# Children are severely behind in reading.



## Kanky (Mar 9, 2022)

It’s ‘Alarming’: Children Are Severely Behind in Reading​The fallout from the pandemic is just being felt. “We’re in new territory,” educators say.​March 8, 2022





Children are behind, and teachers trained in phonics, like Garensha John, are in short supply. Ms. John leads a first-grade class at Capital Preparatory Harbor Lower School in Bridgeport, Conn.Christopher Capozziello for The New York Times
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — The kindergarten crisis of last year, when millions of 5-year-olds spent months outside of classrooms, has become this year’s reading emergency.
As the pandemic enters its third year, a cluster of new studies now show that about a third of children in the youngest grades are missing reading benchmarks, up significantly from before the pandemic.
In Virginia, one study found that early reading skills were at a 20-year low this fall, which the researchers described as “alarming.”
In the Boston region, 60 percent of students at some high-poverty schools have been identified as at high risk for reading problems — twice the number of students as before the pandemic, according to Tiffany P. Hogan, director of the Speech and Language Literacy Lab at the MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston.
Children in every demographic group have been affected, but Black and Hispanic children, as well as those from low-income families, those with disabilities and those who are not fluent in English, have fallen the furthest behind.
“We’re in new territory,” Dr. Hogan said about the pandemic’s toll on reading. If children do not become competent readers by the end of elementary school, the risks are “pretty dramatic,” she said. Poor readers are more likely to drop out of high school, earn less money as adults and become involved in the criminal justice system.
The literacy crisis did not start with the pandemic. In 2019, results on nationaland international exams showed stagnant or declining American performance in reading, and widening gaps between high and low performers. The causes are multifaceted, but many experts point to a shortage of educators trained in phonics and phonemic awareness — the foundational skills of linking the sounds of spoken English to the letters that appear on the page.
The pandemic has compounded those issues.
Garensha John, a first-grade teacher at Capital Preparatory Harbor Lower School, helping students with a reading exercise. Given many students’ struggles with reading, the work has taken on “a level of urgency,” she said.Christopher Capozziello for The New York Times
Children spent months out of the classroom, where they were supposed to learn the basics of reading — the ABCs, what sound a “b” or “ch” makes. Many first and second graders returned to classrooms needing to review parts of the kindergarten curriculum. But nearly half of public schools have teaching vacancies, especially in special education and the elementary grades, according to a federal survey conducted in December and January.
Even students with well-trained teachers have had far fewer hands-on hours with them than before the pandemic, which has been defined by closures, uneven access to online instruction, quarantine periods and — even on the best days — virus-related interruptions to regular classroom routines. Now, schools are under pressure to boost literacy as quickly as possible so students gain the reading skills they need to learn the rest of the curriculum, from math word problems to civics lessons. Billions of federal stimulus dollars are flowing to districts for tutoring and other supports, but their effect may be limited if schools cannot find quality staff members to hire.
At Capital Preparatory Harbor Lower School, a charter elementary school in the working-class coastal city of Bridgeport, Conn., about half of the first graders did not set foot inside a classroom during their crucial kindergarten year. Though the school building reopened in January 2021 on a hybrid schedule, many families, concerned about the virus, opted to continue full-time remote learning.
At the beginning of this school year, when all students returned to in-person learning, more than twice as many first graders as before the pandemic tested at kindergarten levels or below in their literacy skills, according to the administration.
Teachers started with the basics: how to orient and hold a book, and where the names of the author and illustrator could be found. The school is using federal stimulus dollars to create classroom libraries filled with titles that appeal to the largely Black and Hispanic students there, like “Firebird,” about a young, Black dancer by the ballerina Misty Copeland, and “Hair Love,” about a Black father styling his daughter’s hair.
The stimulus money is also paying for a new structured phonics curriculum called Fundations. Given the depth of many students’ struggles with reading, the work has taken on “a level of urgency,” said Garensha John, a first-grade teacher at the school. “Let’s get it done. As soon as they know this, they’ll excel.”
From the start of the pandemic, when schools abruptly shuttered in March 2020, math skills were clearly affected, while some early research suggested that students’ reading skills were holding steady, perhaps because more parents read with their children at home than practiced math.
But now, “What we’re seeing is that there are a lot of children who didn’t get the stimulation they need” during the pandemic to adequately develop early speech and reading skills, which are closely linked, Dr. Hogan said.
On a Wednesday morning in February, Mrs. John arrayed 13 6- and 7-year-olds on a rug in front of her, and led them through a series of well-rehearsed exercises sounding out simple written letter combinations and words. The children, clad in uniforms, chanted and clapped as they read in unison. The word of the day was a difficult one for many children to read and pronounce: “ships.”
Cameron Segui, 7, wearing a blue surgical mask and black glasses, placed his hand under his chin, a strategy students use to check if their mouths are positioned correctly. The sound “puh” should be made with the jaw relatively high up, for example, with the cheeks puffing out. “Zh” makes the jaw vibrate, but the “sh” and “s” sounds in “ships” should not.
Cameron Segui, 7, and the other students in Mrs. John’s class are learning to read with masks on.Christopher Capozziello for The New York Times
Some parents and educators have argued that masks are partially responsible for language and literacy deficits. But researchers say that unlike the well-documented connection between school closures and decreased achievement, there is not yet strong evidence that masking has hindered the development of reading skills.
Such conclusions “would just be conjecture at this point,” said Nathan Clemens, a dyslexia expert at the University of Texas, Austin.
Later that day in Mrs. John’s class, students broke into small groups to practice writing and segmenting words into different sounds. Cameron, in one of the more advanced groups, was working on full sentences, and pointed proudly to his writing: “Ben had a red and tan hat,” he read.
The biggest problem for Capital Prep, and many other schools, is a shortage of educators like Mrs. John, 30, a Tufts University graduate who received formal training in phonics instruction in a previous job. Many graduates of teacher-preparation programs lack this skill set, and some of the nation’s most popular reading curriculums do not emphasize it, despite a large body of research showing it is crucial.
States like Mississippi, Alabama and Massachusetts have begun retraining teachers in phonics and decommissioning outdated curriculum materials. But some efforts were interrupted or slowed by the pandemic.
At Capital Prep, Mrs. John’s students have made big leaps since September. She serves as a model for colleagues, and the school is providing professional development. Still, in February, there were seven open teaching jobs out of 23 at the school, with some students being taught by inexperienced substitutes. Steve Perry, the founder of the Capital Prep charter school network, which has schools in both Connecticut and New York, recently took a trip to Puerto Rico to recruit educators.
Dr. Hogan, the Boston researcher, has a federal grant to provide intensive, small-group tutoring to children at high-poverty schools who are behind on early reading skills. She, too, has struggled to fill open positions, despite pushing the pay to up to $40 per hour from $15 per hour.
“I’m running on fumes,” she said.
It does not help that there is surging demand for private reading and speech therapy for children from affluent families. Fees can run up to $200 per hour, allowing some educators to leave the classroom entirely.
Tamara Cella, a phonics specialist who holds a doctorate from Johns Hopkins University, left the New York City public school system in 2016, frustrated by the strain of principal turnover. In addition to a job at a New Jersey private school, she now moonlights as a phonics tutor for Brooklyn Letters, a company that provides in-home sessions.
“Tutoring pays extremely well,” Dr. Cella acknowledged.
She tutors children facing some of the same challenges as those at Capital Prep — missing core phonics skills, and difficulty transitioning from simple reading exercises to comprehending books. But Dr. Cella worries more about the students she no longer sees.
“That feeling of guilt comes over me,” she said. “What about the kids in the Bronx?”


