simple declarative sentence and have a limited vocabulary. Only 10% have Spanish as their first language, so I don’t think that is a factor. It is impossible to teach using a textbook as the primary resource since so many simply cannot read and comprehend a HS level, or good Jr Hi, book. The catechist must use the book as a guide and find other ways to teach. When I do home visits I see books, magazines and newspapers in very few homes, but I never fail to see one or more TVs, computers and video games, so poverty is not the reason, either.

 

[jc-servant]

It is sad, but not surprising to me. I see fewer and fewer parents who read to their children and get the kids interested in books before school. If they are rushing to take this one to soccer and that one to cheerleading, then when would the family have time to sit down and share a book? Even when they are “together” many families are all plugged into separate electronic devices. At our family reunions it takes an effort to engage the younger kids in board/card games or other group activities.

I think parents are not modeling reading for their children as much anymore. Papers have lost many readers in recent years. I had the example of a mother, aunt and grandmother who were all avid readers even before I learned. There is a photo of me at age 2 copying my grandmother by holding up the funny paper in front of myself with my feet propped up while she sat the same way in a larger lawn chair with the rest of the newspaper. My mother taught me to read using phonics before age 3, so I’ve been an avid reader for most of my life. It has always boosted my productivity in other courses to have those solid reading skills.

I’m really afraid of what will happen to this generation and our pool of skilled labor if we don’t fix the problem.

 

[catsrus]

originally posted by puzzleannie
When I do home visits I see books, magazines and newspapers in very few homes, but I never fail to see one or more TVs, computers and video games

And there is the answer!
Those of us who did not have tvs as a child, read early, were read to and played board games in the evenings. We were also doing what are now college classes in the 10th grade.

Now, kids are parked in front of a tv from the time they can sit up. Given tvs in their bedrooms along with cable. Have computers in their bedrooms, looking at heaven knows what! They use handheld video games everywhere and have them hooked to their bedroom tvs. They have DVD players in the car so no one has to communicate any more.

Parents expect little to nothing in academics and teachers can’t do much of anything about it if the parents refuse to cooperate. The only kids that get a decent education are the kids who want one and have involved parents supporting them and the schools.

 

[JimG]

Perhaps the rise and fall of general literacy is measured from the invention of the printing press to the invention of the TV. It was a good run while it lasted.

 

[Meggie]

I wouldn’t discount the internet so fast. Although there are many young people who use slang, there are many more, thousands…maybe even millions, who participate in message boards and blogs, and therefore have learned the skill of reading and articulating.

The TV, however, does nothing.

 

[JimG]

I wouldn’t discount the internet so fast. Although there are many young people who use slang, there are many more, thousands…maybe even millions, who participate in message boards and blogs, and therefore have learned the skill of reading and articulating.

The TV, however, does nothing.

The internet is great and quite useful. I wonder though, whether it cultivates the sort of concentrated attention and thought that is required to read a good novel, a detailed philosophical argument, or the great works of western literature.

It can be useful for research, but some students appear to think that internet research is the only way to obtain information. That can only result in a decline in the quality of real research.

 

[m134e5]

I wouldn’t discount the internet so fast. Although there are many young people who use slang, there are many more, thousands…maybe even millions, who participate in message boards and blogs, and therefore have learned the skill of reading and articulating.

The TV, however, does nothing.

With the internet, we are getting a generation with awful spelling, grammar, and punctuation skills. Most of the blogs that are typed well usually list a bunch of books that the author likes too.

 

[m134e5]

1.) Parents are too busy with everything else under the sun to read to their kids when they are young- or to take notice when they are trying to learn things, and to help teach them.

2.) Since the 1960’s, there have been so many new fads in Education that by the time people figure out what’s going on, they are starting something new.

3,) Teachers aren’t requiring kids to write anymore. Writing and reading go hand in hand. Kids generally don’t have to write book reports anymore (I didn’t have to write very many of them, and I’m not sure my younger brothers ever had to). I don’t think kids everywhere have to write essays anymore (like a weekend assignment to write about a president or something). Most standardized tests don’t have writing portions. The state of Missouri started including writing portions on their tests about 10 years ago, and I’m sure other states are doing the same thing. Things are improving in that regard, but things have a long way to go.

