In the past, most of the students referred to the Learning Center where I work were boys. It was thought that dyslexia was a disability that mostly boys had. Girls were very good at disguising their reading disability with neat […]
Read MoreDisadvantaged Pupils
Should we label deprived children as less able?
Is it dangerous to assume that a child who has not had parental input is less able? Are we setting low expectations from the very beginning? Quirky Teacher presents some important arguments about making assumptions about pupil ability in Early […]
Read MoreLet’s focus on the disadvantaged
These are the essentials for disadvantaged pupils.
Read MoreIlliteracy at the core of school failure
Here is an analysis from of why schools fail. Illiteracy turns into disruptive behaviour. Then no learning can take place. Thanks Echo Chamber for this post. https://wordpress.com/read/post/feed/11037324/940187922
Read MoreAll children deserve the golden standard
Read this wonderful post by Spelfabet about how we shouldn’t and don’t need to tolerate reading failure in schools. Thanks Spelfabet! Sorry, all kids deserve the gold standard
Read MoreLanguage and literacy policies
For those you who have time over half term I recommend this excellent article by Pamela Snow. It gives one a very good overview about the politicisation of the teaching of literacy in English speaking countries around the world. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/17549507.2015.1112837
Read MoreDo children have a right to learn to read?
Here is another thought provoking post by Spelfabet about children’s right to an education. Is it reasonable to demand they have a right to learn to read at school? Teachers’ feelings are not more important than students’ rights
Read MoreNick Gibb addresses Reading Reform Foundation conference
Congratulations RRF for the fantastic conference which took place at Birckbeck College. Nick Gibb gave the final presentation. Here it is: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/nick-gibb-the-importance-of-phonics
Read MoreE. D. Hirsch – no longer a pariah but defender of poor kids
Read about E.D. Hirsch the thinker behind Common Core in the USA, once considered “Defender of the dead white guys” in the blog ‘Politico’. http://www.politico.com/magazine/politico50/2014/ive-been-a-pariah-for-so-long.html#.VAiqNMsg_IX Thanks to Susan Godsland of www.dyslexics.org.uk for flagging this up.
Read MoreHow to bridge the reading gap? ‘Balanced Learning’ (literacy chaos) or Direct Instruction?
Read here Spelfabet’s common sense approach on how to help struggling readers from indigenous communities in Australia: Literacy policy
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