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## naturalgyrl5199 (Mar 9, 2022)

I'm gonna read this later but its so true. You really had a growing issue pre-pandemic due to the advent of devices and less and less attention span in general.

For anyone who feels like their child is behind there are some cool apps:

EPIC is awesome. We sprang for the annual fee for full access. My baby girl (8YO) is a not a food/candy incentive driven kid but stickers, awards, acheivments are her thing. So as she reads more and more books (we are at 300 since 2020 virtual year) she loves the rewards she gets. She has been doing 20 mins a day M-F since last school year. You can do limited access for free but the hours and amount of time spent daily is restricted. Your school may be linked. 1st grade teacher was, but 2nd grade teacher currently isn't. However, 2nd grade teacher provided us with a log to fill out daily that she checks to ensure each child read 20 minutes, the book title AND the # pages. Expectations matter.

Our local library also has an app. WE "loan books" that way. So many books are in demand all the time. So there is a waiting period. Which is interesting. Find out which one your local library is using. Its free.

We downloaded apps that have access to books for free: 
LIBBY
READER
AXIS360

Not to mention we ask all their gifts be books. So we have a ton. A ton.


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## naturalgyrl5199 (Mar 9, 2022)

naturalgyrl5199 said:


> I'm gonna read this later but its so true. You really had a growing issue pre-pandemic due to the advent of devices and less and less attention span in general.
> 
> For anyone who feels like their child is behind there are some cool apps:
> 
> ...


And lets be honest--this is on mechanism of the further divide of the *Haves* and *Have Nots* based on how politics are moving and this pandemic. 

Education or lack thereof drives the ability to make money--or HOW MUCH you are able to make. A generation of kids are already less likely to earn as much or more than their parents. (read the article about the billionaire driving a Hyundai in the Career thread)....It was way easier to become a billionaire in the 60's and 70's when college was $24/semester. This results in the divide because all these less than literate soon to be adults will need jobs, and they won't pay much. Especially as technology moves to robotics for fast food, groceries, transportation and factory/mechanics...where will they work? where will they live?

Parents are on the hook for pushing the literacy issue. We figured out (just now) why my daughter seemed to have reading comprehension issues and were failing those parts of the language arts tests...she wasn't going BACK to the passage to re-read. Something so simple. So we figured it out, she easily got a 98 on reading comprehension when 7 days earlier she got a 65 and 14 days prior she got a 50. 
Parents HAVE to lean all the way in and leave NO CRUMBS when it comes to getting these kids to read AND COMPREHEND.

As it stands...only 47% of ADULTS TODAY can comprehend what they read. And we wonder why work emails, texts, FB posts trigger everyone. Misunderstanding.

My last rant....some people are struggling with the loan forgiveness stuff (see the post on Loan forgiveness that popped up yesterday in Career) due not taking the time to navigate. My attention span is short and I needed a lot of help from hubby. It IS a minefield and it shouldn't be that hard. But for those who made it through, it was simpler than we previously thought. This is related to attention span.


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## naturalgyrl5199 (Mar 9, 2022)

Not to mention--with a generation of ADULTS who have poor comprehension skills, even when given the HW, how are they going to help their own children?


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## Everything Zen (Mar 9, 2022)

I see it with my stepdaughter- who is number 4 in her class. Bringing home all kinds of 104, 107, 97, 99, etc. kind of grades and in all the AP classes but doesn’t understand basic vocabulary words. I was all sorts of confused with her teacher when she was an A student in AP English but scored a 2 on the actually AP Exam. I can’t l help her at all because she doesn’t respond to feedback with those types of grades.Talking about some she doesn’t like to read but wants to be a teacher or go into psychology. When I showed her MY AP English papers that I saved from HS (hand written in ink multiple pages and all the red letter feedback - my teachers gave me glowing reviews on the critical thinking, use of vocabulary, rhetorical reasoning, etc. and tore me up of I didn’t make the cut on occasion, the difference is night and day and I was absolutely a top tier student and always got 3-5 on all my AP class exams.

Her school is talking about a full ride to an Ivy League but she can’t write her way out of a paper bag and her reading skills are deplorable. She uses this math app that scans a problem and tells you where you went wrong solving it and the answer and Google translate for Spanish. I asked my friends with kids if they ever heard of this app and they said no or it was blocked on their kids phones and laptops.

She thinks she’s going to Harvard or Northwestern with an SAT score of 950 with a school that has core SAT prep classes and multiple attempts but I got into Purdue on a PSAT score of 1160 on a single attempt. I’ll eat my shoe before I support this financially.


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## CarefreeinChicago (Mar 9, 2022)

I asked my 3 year old niece to say her ABC,s she started counting to 20  (she’s never been to school due to the pandemic)


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## Evolving78 (Mar 9, 2022)

The Pandemic has nothing to do with it. Reading and math scores have been below standards for years.


