You hit the nail on the head, Myrna. Thank you for sharing your passion and wisdom with us and using your voice to advocate for students. I know this impact reaches far beyond the little lives of our students but rather their lifetime and the generations they will leave behind.
Keep doing what you’re doing, Myrna. Together we will irradicate illiteracy.
Jillian Kaster
Community Manager

Did we evaluate the child to see where the weakness lay? Did we note the strengths and weaknesses in the child’s response to instruction? Is it just time and continued help that the child needs? Or is there a more significant reason for the child’s struggle. Is this child strong in vocabulary? Weak in phonological awareness? Did we evaluate and understand the weakness and needs of the child, and did we provide intervention aimed at strengthening the weak areas while forging ahead in the areas of strength? Or did we present one size fits all?

I have watched smart, bright children struggle with phonics while presenting with strong vocabulary and excellent comprehension. They become quiet and disinterested when asked to read. But, read aloud a book to them and they become animated and ready to share insightful ideas and strong vocabulary, displaying a reflective understanding of text. Many others remain withdrawn while others become “attention seekers and trouble makers”.

These children are smart enough to note something is missing. We need to be more alert to these discrepancies, and look at all areas of reading in evaluating our children. We need to see the child, not just as a reader, but as a thinker. That child who talks a lot in class and is considered a bother, may benefit from us listening to what he/she says, value their input and then wonder how come?

“How come you struggle with reading the simplest words, but you understand and share such insight? Maybe your behavior is not the main impact to your ability to read. Maybe your reading challenges are causing your misbehavior, and you are smart enough to know that you are not getting this phonics/reading thing. So, you deflect”.

So many times, I see students who, when properly evaluated and instructed, change from class clown to reflective, confident thinker, because someone stopped, listened, evaluated and provided appropriate intervention. For some children decoding may still be challenging, but when we assess, evaluate and provide appropriate intervention, children will learn, strive and grow as readers. We owe each child our time to first evaluate his/her strengths and needs and and then offer subsequent support and appropriate intervention. It will make a world of difference in their little lives.