Florida business leaders got together for lunch and the mood was somber. They were sad because children in Manatee and Bradenton are not reading well.
And they’re right. In Sarasota, 29 percent of third graders aren’t reading at grade level. In Manatee, it’s 50 percent. Between both counties, 40 percent of third graders are having trouble reading.
They fear not enough children will be able to read for future construction jobs, joining the military, service positions, and many other technical and professional careers.
I spent some time looking at the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-level Reading, highlighted in this report. They do some nice things for children. But they could do a lot better when it comes to reading. And they still lean in favor of reform ploys that don’t work.
If children aren’t reading, perhaps it’s time for a change. Here are my suggestions:
Care wholly about the children.
It still sounds icky when you talk about how a child’s poor reading results will be bad for your business. Education doesn’t seem to be hurting most businesses today. CEOs do well.
It also goes without saying that America needs bright workers. We know the part education plays in this quest. You don’t have to continually remind us.
Don’t encourage schools and libraries to do reading contests.
Instead of being motivating, reading contests with a set goal of how many books to read, may turn slower readers off. Can you imagine struggling to proudly finish reading a book, then hearing your friend brag they’ve already read five books?
Instead of contests, get librarians and teachers talking about books and stories, and showing children books that are out there. Let them explore the library. Bring in children’s book authors.
Give children books that they will own.
And whatever you do, don’t make kids log in the time they spend reading each day. This is unnatural and could turn off even the best readers!
Respect and work closely with teachers.
I’m wondering how many teachers were at the luncheon. Florida has been driving its qualified teachers out of the classroom for years. There’s supposed to be a teacher shortage in Florida. But most business leaders don’t support real teachers.
Money is funneled into entrepreneurial nonprofits and fast-track teacher programs like Teach for America. I noticed the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-level Reading follows TFA on twitter.
If you want children to be good readers, you put well-qualified reading teachers into the classroom. Reading specialists would be helpful too. You support a true teaching profession where teachers go into, and continue to teach, because it is a chosen career.
There are no shortcuts when it comes to teachers if you want children to be good readers.
Quit thinking that the ideas of rich business people are going to fix schools.
Please help your business colleagues recognize that the education policies devised by the likes of Jeb Bush and Bill Gates have been in play for years. They aren’t educators. If children aren’t reading well, maybe it’s time to shift the blame to them.
Stop using “alignment” and “tracking” talk.
You can’t monitor and micromanage everything a child learns. Honestly. It sucks the joy out of life and makes children neurotic. Likewise, no parent likes to hear their child is going to be tracked. That’s just creepy.
There’s also a time and place for assessment, but a little goes a long way, and children don’t need to continually hear about testing. Nor should those words be used over the summer.
Volunteers are helpful, but they’re not teachers.
I like volunteers. With assistance from a teacher, they can work with individual children. But they are not teachers. Would you replace wealthy private school teachers with volunteers?
Stop Supporting Charters and Vouchers.
Where were you when it came to Florida’s HB 7069?
Instead of proclaiming that it is a “moral imperative” to fix education, how about morally doing what’s right for children and their public schools on the policy front?
How are charter students doing with reading? What about private and parochial schools? You don’t know because they don’t tell you.
Work to make a strong public school system that “we the people” own.
Join parents against high-stakes testing.
You must know there’s too much testing in Florida, especially where young children are concerned. This affects reading too.
Please join parents in the fight against high-stakes testing. Teachers need to be able to teach reading, not test nonstop.
Join parents in the fight for recess.
For years, Florida’s children have gone without decent recess breaks. Where has business been on this issue?
Children need breaks throughout the day if you expect them to learn to read. Even pediatricians think so. Please join hands with parents and educators who are sincerely working to make adequate recess a reality.
Do better research.
If business organizations want children reading, it is imperative you do honest research into education issues.
This is obviously not happening in Manatee and Bradenton counties, or you would have called for the end to third grade retention a long time ago.
You lose students when they fail a grade. There is a well-known connection between retention and the dropout rate.
There are other solutions like looping and multi-age classrooms.
Quit acting like technology is going to fix reading problems.