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## MamaBear2012 (Mar 9, 2022)

Evolving78 said:


> The Pandemic has nothing to do with it. Reading and math scores have been below standards for years.


True, but this is a whole new level. 

DS is in Kindergarten. The majority of his classmates can't sound out words. It's March, they get out of school in May. These kids are going into 1st grade without knowing the sounds letters make. He and his best friend were the only two kids in his class who got a certificate of achievement on Monday for completing this reading app in school. I didn't even know they were doing the app, but it was just the two of them. 

A lot of it is behavior. The kids can't sit still, they don't listen, they talk back, they have no discipline...And parents know that their kids are behind, but do nothing to try to get their kids to catch up. They will continue to put their kids in sports and dance and every other extracurricular activity, but won't sit down and read with them. 

My kids are taking their milestone test this week. When DS took it 9 weeks ago, he scored in the 99th percentile for reading, the 99th percentile for math, and I think his Spanish (he's learning it as a second language) was like 79th percentile. DD's isn't that high, but she's in the mid 80s for both reading and math and her Spanish is also in the high 70s. My kids do one extracurricular activity of their choice and swimming. But every single day they (we) read. Most days DD does Math, but reading 20 minutes a day is our minimum. 

I help run a little after-school activity on Wednesdays at the school. I have kids who are 8 through 10. They struggle with reading and spelling. It's not a group that is focused on academics, but if I ask them to write a sentence, it's a STRUGGLE.


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## Evolving78 (Mar 9, 2022)

MamaBear2012 said:


> True, but this is a whole new level.
> 
> DS is in Kindergarten. The majority of his classmates can't sound out words. It's March, they get out of school in May. These kids are going into 1st grade without knowing the sounds letters make. He and his best friend were the only two kids in his class who got a certificate of achievement on Monday for completing this reading app in school. I didn't even know they were doing the app, but it was just the two of them.
> 
> ...


I don’t agree. I have an elementary, middle school, and high school student. What the pandemic did was expose theses issues and it is being used as a scapegoat.  And keep this in mind, most parents feel the educational requirement is met when they send their children to school. A lot of parents are extremely ignorant of the curriculum that is being used, as well as the school/district’s values and goals.
They are unaware of the standards and hiring requirements utilized when hiring administrators and teachers. They may not be aware of how much money the state and district allocate funding to actual teachers, supplies, materials, and equipment for students, etc…


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## fluffyforever (Mar 9, 2022)

MamaBear2012 said:


> True, but this is a whole new level.
> 
> DS is in Kindergarten. The majority of his classmates can't sound out words. It's March, they get out of school in May. These kids are going into 1st grade without knowing the sounds letters make. He and his best friend were the only two kids in his class who got a certificate of achievement on Monday for completing this reading app in school. I didn't even know they were doing the app, but it was just the two of them.
> 
> ...


I don’t think it’s a whole new level. I think people are just latching onto the pandemic as an excuse but the problems, huge problems, existed before hand. I audit schools and school districts. Grades have been abysmal for YEARS. Comprehension scores and math scores have been down in the gutter for YEARS. There is a serious culture in this country of passing students on to the next grade level when they don’t even meet the minimum standards for being in their current grade. Maybe the pandemic is just making people more aware of the issues because they are home more, watching their kids struggle or avoiding the work. They are are placing blame on the pandemic when they should be wondering why they didn’t notice it before.

I agree that behavior is a big part of it. A lot of behavior is learned, from friends but also family. I truly believe education starts at home and for the majority of people, if families prioritized learning and made it a real daily focus from a young age through junior high, the majority of kids wouldn’t have this problem. I know it’s easier said then done, because many kids have too many hours away from their parents because parents have to work. Parents don’t know there is an issue because their kids are being moved up in grade level each year, or even worse there are a lot of parents that don’t really care in the first place because of their own upbringing without the prioritization of education.

Habits are hard to break and kids nowadays have a habit of watching social media videos and not picking up a book. They are experts at consuming short headlines and tweets but can’t understand a paragraph or write essays.


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## naturalgyrl5199 (Mar 9, 2022)

Evolving78 said:


> The Pandemic has nothing to do with it. Reading and math scores have been below standards for years.


It didn't cause it for sure.

The article mentioned that in 2019 it was getting worse.
The Pandemic exposed EVERYTHING WE ALREADY KNEW!....it exposed all ALL KINDS of ills with our society. Poverty, hunger, maternal mortality and inadequate access to medical care or healthy foods, housing crisis, employment and wages....all a problem people were JUST starting to discuss in 2018/19. 

The Pandemic blew it WIDE OPEN to where it couldn't be hidden. Cuz now WHTE folk hungry with no food and housing..... now WHTE kids are falling behind....oh NOOOOW its a problem. 

Sadly, rather than use this as an opportunity, the government is fumbling it. Begging to get back to 2019 status. Which was a mess already. Just want to put their head in the sand.

The article also mentioned that MILLIONS (or billions?) of $$ are available to help. *IF* you know how to access it.


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## MamaBear2012 (Mar 9, 2022)

fluffyforever said:


> *I don’t think it’s a whole new level. *I think people are just latching onto the pandemic as an excuse but the problems, huge problems, existed before hand. I audit schools and school districts. Grades have been abysmal for YEARS. Comprehension scores and math scores have been down in the gutter for YEARS. There is a serious culture in this country of passing students on to the next grade level when they don’t even meet the minimum standards for being in their current grade. Maybe the pandemic is just making people more aware of the issues because they are home more, watching their kids struggle or avoiding the work. They are are placing blame on the pandemic when they should be wondering why they didn’t notice it before.
> 
> I agree that behavior is a big part of it. A lot of behavior is learned, from friends but also family. I truly believe education starts at home and for the majority of people, if families prioritized learning and made it a real daily focus from a young age through junior high, the majority of kids wouldn’t have this problem. I know it’s easier said then done, because many kids have too many hours away from their parents because parents have to work. Parents don’t know there is an issue because their kids are being moved up in grade level each year, or even worse there are a lot of parents that don’t really care in the first place because of their own upbringing without the prioritization of education.
> 
> Habits are hard to break and* kids nowadays have a habit of watching social media videos and not picking up a book.* They are experts at consuming short headlines and tweets but can’t understand a paragraph or write essays.


