When the notice was published in the daily newspaper for applicants for a Masters in Reading, something clicked within me. I knew that getting through to this course was another thread in my life coming together in terms of specializing in this area in education. My journey started years ago back at Valsayn Teacher's College where my Elective was Early Childhood Education and my thesis was a comparative study on two different approaches to the teaching of reading. As a primary school teacher then, I was placed in the first year infant department and so I had the pleasure of teaching reading to beginners. My journey continued when I transferred to another school and had to teach Remedial Reading to Post Primary students.
With the onset of Universal Secondary Education, I was selected to teach Remedial Reading at a junior secondary school to the cohort of students who scored below 30% in the SEA examination. My experience in the classroom working with adolescents who are struggling in reading made me painfully aware of how little I knew about the process. I was fortunate to be selected for this programme, because even though I am not currently teaching Remedial Reading, I am still teaching remedial students. In fact, the school that I am working in gets more than its fair share of students who have reading problems. Most of the teachers are frustrated. Many have resigned themselves to delivering the curriculum to whoever is ready and willing to learn. As a teacher, my personal philosophy has been ' unless you have learnt, I did not teach'. Being on this programme has opened my eyes, so daily, I am seeing what I have being wrong and is making attempts to change so I can reach the students that I have beem given.
I find myself in a similar predicament as yours, Delores. The school where I teach gets a significant intake of of students who scored below 30% in the SEA and are struggling readers. I recognise that too many parents have abdicated their responsibilities and this is one of the main factors which have some bearing on this unfortunate situation. One must also admit that to some extent, teachers (because of lack of commitment or inadequate professional development, or both) have been failing these students. The role of the educational system as a whole, in contributing to this mess, is a delicate issue in itself.
ReplyDeleteHowever, this Masters in Reading programme (notwithstanding its shortcomings) is a step in the right direction. In particular, this ICT for Reading course has been a great eye-opener and the source of many epiphanies, with respect to the ways in which the use of technology can be beneficial to students and teachers in the furtherance of literacy development. I believe that the teacher frustration to which you allude can be translated into a paradigm shift, wherein educators will avail themselves of the technology, pedagogy and content knowledge(TPACK), as mentioned in your subsequent post. Let us hope that as reading specialists, we can make a huge, positive difference in our students' learning and in the professional development of our colleagues.
Beverly Phillip-Le Gendre
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ReplyDeleteI have always since my training college days been interested in seeking ways to help children learn to read. It pains me to see a child struggling with reading. A child who cannot read as we all know usually experience failure in all other subjects. The shift in focus in today's rapidly changing world demands that workers be versed in knowledge and communication skills. Workers have to compete with and even out think other workers in other parts of the world. A good education has never been more important as it is today. We have to teach our students to be thinkers. It is the thinkers who will be able to survive in this technological age. Even though I am almost at the end of my teaching career I decided to pursue this course. I feel even if I have to volunteer in different schools that I must do something. The struggling students at my new school would not have to struggle anymore. I am going back out there to sensitize my teachers to all the possible ways that they can motivate the students. The future of our country depends on the ninety of us. There should never be students scoring under thirty percent in any examination again.
ReplyDeleteHeather Palmer-Ovid