Many people are fearful of a tech takeover of our public schools. Encouraging children to sit on the computer during the summer is a mixed bag. A little might be fine. But there should be limits. Children need physical activity.
Stop promising children rewards for reading.
Florida has a history of giving students free hamburgers, pizza, and discounts to theme parks based on their reading. This may seem nice, but reading should be its own reward. Such awards make reading look like a chore.
Demonstrate to children that reading is fun! Bring in the arts and wonderful storytellers. Give those additional reward perks to children just because you love them.
Quit pushing young children to learn faster.
There are preschools and there are preschools. The ones that pull in parents to help, which incorporate a lot of play and developmentally sound activities, are the ones that work.
Pushing children to read before they’re ready may be why they hate reading by third grade!
Kindergarten should not be the new first grade.
If children like school they won’t be absent.
Lots of reformers are worrying about absenteeism—but absenteeism in kindergarten? Why do you think that is?
Could it be that kindergarten is too difficult, and there’s too much testing? Maybe schools are not welcoming enough? Kindergarten used to be a happy period in a child’s life.
Look closely at what’s been done to schools in the name of school privatization—especially in Florida. Fix the climate in public schools and maybe students will show up.
Business has been involved in public schooling for years. You deserve a seat at the table and a happy luncheon. But you also need to review what you aren’t doing right—if you are sincere in wanting to help children learn to read.
Are they worries their social impact bonds won’t pay off?
Someone is wide awake this morning! Excellent!
Can we add:
Support Head Start and other Early Education programs with funding for books; learn about and support DAP in teaching kids from birth to 8; donate supplies for making Word Walls and other literacy builders; and visit schools to do read-alouds?
Head Start and Developmentally Appropriate Practices, yes! Word Walls and other literacy builders, absolutely! Read-alouds! Count me in. All of these are great to lead children to read. Thank you, Anne!
Ha! Maybe they’ll go away if the bonds go sours. Benign neglect would be most welcome.
No. Unfortunately, Bill, they will figure something else out to end public schooling.
I wish they would turn around their thinking. Thanks!
I would add the investors got slightly duped. In their eagerness to capitalize off of children, they didn’t realize the dealmakers changed the rules, and rearranged or created new reading standards. Those who orchestrated all of this knew that expecting children to do more, earlier, and in a way that potentially causes long term damage, would make success by third grade a tough goal. They hedged their bets big time.
The investors don’t know standards, don’t know children, and don’t get child development. In their greed, they thought this was a done deal. It is sickening and sad that they were allowed in the classroom, and the kids will be the ones to suffer.
As a parent, the change in education has totally disrupted my children’s educational experience, and it seems there could be a class-action lawsuit from multiple angles. Very sad.
I often think about how in the end school reform will hurt business. Great point!
Your statement “As a parent, the change in education has totally disrupted my children’s educational experience, and it seems there could be a class-action lawsuit from multiple angles.” .
Thank you.
If policy makers understood that the reading test is not competency -based (and what that means), maybe they would see what is really happening –kids are being compared with how well they read compared to other kids with the normative tests being used. MO of the third graders can read, just not better than the “average” kid.
Exactly! The majority of these children read fine! The test is flawed not the children.
Great insight! Thank you, Stefan and Tammy!
My God, you have one of the best reading research and training centers at Florida State, with tons of suggestions on line about evidence based strategies. My guess is that charter school teachers, who may or not be certified, have no clue what to do with those kids who are not at goal. And assessing them more is not going to help. This is why well trained teachers in public schools is, and always will be, the answer.
Absolutely! Thank you, Pamela. Also, got my PhD from FSU, Will have to check what’s happening there now. It has been a while.
“Quit thinking that the ideas of rich business people are going to fix schools.” THIS should be published on billboards across the nation.
Check! Thank you, Ciedie!
I strongly disagree with this statement: “And whatever you do, don’t make kids log in the time they spend reading each day. This is unnatural and could turn off even the best readers!”