The bold was my point. While this country has always been terrible with reading and math, kids spent a lot of time on computers the last two years, not in classrooms, not learning to listen to a teacher, all of the things that come along with not being in a structured environment and learning. This is ADDED ON to issues we've already had. Issues that many of us already saw.


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## Evolving78 (Mar 9, 2022)

MamaBear2012 said:


> The bold was my point. While this country has always been terrible with reading and math, kids spent a lot of time on computers the last two years, not in classrooms, not learning to listen to a teacher, all of the things that come along with not being in a structured environment and learning. This is ADDED ON to issues we've already had. Issues that many of us already saw.


The thing is schools that had the technology and devices, were utilizing those things in the classroom daily. Especially in grades 3rd-12th. From personal experience during the pandemic, you could tell which teachers were prepared, able to transition smoothly, and were comfortable/knowledgeable with how to use technology and implement it into to their teaching and lesson plans. You could clearly see certain parents’ lack of involvement, classroom management styles, etc…  You could see the different learning styles of the students and the lack of accommodations for those learning styles. Teachers just couldn’t assign busy work anymore, and the structure came from children moving throughout the school during the day. Children can only sit still and take in information for a limited amount of time. The fact they would try to take up 6-8 hours like a normal in-person learning day was ridiculous. They kept that ridiculous for monetary purposes, due to the education/learning minutes states require.
And let’s not even talk about the special education department…

As far as kindergartens not knowing their phonics, some schools and districts may only push learning sight words, and not work enough on phonics, or use a more effective methodology.  It’s all about testing too. Teachers are made to teach to prepare for standardized assessments, which makes them unable to teach lessons for mastery.


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## sunshinebeautiful (Mar 9, 2022)

Meanwhile, my sister teaches kindergarten and this school year (and I'm sure the kids being super behind) got her so stressed and burnt out that she's decided this is her last year in the school system


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## MamaBear2012 (Mar 9, 2022)

Evolving78 said:


> The thing is schools that had the technology and devices, were utilizing those things in the classroom daily. Especially in grades 3rd-12th. *From personal experience during the pandemic, you could tell which teachers were prepared, able to transition smoothly, and were comfortable/knowledgeable with how to use technology and implement it into to their teaching and lesson plans. You could clearly see certain parents’ lack of involvement, classroom management styles, etc…  You could see the different learning styles of the students and the lack of accommodations for those learning styles. *Teachers just couldn’t assign busy work anymore, and the structure came from children moving throughout the school during the day. Children can only sit still and take in information for a limited amount of time. The fact they would try to take up 6-8 hours like a normal in-person learning day was ridiculous. They kept that ridiculous for monetary purposes, due to the education/learning minutes states require.
> And let’s not even talk about the special education department…
> 
> As far as kindergartens not knowing their phonics, some schools and districts may only push learning sight words, and not work enough on phonics, or use a more effective methodology.  It’s all about testing too. Teachers are made to teach to prepare for standardized assessments, which makes them unable to teach lessons for mastery.


Again, the bold was my point. I'm not sure where the disagreement is. 

DH is a teacher. For the last 17 years. In the district where both of my kids are learning. My daughter went through the same classes as DS. He'll have the same teachers because they are both in the same language program. The curriculum is the same. I've listened to it during the many times that DS' class was quarantined this year and doing virtual learning. They learn phonics. Most kids don't know their letter sounds. 

We can say that this exposed what was already there. Ok. In the end, kids are still severely behind in reading.


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## Evolving78 (Mar 10, 2022)

MamaBear2012 said:


> Again, the bold was my point. I'm not sure where the disagreement is.
> 
> DH is a teacher. For the last 17 years. In the district where both of my kids are learning. My daughter went through the same classes as DS. He'll have the same teachers because they are both in the same language program. The curriculum is the same. I've listened to it during the many times that DS' class was quarantined this year and doing virtual learning. *They learn phonics. Most kids don't know their letter sounds.*
> 
> We can say that this exposed what was already there. Ok. In the end, kids are still severely behind in reading.


I’m not necessarily disagreeing with you, but all of those problems were there and it’s basically the chickens are coming home to roost.
See that’s what’s wrong and has nothing to do with the pandemic. Kids are tested for kindergarten readiness, so why is it that it’s almost close to the end of the year and that is an issue? That’s a red flag.  If you don’t know your phonics by at least 80%, you will struggle with early reading. Why is mastery not the focus? Why move on if the majority of the class can’t get it? Say if your daughter that had no trouble due to her natural abilities, process of learning, and external factors have mastered her phonics skills, she should be bumped up to do more challenging work, like in a smaller group setting, but what teacher or school has time and resources for that? And generally, most American parents don’t do what you or your husband do with your children.  That’s what homework is for.. 

This pandemic exposed a lot of middle class and upper middle class parents too… You saw who was screaming and fighting at the tops of their lungs to get their kids back into school, because they couldn’t handle it period. School is utilized for childcare, it is what it is..

Now the schools out here are based on the child’s scores and abilities, so there is a school that is for the advanced and gifted, one for instructional education, pre-k/general Ed, and general Ed. Not a lot of districts have the funding or resources to even pull something like that off. Those schools are meeting the standards, but the middle school is struggling.. and it’s been that way, and the school isn’t old or ill- equipped.

 And I don’t agree with it being 15-20 students in a classroom with no aides, especially for the lower grade levels. I feel kids sitting at a desk and not having enough play and movement is not appropriate, or suitable. Kids moving for lunch, recess, library, gym, music, etc transitioning throughout the day is not ideal.  Each time, a teacher has to get them back in order, before they can actually start a lesson.

But again, why is it that most of those children are struggling with phonics? I have a child that struggles with that, but that child is developmentally delayed. Once I put all of the pieces together and saw that under the school system’s watch my child was going to be stuck at a k-1 level, and they told me he would be a good warehouse worker, since he showed signs of having a workforce skill, (told me that pre-pandemic) I decided to pull him out and provide private education. He needs a tremendous amount of 1 on 1.


