I was recently speaking to the principal of a school for children with learning disabilities. She was talking about a seven year old girl who had been a student in her school since she was about four years of age. During that time, the director said their focus had been on developing the child's spoken language and holding off on literacy since "there was no way to expect her to read until her spoken language skills improved."

The concern that the principal showed for the child is laudatory. And her thinking was totally in line with accepted practices. For most children, speaking precedes reading. Further, the skills of spoken language seem to be prerequisites for being able to master reading. That seems to be why children with problems in speaking have high rates of failure in learning to read. This dependency relationship is sometimes expressed as "written language is parasitic on spoken language."

But is the situation as straightforward as we have been led to believe? Significantly the answer is NO. If we are willing to delve a bit deeper into the situation, then we find that the relationships are far different, more interesting and more optimistic than is generally thought to be the case.

At this point, you are likely and rightly to be thinking -- What is the basis for this counter-intuitive assertion?

Continue reading "Can Reading Be "Easier" than Speaking for Children with Language Disabilities?" »

Posted by Marion Blank at 02:19 AM
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Ben Franklin in writing to his son about his early years, commented that he had to have learned to read "very early" because "I do not remember when I could not read." Although he was not focused at the time on the implications of his experience for education, his words are nevertheless highly relevant to the teaching of reading.

As Franklin suggests, the early mastery of reading has enormous power. It invariably leads children to feel totally connected to reading, leading it to become a central, comfortable, enjoyable part of their lives.

For some children, probably Franklin was among them, all this happens independently. They simply "take to reading" and run with it. The earlier this happens, the more powerful the connection. Fortunately, children who do not independently start to read can experience the same result--but they need to be taught.

The reliance on teaching changes everything --because there is a huge difference between spontaneous learning and learning attained via teaching.

Continue reading ""I do not remember when I could not read"" »

Posted by Marion Blank at 02:34 PM
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It's hard to imagine two entities that could be further apart than Wall St and public education. But an internet financial newsletter recently showed the link that COULD exist between the two when it stated:

"It’s a shame, that much of what is offered here (referring to their newsletter)– at no charge – is not taught in the public schools. Why is it that you can graduate in the top of your high school class and know next to nothing about credit card debt, adjustable-rate mortgages, or 401(k)s?"

Should financial literacy be a core part of everyone education?

Continue reading "The Link Between Wall St and Pubic Education" »

Posted by Marion Blank at 05:14 PM
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People often ask me how, after decades of work, I continue to feel so passionately about reading. The answer is simple: I believe that reading is the single most important skill an individual can learn.

In elementary school, a story in the history books that "hit home" for me concerned the extraordinary and often brutal efforts slave owners expended in keeping their slaves illiterate. It was not difficult for me to understand their dreadful motivation. From the time I was in kindergarten, I had witnessed the devastating consequences of not being able to read. Many in my family had immigrated from poverty-ridden villages in Eastern Europe where there was no opportunity to go to school. Their illiteracy was a recurrent source of shame and helplessness. Among my early memories is one where my aunt writes an X on an official piece of paper and then, with downcast eyes, steps aside so that my father can authenticate what she has done by putting a "real signature" underneath.

These experiences showed me the power reading grants when it is achieved and the devastation it inflicts when it is not. These experiences made reading central in my life and I have had the good fortune to be able to pursue my interest in this area through the four decades of my career.

When I started out, I assumed that literacy in our society was a given. So rather than focusing on ways to teach the skill, I chose to research fascinating issues such as the ways literacy affects the mind.

Over time, I came to realize my assumption had been wrong. Literacy was far from a fait accompli. Unbelievable as it seems, government reports consistently show that approximately 40% of normal, healthy children are failing to learn to read.

Continue reading "Reading: WE Can Grant Children their Birthright" »

Posted by Marion Blank at 05:46 PM
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Did you ever see a young child--or perhaps not so young a child--using an index finger to point at the words while reading? Oftentimes, children do this because this practice is encouraged in school. Unfortunately, it's not a wise suggestion since effective reading requires us to use eye movements if we are to effectively scan lines of print. Finger pointing can delay this development.

While it's not the best practice, many children spontaneously go beyond what they are told and make the necessary shift so that they are scanning the lines of print with their eyes and not with their fingers.

Many others, however, do not. Their visual scanning is so weak that finger pointing is the only way they have of scanning a line of print without losing their place. Is this a problem? Yes! Is this seen as a problem? Rarely.

Continue reading "Who's Pointing A Finger?" »

Posted by Marion Blank at 07:03 PM
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Some teenagers were discussing the strategies they use when a teacher asks a question they cannot answer. With a smile, one boy said, "You know what I do? I raise my hand." Seeing the amazed expressions that he hoped he would get, he immediately elaborated. "It works. If the teacher doesn't call on me, she thinks I know the answer. And if she does call on me, I say, 'Excuse me. I didn't hear the question.' Of course, she repeats the question. But she never stays with the same student for two turns. So she calls on some other student and never realizes that I didn't know the answer."

This student, like most students, is attuned to one of the most harmful forces that exist in the teaching/learning setting. That force is the destructive power of error in learning. Ironically, it is a force that is almost totally unrecognized--even though it permeates classrooms everywhere. Perhaps error is so obvious that it seems unnecessary to mention it. Regardless of the reason, error is rarely given the attention it merits. It is the invisible 800-pound gorilla who doggedly blocks the path to learning.

Continue reading "Errors: The "invisible" 800 pound gorilla blocking the road to learning" »

Posted by Marion Blank at 07:06 PM
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Four Meny Thee Ansor Iz NO! Butt R Thay Rite?

Thomas Jefferson in a letter to his daughter offered the following advice about spelling: Take care that you never spell a word wrong. Always before you write a word, consider how it is spelled, and, if you do not remember, turn to a dictionary.

Today's world presents us with a dramatically different scene. The bad news is that vast numbers of schools see accurate spelling not only as unnecessary, but actually undesirable. The good news is that you can adopt techniques that can get children over the hurdles that this change has imposed.

Continue reading "Duz Ackurit SPELLING Matir?" »

Posted by Marion Blank at 05:14 PM
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When parents see their child struggling with reading, they naturally turn to the teacher to find out what is happening. Often the response is, "You shouldn't be concerned. He is right in the middle of the class." Typically, the parents' instincts tell them that this answer is not satisfactory. And their instincts are absolutely on target.

For a start, 40% of children across the nation struggle in learning to read--so any child in trouble is automatically likely to be "right in the middle"--along with the many other children who are experiencing difficulty.

Further, reading achievement scores often fall far short in terms of the information they provide. Generally they are designed to yield a score which says whether a child is reading at grade level or not.

Continue reading ""But he's right in the middle of the class"" »

Posted by Marion Blank at 12:08 AM
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The low levels of U.S. students' reading achievement in international comparisons have led to a lot of controversy. Some have used the less than stellar scores as evidence that American schools are failing disastrously. Others say that the problems are overblown. It is clear, however, that we are far from being number one. If you want to learn more about this issue, you can turn to an interesting discussion available at the Center for Public Education. http://discussions.centerforpubliceducation.org.

Continue reading "Reading Achievement of US students" »

Posted by Marion Blank at 12:05 AM
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