{"id":456637,"date":"2022-06-02T02:10:45","date_gmt":"2022-06-01T23:10:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/expert-idiocy-on-teaching-kids-to-read-is-beyond-comprehension\/"},"modified":"2022-06-02T02:10:45","modified_gmt":"2022-06-01T23:10:45","slug":"expert-idiocy-on-teaching-kids-to-read-is-beyond-comprehension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/expert-idiocy-on-teaching-kids-to-read-is-beyond-comprehension\/","title":{"rendered":"#&#8217;Expert&#8217; idiocy on teaching kids to read is beyond comprehension"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3be4ea47679\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3be4ea47679\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/expert-idiocy-on-teaching-kids-to-read-is-beyond-comprehension\/#%E2%80%9C%E2%80%98Expert_idiocy_on_teaching_kids_to_read_is_beyond_comprehension%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;&#8216;Expert&#8217; idiocy on teaching kids to read is beyond comprehension&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9C%E2%80%98Expert_idiocy_on_teaching_kids_to_read_is_beyond_comprehension%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;&#8216;Expert&#8217; idiocy on teaching kids to read is beyond comprehension&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Every teacher of struggling readers has experienced the moment when a student says, \u201cI read it, but I didn\u2019t get it.\u201d It can be a bewildering experience. <em>Why<\/em> don\u2019t they get it?<\/p>\n<p>For several decades, elementary schools in New York City and across the country have turned to Columbia University education professor and acclaimed reading guru Lucy Calkins to answer that question. But in recent years, her influential and best-selling \u201cUnits of Study\u201d curriculum has faced an intense barrage of criticism from experts who complain its \u201cbalanced literacy\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roach is ineffective and gives short shrift to phonics \u2014 teaching children to look at pictures and guess words, for example, instead of sounding them out.<\/p>\n<p>Schools Chancellor David Banks has announced plans to move literacy instruction in New York City away from Calkins\u2019 curriculum in favor of approaches based on the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a> of reading,\u201d including phonics. Perhaps as a result, Calkins now appears to have conceded the argument, promising in a lengthy New York Times article to include \u201cdaily structured phonics lessons\u201d in her program. That\u2019s welcome <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>, but it\u2019s not enough.<\/p>\n<p>The South Bronx elementary school where I taught 5th grade for several years was a proponent of Calkins\u2019 approach. We adopted her teaching methods and employed her literacy coaches for years, to very little effect. Her greatest sin against literacy comes <em>after<\/em> kids learn to \u201cdecode\u201d the written word, whether or not they are taught with phonics, which is just the starting line for reading.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/Reading.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Co-teachers at Yung Wing School P.S. 124 Marisa Wiezel (who is related to the photographer) and Caitlin Kenny give a lesson to their masked students in their classroom on September 27, 2021 in New York City.\" class=\"wp-image-22498146\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/Reading.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/Reading.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/Reading.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Children\u2019s reading levels have sharply declined in New York City following school lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Michael Loccisano\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Calkins\u2019 literacy philosophy is aimed at children developing a \u201clifelong love of reading\u201d and discovering the intoxicating power of their own voices as writers. This mostly entails kids reading books they chose themselves and writing about their own experiences and interests. That may sound engaging and fun for kids (and it often is), but it can be fatal to sophisticated adult literacy, particularly for disadvantaged children.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s why: Reading feels like riding a bike to good readers. Once you learn how to pedal and balance, you can ride nearly any bike. Reading may feel the same way; reading <em>comprehension<\/em>, however, is far more complicated. It depends on the reader and writer having in common a lot of background knowledge, vocabulary and context. Consider the common word \u201cshot.\u201d Phonics instruction can ensure children can read the word, but it means different things on a basketball court, in a doctor\u2019s office and when the repairman uses it to describe your dishwasher.<\/p>\n<p>Words and the ability to \u201cdecode\u201d them are just the tip of the iceberg; comprehension lies beneath. The critical role of shared knowledge to language proficiency is the basic insight of another, less-heralded professor, the University of Virginia\u2019s E.D. Hirsch Jr. Hirsch is something of the anti-Calkins and preaches a very different message: For education to work as an engine of equity and upward mobility, schools must do all in their power to expand children\u2019s horizons, ensuring they get a well-rounded education in science, history, literature and the arts \u2014 access to the rich knowledge and vocabulary that undergird literacy.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/DavidBanks.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Schools Chancellor David Bank\" class=\"wp-image-22498398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/DavidBanks.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/DavidBanks.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/DavidBanks.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Schools Chancellor David Bank plans on moving away from Lucy Calkins\u2019 approach to a more sensible phonics reading instruction.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Matthew McDermott<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Calkins\u2019 work mostly disregards this fundamental insight, focusing students\u2019 attention in the mirror instead of out the window. For low-income kids who are less likely to grow up in language-rich homes and don\u2019t have the same opportunities for enrichment as affluent kids, the opportunity costs of Calkins\u2019 \u201cphilosophy\u201d are incalculable. Endless hours of class time that could be building knowledge and vocabulary are squandered.<\/p>\n<p>I witnessed this daily in my South Bronx elementary school, where fewer than 20% of students passed state reading tests. I never had a single student unable to read words printed on a page. When they were reading and writing about topics they knew \u2014 the Calkins method \u2014 students did well. But when asked to read about unfamiliar topics on state tests, they often struggled. They read it, but they didn\u2019t get. One principal I worked under attributed our low scores to \u201ctest anxiety,\u201d but that wasn\u2019t the problem. Their education was all mirrors and no windows.<\/p>\n<p>It is well that Calkins has finally seen the light on phonics, however begrudgingly. But her approach commits even greater sins, particularly against low-income children, that phonics alone can\u2019t fix.<\/p>\n<p><em>Robert Pondiscio is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.<\/em>\n                        <\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/06\/01\/expert-idiocy-on-teaching-kids-to-read-is-beyond-comprehension\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;&#8216;Expert&#8217; idiocy on teaching kids to read is beyond comprehension&#8221; Every teacher of struggling readers has experienced the moment when a student says, \u201cI read it, but I didn\u2019t get it.\u201d It can be a bewildering experience. Why don\u2019t they get it? For several decades, elementary schools in New York City and across the country&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":456638,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/newspress-collage-22496026-1654123762211.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1654109489&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[129804,70643,10574,97266,74212,70806],"class_list":["post-456637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-6-1-22","tag-department-of-education","tag-education","tag-literacy","tag-public-schools","tag-the-bronx"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456637\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}