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## futureapl (Mar 10, 2022)

We know that there is a problem.. What are some things that we can do as parents to help our kids and ensure that they don't get left behind?


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## CarefreeinChicago (Mar 10, 2022)

futureapl said:


> We know that there is a problem.. What are some things that we can do as parents to help our kids and ensure that they don't get left behind?


I am so scared for my niece every time I talk to her I ABC, numbers colors anything I can think of. When she comes to my house I read to her. I don’t want her to be behind but since I don’t see her everyday I don’t know what to do.


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## MamaBear2012 (Mar 10, 2022)

futureapl said:


> We know that there is a problem.. What are some things that we can do as parents to help our kids and ensure that they don't get left behind?


One thing is know the standards for their grade, and make sure they reach each standard. I'm in GA. I'd Google "Georgia Kindergarten standards" and they all pop up. And if your kid knows all of those standards, then check out the standards for the next grade level and work with them on that.


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## Everything Zen (Mar 10, 2022)

I don’t understand the sight word reading process. I’m not saying it may not be useful but how do you learn new more complex words without a fundamental basis of utilizing phonetics? I was taught under a private school method that utilized the abeka method of teaching. Yes, it was private Christian school but the quality of education was very high. It allowed me to started kindergarten at age four and I started reading at that age. Otherwise, I would have had to repeat preschool and wait for kindergarten at age five. 

https://www.abeka.com/


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## MamaBear2012 (Mar 10, 2022)

Everything Zen said:


> I don’t understand the sight word reading process. I’m not saying it may not be useful but how do you learn new more complex words without a fundamental basis of utilizing phonetics? I was taught under a private school method that utilized the abeka method of teaching. Yes, it was private Christian school but the quality of education was very high. It allowed me to started kindergarten at age four and I started reading at that age. Otherwise, I would have had to repeat preschool and wait for kindergarten at age five.
> 
> https://www.abeka.com/


I've heard great things about the abeka method. My best friend used it when homeschooling her kids. At the end of last year, I bought some math books from one of the Christian bookstores online. I need to look at the curriculum. I bought it to have it for my son when he gets older.

To your point about phonetics, it seems like education has flip flopped. Back in the day, math was a lot of memorization. But the way common core is taught in my district nowadays, it's all about higher order thinking and relating numbers to a "base 10". So it's not so much memorization. Because my son listened when we were teaching my daughter, he understands base 10. Last year when he was 4, I asked him what 14 plus 14 was and he immediately said, "28." I said, "How did you do that?" And he said, "10 plus 10 is 20. And 4 plus 4 is 8. Put those together and you have 28." So he relates numbers to that "base 10". Not memorization.

And I know there are districts here in GA that are more sight word focused. Now it's all about memorization for words rather than knowing sounds and blending. It's all bizarre to me.


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## Everything Zen (Mar 10, 2022)

^^^^ That was the first explanation of common core based math techniques that actually makes sense.  What we did back in the day was old fashioned flash card review with dad. When you asked your son what 14+ 14 is, I had to think about how I knew the answer and I swear it’s not because of memorization. It’s literally doing the problem in my head like setting up a chalkboard in my mind and working the problem out. I think there could be a blend of the two formats that could serve different learning styles really well. I saw a video on LI of the Japanese method of teaching math using colored lines that was fascinating. I’m here for the all above approach.


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## fluffyforever (Mar 10, 2022)

Everything Zen said:


> *I don’t understand the sight word reading process. I’m not saying it may not be useful but how do you learn new more complex words without a fundamental basis of utilizing phonetics*? I was taught under a private school method that utilized the abeka method of teaching. Yes, it was private Christian school but the quality of education was very high. It allowed me to started kindergarten at age four and I started reading at that age. Otherwise, I would have had to repeat preschool and wait for kindergarten at age five.
> 
> https://www.abeka.com/


Yes I don’t understand it either.  With a phonetic alphabet there’s no reason to start there. Sight reading comes naturally with lots and lots of reading practice. I’m learning another phonetic alphabet based language and the ability to sound out words is so helpful because often I know the word, but I don’t know that I know the word until I sound it out and then it clicks in my head. And then later I see the word again and I recognize it by sight and don’t have to sound it out.


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## dancinstallion (Mar 10, 2022)

Evolving78 said:


> I don’t agree. I have an elementary, middle school, and high school student. What the pandemic did was expose theses issues and it is being used as a scapegoat.  And keep this in mind, most parents feel the educational requirement is met when they send their children to school. A lot of parents are extremely ignorant of the curriculum that is being used, as well as the school/district’s values and goals.
> They are unaware of the standards and hiring requirements utilized when hiring administrators and teachers. They may not be aware of how much money the state and district allocate funding to actual teachers, supplies, materials, and equipment for students, etc…



I agree,

10 years ago we were talking about kids being behind coming into pre-k, kinder and didn't know the basics especially black kids. This has been at least a decade or more in the making.



			https://longhaircareforum.com/threads/why-do-kids-fall-behind.612963/
		


DD is 14 and I remember clearly when she was in Prek at 4 that she and only one other student knew the alphabet, sounds, colors, shapes, or how to read. While the white and Asian counterparts in the next grade with ds were reading chapter books. I helped tutor and test those kids going into kindergarten and 1st grade and they still lagged behind, they didn't make up the gap. once behind they are usually and more likely always behind.


I would correct parents when they said kids are smarter now due to technology. Just because your child can find a game on an iPhone or iPad doesn't mean they are smarter. A speech pathologist agreed with me as she had seen increased speech delay back then. The pandemic made a bad situation 2x worse.

Quoted from members in 2012
"When you have 3rd graders writing and spelling like 1st graders and your boss expects you to  teach a  3rd grade lesson plan then there is definitely not enough time to do 2 yrs of catch up plus teach current level work.

They really need to separate kids based on ability and teach them accordingly."

"The bigger disparity is that they are tracking black kids in preschool and they are coming in already at a deficit compared to whites/asians. So how can that gap be closed without parent involvment which is what caused the deficit in the first place.