Having taught 4-6 grades in urban schools and consistenly raising scores–sometimes the highest in the district–the daily reading planner was one of my most effective tools. Sure, it may have been “unnatural” in some households in the beginning of the year, but many times a parent would share their astonishment that–in spite of initial resistance–their child suddenly ingrained the habit and it became a cherished evening ritual. That, plus 30 minutes of Silent Reading after lunch (accompanied by soft classical music–oh yes, they howled in the beginning but you could soon hear a pin drop during this time) followed by 15-20 minutes of Teacher Read-aloud (classic juvenile fiction)…AND integrating the Arts and Social Studies into our lessons led to often dramatic changes in student success. The love of reading depends on inspiration, as well as consistency and encouragement!
Love the silent reading, although I would have been distracted by music in the background.
But I disagree with the logs. I have seen good readers hate it. I mean why if you love reading do you need to write down how many minutes and get your mommy and daddy to sign it?
Isn’t this where teachers should have “high expectations” of students?
I think it is far better to do book reports. Or tell students you will want to hear something about their books the next day, or have them write about their books in a journal.
You’re lucky you got by with it. I like the other stuff you do. Thanks for your comment.
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/06/are-reading-logs-ruining-reading/485372/
Interesting, Nancy, music in the background distracts me too. I am not a researcher, but I suspect that anyone who is auditory as the dominant sense would have this reaction. Btw I heartily agree with doing away with pizza for reading.
Roy, that’s interesting. What you say makes some real sense. I used to talk to myself about what I was to study. Hearing the information paraphrased, helped me remember the material. Writing it down helped too, And, of course I was looking at the words as I wrote them.
I think too many people currently disregard how we learn. But that’s for another post perhaps. I need to read up on the new research about it. Then talk to myself about it! LOL!
Keep on education know it all out of education. Let us do our Damn jobs and stop telling me how to,teach. My,kids are successful every year because of is as much a WE. The kids and me.
Keep non education know it alls out of education. Let us do our Damn jobs and stop telling me how to,teach. My,kids are successful every year because of is as much a WE. The kids and me.
It should be pointed out that the majority of effects of teaching techniques are useless in the face of rising poverty and kits deleterious effect on society in general. It’s not that what we do in class has no effect. Far from it. But children who respond well to adult overtures when very young naturally turn into adolescents with their own agendas.
For the very best of students, this personal agenda includes making enough money to go to a college. Work requires transportation, so kids are supporting themselves even while living at home. They try to pay for car, insurance, and school. I guarentee they are not reading this website. Tragically, the best students are laser focused on getting qualified to do a specific job. Their reading skills flounder. Most occupations do not naturally expand the vocabulary.
But for the average student, all this is going on much sooner. It is hard to decide what you want to do in life. After all, things are a bit complicated. So they focus themselves on their personal relationships, buoyed by the social media. No vocabulary there, beam me up.
So it is hard to say if your suggestions would do any good. But they are all suggestions I would support. It is particularly important that we stop with the AR approach to reading, especially when accompanied with pizza parties and reward geegaws.
Since everything is connected, here’s another consideration: how Medicaid cuts in the new health care plan will hurt children.
I don’t know about FL but in MI Medicaid currently provides schools with funding to screen Pre-K children for speech problems and treat them for the long term. These are not just issues with articulation. They include expressive and receptive language problems—big problems. This has HUGE ramifications for these children’s literacy development. In one Detroit metro school 50% (that is a real statistic) of children in a Title I Pre-K program had speech referrals written, tested and approved. The usual number is 10%. (Won’t go into over-reliance by parents on electronic babysitters here.)
Discovering these issues and treating them 2 years earlier than Michigan’s legal age for school entry (age 6) gives these kids a fighting chance to be good readers. Waiting until age 6 cuts those chances significantly.
What will happen when Medicaid funds dry up and this program dies? If anyone thinks the literacy rate is problematic now, just wait until the new “health care” plan goes into effect.
Great blog post, Nancy!
Wow! Excellent points. The ramifications of Medicaid cuts to children with disabilities is terribly concerning. I appreciate you specifying it to speech and reading and early intervention. Many are watching this with disbelief.
Here’s a good starter link for those who haven’t associated Medicaid to special ed. It hasn’t always been front and center. There are also other good links online.
Thank you, Linda!
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/schools-worried-medicaid-cuts-hurting-special-education/ .