Okay then…having put three kids through the educational mincer over the last 20 years, I regret to inform you…I am unhappy with the system.
No! Don’t try to persuade me otherwise! I’ve made my mind up and I’m thoroughly disappointed with the whole education system, from beginning to end.
For starters…the fact Michael Gove’s never actually been a teacher and was bunged into his position by a prime minister, who himself is of huge embarrassment to the UK, means nobody will ever give a shit about anything he says…even if it’s good shit!
But…forget old lady lips for a few minutes. Let’s talk about what’s been going on over the last few days, because, all of a sudden, after…oh I dunno…about 20 odd years, we’re experiencing an incredible revelation about British education being in crisis! Who knew!
Yes…literacy and numeracy skills of 16-24 year olds in the UK are among the lowest in the developed world. I really hadn’t noticed! <rolls eyes>
Now then…where does reading and writing start? Have a fleeting guess. Go on. I mean…when did you learn to read? Secondary school? Middle school? High school? Anyone learn to read and write in college or university? Nope, didn’t think so. Unless you were denied a formal education for some reason when young, likelihood is you learned at primary school.
Which begs the question…why is Michael Gove trying so hard to reshape exam structures to help kids learn more efficiently when the root of the problem is so very simple to locate? Sorry, Michael, you’re about 20 years too late.
Because those first few primary school years are being sadly wasted. A child’s eagerness to drink in as much information as possible at that crucial time when they’re most receptive is being WASTED!
You see…I learned using sight words. Peter and Jane, Kathy and Mark, Janet and John. Anyone else remember them? I hardly knew my alphabet before I was understanding shapes of words and reading aloud to the class and actually understanding what I was reading.
And don’t tell me it’s a crappy old-fashioned way to learn because my home-schooled daughter has just turned 4 and can already easily read and understand the first set of Peter and Jane books. She also tries to help me read her bedtime stories and can do basic sums on her fingers.
What magic be this? I hear you ask.
Well, she’s never been near a teacher or a phonics lesson in her life and won’t be going near any school until she can read, write and knows her times tables.
That’s right…forget Michael Gove and his ‘shut the stable door’ policies for secondary schools. Take a look at Sir Jim Rose’s anger at accomplished children’s authors who are trying to encourage children to share stories instead of being forced to take part in phonics reading tests that require 6 year olds to read words that bear no fucking resemblance to any word in the English language. They’re actually marked down if they try to decipher any of this nonsense into something they know to be a real word!
Please…read this article about Sir Jim Rose. I’m STILL fuming since it was published a year ago.
The Queen gave this guy a knighthood for his great work with phonics. Nice of her, that. I bet she can read and write…and I bet she didn’t learn using phonics either. I wonder what she thinks of these statistics eh? Feeling pretty silly for handing out knighthoods to people before finding out if they’re actually worthy probably.
To balance things out a bit, why not read this page too, explaining why it’s better to use sight words than phonics early on. It all makes perfect sense, but only to me…it seems.
Again, don’t get all up in arms about phonics and why the Biff and Chip books are SO amazing. Even now parents of very young children are moaning to each other about how their little ones can memorize a line of words under each picture, but can’t actually READ them.
What? You mean, after my child has been formally documented as having completed every single level of these magical phonics reading books, they still might not actually be able to read?
Is that what phonics is then? Thank you…you can keep it.
I had one teacher tell me, if I’d taught my 5 year old son to read before he came to school, he’d have done a lot better…because the kids whose parents had already taught them at home were better able to actually READ using the school’s phonics books! OH COME ON!!
However, he was apparently good at biology (at 5 years old) and could analyse a blade of grass. Seriously now…piss off with that shit. He couldn’t even read the word ‘green’ or ‘grass’ yet!
At 6 years old, he still wasn’t responding to the phonics system, so I taught him with Janet and John books and within six months he could read better than most of the kids in his class. Unfortunately, I got told off for teaching him in a way he could understand instead of the way they’d admitted wasn’t working for him. You can’t fucking win, can you?!
Truth is…some kids can learn quite happily using phonics, but a lot can’t…and considering very young children consistently use the ‘see and say’ method to show their understanding of the world around us, why the HELL hasn’t the ‘see and say’ method of reading been maintained throughout the years? It’s actually piss easy to teach sight words to kids. We’ve just been brainwashed to think it’s harder than it looks. Let’s face it…I’m just a thick, gullible parent and even I can do it!
Strangely, this ‘new’ revelation (give me strength) that many kids are leaving school unable to read and write properly refers to their skills being no better than that of their grandparents, aged between 55 and 65. Really? 55-65 year olds can’t read and write very well? I must know all the clever ones then, ‘cos everyone I know within that age range can read and write very well, thanks very much.
You’ll note the statistics do not touch 30-50 year olds. No…and so they bloody well shouldn’t! There’s a clue in there somewhere, Mr Gove. Why don’t you do something useful today and check out what primary school methods for reading were used back then?
Great statistics eh? However, I’m glad to say I’m not in either one. You see, I learned using sight words, as did all my friends. You know…the other people, like me, who can read and write better than a 16-24 year old.
Sorry Jim…but ever since the phonics system you champion so hard came into effect, things have gone downhill. How many more failed kids have to be ground through the mincer before the root of the problem is addressed? There’s a place for phonics in primary education, but an extensive sight vocabulary MUST come first.
…and, no…children’s authors like Michael Rosen and Sally Gardner are NOT interfering with the failing phonics system!
The failing phonics system is interfering with our children’s ability to extend their intellect from an early age and comprehend even the most basic general knowledge.
…and why are numeracy skills also lacking? Well…if you can’t read a maths question, you can’t answer it…let alone have a go at writing it down. Same with any other academic subject. If the basics aren’t there…how can any further education (however expertly taught) be productive?
Is it any wonder teachers and teaching assistants are so pissed off at being wrongfully scrutinized for the lack of basic education our kids are getting? How about the government sets out better and more effective guidelines so teachers can get on and make a real difference to the rest of their pupils’ lives.
Grow a brain and sort it out.