A few black people I know think it is ok for their child to come into Kindergarten to learn Letters and the sounds when the Whites and Asians kids are already reading! Let kids be kids and let them play is what they tell me!"


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## CarefreeinChicago (Mar 10, 2022)

dancinstallion said:


> I agree,
> 
> 10 years ago we were talking about kids being behind coming into pre-k, kinder and dont know the basics especially black kids. This has been at least a decade or more in the making.
> 
> ...


I want to say this to my sister but she will probably get defensive! Her competition is not playing around they are getting help at 3 they are not waiting on the state to teach their kids!


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## qchelle (Mar 11, 2022)

So what are these white/asian kids doing/learning at age 3?


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## fluffyforever (Mar 11, 2022)

CarefreeinChicago said:


> I want to say this to my sister but she will probably get defensive! Her competition is not playing around they are getting help at 3 they are not waiting on the state to teach their kids!





qchelle said:


> So what are these white/asian kids doing/learning at age 3?



My white/Asian bff and her hubby were stressed about getting their child enrolled in daycare that had a bilingual education plan before their child was even born. Daycare for when she had to return to work after maternity leave. Not even waiting until kindergarten age, but educational daycare getting babies familiar with basic letters, words, and numbers in two languages.  They don’t play around and that is why there is a gap that will continue to grow until more families become more active in their children’s learning plan.


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## qchelle (Mar 11, 2022)

fluffyforever said:


> My white/Asian bff and her hubby were stressed about getting their child enrolled in daycare that had a bilingual education plan before their child was even born. Daycare for when she had to return to work after maternity leave. Not even waiting until kindergarten age, but educational daycare getting babies familiar with basic letters, words, and numbers in two languages.  They don’t play around and that is why there is a gap that will continue to grow until more families become more active in their children’s learning plan.



Thanks! How old are these babies now? And if they're significantly older, can you see it paying off now?


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## fluffyforever (Mar 11, 2022)

qchelle said:


> Thanks! How old are these babies now? And if they're significantly older, can you see it paying off now?


Her kid will be 4 in a couple of months and she still goes to the same daycare. It definitely paid off. She already knows her alphabet and spelling and writing of little words. I know they read to her every night too though. My bff complains of the cost of the daycare but she wouldn’t ever think of switching. She is about to have another child and will send to the same daycare if there is a spot available.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Mar 11, 2022)

Everything Zen said:


> I don’t understand the sight word reading process. I’m not saying it may not be useful but how do you learn new more complex words without a fundamental basis of utilizing phonetics? I was taught under a private school method that utilized the abeka method of teaching. Yes, it was private Christian school but the quality of education was very high. It allowed me to started kindergarten at age four and I started reading at that age. Otherwise, I would have had to repeat preschool and wait for kindergarten at age five.
> 
> https://www.abeka.com/


My kiddos do Abeka for early reading and they have all had the capability to read basic words by 4 and sound out more complex words as they got older. Very solid.


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## qchelle (Mar 11, 2022)

I just ordered the Abeka reading handbook and one of the math books for 3yr olds.


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## Seattle Slew (Mar 11, 2022)

Many families still think school starts at kindergarten. It doesn’t. Preschool is a must. Kindergartners work on academics all day, with some play.
Kids can learn to read before kindergarten. They are sponges! Give them something to soak up.


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## Rastafarai (Mar 11, 2022)

As someone who grew up outside of the USA and was then integrated into the US public and private school system, I will say this:

The education system in the USA was lacking for YEARS. Not just in Reading/Writing but Math, Geography, Social Sciences, etc. There were subjects I learned in primary school that is not even mentioned or discussed until junior high school here in the USA.

I grew up in the Caribbean, and was exposed to intensive reading/writing outside of ABCs where we had to learn the differences and proper use of verbs, adjectives, pronouns, prepositions, etc. Book reports were the standard. Reading Shakespeare was the standard before I turned age 10. I mostly remember the book reports, which we had to write by hand. I do believe the advent of social media has had a negative impact on how children are taught now, but social media can now be leveraged to make intensive reading/writing fun and exciting.

I always believe in immersing children in their studies, and bringing words they may read to life. For my own children I intend to incorporate study abroad English training, summer book reports and supplemental training from teachers who are not recent college graduates. I think the US education system relies too much on teachers, many of whom are not equipped to teach anyone. Just my .02 cents.


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## OmbreLune (Mar 12, 2022)

This is very eye opening for me, didn't realize schools were getting that bad. My son is currently in a Montessori preschool and will continue next year for kindergarten. We have the option to keep him there until the sixth grade but cost is a factor that I've been going back and forth with in my head. The other day DH said the phrase "keepin it one hunnit" and DS replied "no Dad, it's one _hundred, _huh- huh- un- un- dra- dra- ed- ed- You have to sound it out! Ok? Try again"  I think we'll keep him at this school as long as possible


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## naturalgyrl5199 (Mar 12, 2022)

Evolving78 said:


> The thing is schools that had the technology and devices, were utilizing those things in the classroom daily. Especially in grades 3rd-12th. From personal experience during the pandemic, *you could tell which teachers were prepared, able to transition smoothly, and were comfortable/knowledgeable with how to use technology and implement it into to their teaching and lesson plans. You could clearly see certain parents’ lack of involvement, classroom management styles, etc…  You could see the different learning styles of the students and the lack of accommodations for those learning styles.* Teachers just couldn’t assign busy work anymore, and the structure came from children moving throughout the school during the day. Children can only sit still and take in information for a limited amount of time. The fact they would try to take up 6-8 hours like a normal in-person learning day was ridiculous. They kept that ridiculous for monetary purposes, due to the education/learning minutes states require.
> And let’s not even talk about the special education department…
> 
> As far as kindergartens not knowing their phonics, some schools and districts may only push learning sight words, and not work enough on phonics, or use a more effective methodology.  It’s all about testing too. Teachers are made to teach to prepare for standardized assessments, which makes them unable to teach lessons for mastery.


The bolded...especially the underlined. My daughter finished Kindergarten at home from March to June. Then the first grade teacher, who was older, was a gem. She had everything well-oiled. I could tell she was already better than great with technology and the canvas platform. It was easy to follow and she was prepared. It still wasn't perfect but then when I listened to other parents from other local schools and my friends state-wide...I knew we were very fortunate.