4.) Kids are no longer required to memorize math tables. It is a lot easier to learn Algebra when the math tables are memorized.

5.) Teachers- especially in the upper grades- don’t accept late work, and still pass students if they have a high enough percentage. I think teachers should require that all work be turned in to pass (they don’t necessarily need to give credit for late work- just require that it be turned in, and the teacher should grade it).

6.) Everyone- including those with learning disabilities, and those in special education- should master the same material. They should have the same requirements for graduation. If they cannot master the material, they should not get a diploma. It’s ok if it takes a little longer to finish, or the student has to do summer school a few times.

7.) People have forgotten the value of reading a good book. So many good books are made into movies nowadays, most just wait for the movie to come out- or they watch the movie and then read the book. That is one reason I like the Harry Potter books- they got a good portion of my generation to read. Many people today read more from a computer screen than they do from a book.

8.) Some people are way too obsessed with computer games and video games. That’s all they can relate to. That’s all they want to relate to. I worked the closing shift in a college computer lab (it ended at 2:00 a.m.). There was always someone in there who was finishing a paper they had put off until the last minute, but most of the people in there when I closed the lab were just up playing online games at 2am on a school night. For many, video games are an escape from reality, and school is part of that reality for a lot of people.

9.) People work too much, at too early of an age. When I was in high school, I had friends who worked from 5:00 to 11:00 at night most nights of the week. They got up at 5:00 in the morning to do whatever homework they had.

10.) Teachers need to give more essay tests. I believe the most accurate way to see how well a student knows the material is to require the students to give a bunch of facts that they have learned, to analyze those facts, and to present a reasonable conclusion.

 

[jc-servant]

6.) Everyone- including those with learning disabilities, and those in special education- should master the same material. They should have the same requirements for graduation. If they cannot master the material, they should not get a diploma. It’s ok if it takes a little longer to finish, or the student has to do summer school a few times.

I think that you are being a bit harsh here. Not everyone is capable of mastering the same material even with extra time. This would be the reason for special education, tutoring and separating students by ability, would it not? Not everyone who goes through regular high school and has special education gets the actual “diploma.” Some people are given a certificate of completion and are allowed to participate in graduation. I don’t believe the general public would be told the difference just to ensure that no one mistakenly thought that a certain handicapped person had “graduated.”

I have a cousin who is learning disabled due to a problem in utero. She does not seem mentally challenged unless someone has more than a minimal conversation with her because she has her driver’s license, stays employed and can travel alone by doing some advanced planning. She walked the stage and got a “diploma” in her hand from her high school, but she actually earned the completion certificate. She was educated to her capacity for as long as the system would allow, but she was never going to be able to complete the same material as someone with an average IQ. If you asked her she would say that she “graduated” from high school. She also has the ring. However, in reality she did not get a “high school diploma.”

 

[Pug]

So, is the general low quality of the books currently being published a response to this, or part of the cause?

 

[st_lucy]

My mother taught me to read using phonics before age 3, so I’ve been an avid reader for most of my life. It has always boosted my productivity in other courses to have those solid reading skills.

When my daughter was in first grade and was doing very poorly on here spelling tests, I went to her teacher and asked her how can I help her with her spelling. She told me that I shouldn’t worry because she will eventually will learn to memorize the words (sight words is what she called them). And that there was no way of teaching her how to read such words. I stopped to think, my older sister who is a teacher now and as far back as I can remember was always a teacher, taught us how to read with phonics and I never remember her saying that.

I soon pulled my daughter out of school and started home schooling her. I had to re-teach her with phonics, she is an excellent reader, (she can honestly read about five books in a week) but she has the hardest time spelling. She has improved so much but I think we missed those crucial learning years.

My kindergartner has never went to traditional school and is an excellent speller, but a reluctant reader. But at least he is learning that there is not an easy way out.

 

[ribozyme]

I wouldn’t discount the internet so fast. Although there are many young people who use slang, there are many more, thousands…maybe even millions, who participate in message boards and blogs, and therefore have learned the skill of reading and articulating.

The TV, however, does nothing.

No, I wouldn’t insult television or the blogosphere…

At least I learned from watching television that you cannot spell “obsequious” without “IOU” or the meaning of the word “perspicacity”.

Also, PZ Myers’ blog should be read by everyone!!