But its shame kids get more or less depending on that teacher's skills and interest.


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## naturalgyrl5199 (Mar 12, 2022)

futureapl said:


> We know that there is a problem.. What are some things that we can do as parents to help our kids and ensure that they don't get left behind?


We are being super patient and leaning in. Our oldest is finishing 2nd grade and its been piling up as far as intensity. Its literally part of our everyday routine. DH orders all these workbooks all the time. And we do things repetitively to help her remember things that don't come naturally--like some math concepts. She, like her mom has ADHD...so I figured out her learning style is much like mine. 
1. Learning your child's learning style. 
2. Accommodate your child's learning style and create similar conditions from school at home....Like... We time her for tests. We walk away, let her work independently. That was HARD for DH, but that's how she needed to practice at home. And it paid off.
3. Don't assume the teacher is covering everything. Email that teacher weekly. Ask questions. Cause kids DO misinterpret things. 
4. Did I mention that kids misinterpret things?
5. Don't be afraid to Google certain language arts or math rules so you can reinforce concepts. 
6. Make sure you ASK your kid how THEY interpret what was taught. Ask and ask again so you can understand how the teacher expects them to learn it. Cause its not always how YOU were taught.


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## Evolving78 (Mar 12, 2022)

naturalgyrl5199 said:


> The bolded...especially the underlined. My daughter finished Kindergarten at home from March to June. Then the first grade teacher, who was older, was a gem. She had everything well-oiled. I could tell she was already better than great with technology and the canvas platform. It was easy to follow and she was prepared. It still wasn't perfect but then when I listened to other parents from other local schools and my friends state-wide...I knew we were very fortunate.
> 
> But its shame kids get more or less depending on that teacher's skills and interest.


Same experience from March to June and the summer. But the next year, with the new teacher was just…


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## naturalgyrl5199 (Mar 16, 2022)

Everything Zen said:


> I don’t understand the sight word reading process. I’m not saying it may not be useful but how do you learn new more complex words without a fundamental basis of utilizing phonetics? I was taught under a private school method that utilized the abeka method of teaching. Yes, it was private Christian school but the quality of education was very high. It allowed me to started kindergarten at age four and I started reading at that age. Otherwise, I would have had to repeat preschool and wait for kindergarten at age five.
> 
> https://www.abeka.com/


I started Kinder when I was 4 as well. The downside was being mistaken for a high schooler lost on campus or doing dual enrollment. I could have waited a year based on social skills and maturity alone.


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## naturalgyrl5199 (Mar 16, 2022)

dancinstallion said:


> I agree,
> 
> 10 years ago we were talking about kids being behind coming into pre-k, kinder and didn't know the basics especially black kids. This has been at least a decade or more in the making.
> 
> ...


The bolded said by people nowadays really aggravate me....especially when the stakes are so high...This would be nice but like real estate, the current trends set the market. Kids reading already in Kinder set the tone for expectations.

You can't just push them up a grade (I was...and academically I was fine but socially---nah) So, it seems to me, it would take a teacher MORE ENERGY and effort to catch a kid up to a set of Kindergarteners who are already reading, vs finding stuff slightly more challenging for the readers to do.


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## naturalgyrl5199 (Mar 16, 2022)

fluffyforever said:


> Her kid will be 4 in a couple of months and she still goes to the same daycare. It definitely paid off. She already knows her alphabet and spelling and writing of little words. I know they read to her every night too though. My bff complains of the cost of the daycare but she wouldn’t ever think of switching. *She is about to have another child and will send to the same daycare if there is a spot available.*


In these conditions, its really good.

Bringing it all together--the big picture:

Daycare is about to become premium and really, access for the low income is becoming less and less available. Due to the pandemic Daycares have continued to have difficulty in keeping teachers on staff and the waiting lists are long. My youngest's daycare is only  holding space for siblings about to be born of current children who attend for the infant room. Then you have the issues of staff being out with COVID or other. I myself have been telling pregnant women to get themselves on a waiting list in the 1st trimester and if they are really convinced and eager, put down money.

States like NY are about to move to 3 YR old preschool subsidy for all (I think specifically NYC). Sounds good bc this is what some European countries like France does and the research supports it. HOWEVER-based on the current model its not good. Daycares actually make money to sustain on the older kids (ages 3-5) who attend daycare. Thats because its cheaper to staff older kids than it is in the infant rooms. Baby rooms require more staff due to ratio laws and despite the cost being higher, the margins are really thin. So having 3 YOs no longer attend daycare would sink and close many. The ELITE and well doing of the country would be able to continue paying what will eventually be a premium cost because the demand would be there. Or daycares will be normalized to 0-3 and private schools would also start at age 3. 

That being said--I see 3 YO public school for the near future.

Similar programs do exist in FL for preschoolers who at age 4 who have a diagnosed developmental delay--it can be as minor as speech....but they can start Elem school (K-4) in Florida and they have class, go through the cafeteria lunch line and get a big leap on learning. Plus free speech and occupational. Many many parents don't know. Doctors don't always know, yet black kids and a few whites DO take advantage of this. We also have voluntary Pre-K and daycare is discounted for 4 hours. We just pay the difference for the remainder of the day. But its literally FREE and you have to sign up, but its 4 hours of school instruction--free for all Florida kiddies.


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## naturalgyrl5199 (Mar 16, 2022)

Rastafarai said:


> As someone who grew up outside of the USA and was then integrated into the US public and private school system, I will say this:
> 
> The education system in the USA was lacking for YEARS. Not just in Reading/Writing but Math, Geography, Social Sciences, etc. There were subjects I learned in primary school that is not even mentioned or discussed until junior high school here in the USA.
> 
> ...


Every single child I grew up with who was born in the Caribbean and emigrated to the US was always no less than 2 grade levels ahead of us. They all graduated at age 15/16 and scored well above average on the ACT and SAT for college entrance.

I graduated at age 17. The typical age of graduation is 17.5/18 yrs old.


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## Rastafarai (Mar 16, 2022)

naturalgyrl5199 said:


> Every single child I grew up with who was born in the Caribbean and emigrated to the US was always no less than 2 grade levels ahead of us. They all graduated at age 15/16 and scored well above average on the ACT and SAT for college entrance.
> 
> I graduated at age 17. The typical age of graduation is 17.5/18 yrs old.



Yes, the same happened with me. I skipped two grade levels when I emigrated. Given my age I was to start in 3rd grade but was testing at 6th grade level. They bumped me down to 5th grade as they thought I was too young for junior high school. 

For reading and writing, I highly recommend a book series called Nelson's West Indian Readers. It has the Introductory, First Primer, Book 2, 3, 4 and 5. Its for early elementary but the sooner you start the better. It's all available on Amazon.

My parents also invested Math/Reading training from the E.D. Hirsch series of "What your ________ Needs to Know". He has a series for all grade-levels (first-grader, second grader, third, etc.). Those were INTENSE, but it sure did help push me to challenge myself and served as a foundation for my doing well enough to get into Honors Programs/AP courses in junior high and high school.


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## Everything Zen (Mar 17, 2022)

naturalgyrl5199 said:


> I started Kinder when I was 4 as well. The downside was being mistaken for a high schooler lost on campus or doing dual enrollment. I could have waited a year based on social skills and maturity alone.


I could have benefited from an academic/career mentor in undergrad- but that’s just par for the course. Universities stay failing students- especially the black ones. We’re maligned at worst and tolerated at best. Purdue came around in the past year with a mea culpa on that mess and it was like PTSD.

I don’t think there’s much difference waiting one year if you’re academically prepared and with access to online programs there’s no reason to hold anyone back except keeping a less mature child home for a while before sending them away.  Granted, the on-campus experience is going to increasingly become a luxury for the average American. It would make no sense for me to repeat preschool. I’m more concerned with the maturity gap stories of these wunderkind kids earning degrees at increasingly younger ages before they graduate high school. You earned a PhD at 10? Cool what are you gonna do now? Go to the trampoline park or launch a new start-up company? Kids need to be allowed to be kids.

I’m still mistaken for being younger than I am at 40- that’s not my fault. I tell people when they question my age- What age are YOU comfortable with?


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## madamdot (Mar 24, 2022)

Seattle Slew said:


> Many families still think school starts at kindergarten. It doesn’t. Preschool is a must. Kindergartners work on academics all day, with some play.
> Kids can learn to read before kindergarten. They are sponges! Give them something to soak up.



OK, so we've have to be careful with this thought. Lots of studies have been done on the universal pre-school and have shown that the way we do it here is actually detrimental to a lot of kids. We think if kids learn to read etc early (as pre-k) then they will be better off. They are in the years immediately after but in the long term its the opposite. Universal pre-k is vitally important but to stimulate children in play etc. You can absolutely learn while you play but its cannot be based the premised that learning reading and writing early is better. The creche system in Europe adopts the play model and they have better results.

I think there is a lot of theatre here in the US. Learning theatre is definitely one of them. We have some of the best universities in the world but education before that level is inconsistent.

Edited for whatever coding error that was.


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## Evolving78 (Mar 25, 2022)

madamdot said:


> OK, so we've have to be careful with this thought. Lots of studies have been done on the universal pre-school and have shown that the way we do it here is actually detrimental to a lot of kids. We think if kids learn to read etc early (as pre-k) then they will be better off. They are in the years immediately after but in the long term its the opposite. Universal pre-k is vitally important but to stimulate children in play etc. You can absolutely learn while you play but its cannot be based the premised that learning reading and writing early is better. The creche system in Europe adopts the play model and they have better results.
> 
> I think there is a lot of theatre here in the US. Learning theatre is definitely one of them. We have some of the best universities in the world but education before that level is inconsistent.
> 
> Edited for whatever coding error that was.


Totally agree!


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## Everything Zen (Mar 26, 2022)

It’s so crazy that my Aunt found an old newspaper article about me winning a summer library reading contest at age 7 in her drawer the other day and sent the picture to me. I think about how my kindergarten teacher and parents cultivated a love of reading and knowledge and how it’s carried me so far in life and the contrast for kids like my stepdaughter and I’m truly thankful.

I’m also faux-woke now with the anti-work Reddit subsection and I’m mad as hell that I read 192 books in one summer and all I got was a damn stuffed animal.

“it was at that moment, that I realized I would never be fairly compensated my labor and I descended into madness…”


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## dancinstallion (Mar 26, 2022)

madamdot said:


> OK, so we've have to be careful with this thought. Lots of studies have been done on the universal pre-school and have shown that the way we do it here is actually detrimental to a lot of kids. *We think if kids learn to read etc early (as pre-k) then they will be better off. They are in the years immediately after but in the long term its the opposite. *Universal pre-k is vitally important but to stimulate children in play etc. You can absolutely learn while you play but its cannot be based the premised that learning reading and writing early is better. *The creche system in Europe adopts the play model and they have better results.*
> 
> I think there is a lot of theatre here in the US. Learning theatre is definitely one of them. We have some of the best universities in the world but education before that level is inconsistent.
> 
> Edited for whatever coding error that was.



The only problem with this comparison is that US kids don't learn to read or write in PreK. They barely learn how to do it in Kindergarten.

What I have seen is the few kids that learned how to read in PreK are advanced readers and writers and in the top of their class in the following years as well as in high school. We have kids testing into college level for reading and writing by 8th grade. But again those are the few because most kids don't learn how to read that early and aren't at proper reading level. The kids that were taught to read in PreK were taught at home and not in school. So the US kids get all the play based learning they need.

I have to brag a little bit because DD learned to read in PreK and she has always tested above everyone else in her grade and the grade  above. Plus she skipped a grade. I am basing this off of experience. I still keep in touch with another mom whose dd learned to read in prek and she is still doing very well. Again most kids don't learn to read before 1st grade and we see where it has gotten the US.


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## LivingInPeace (Mar 26, 2022)

I’m not surprised children in the U.S. are behind in reading after the lockdowns. They were behind before Covid happened. Americans don’t value education and have an infatuation with ignorance.


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## naturalgyrl5199 (Apr 1, 2022)

Everything Zen said:


> It’s so crazy that my Aunt found an old newspaper article about me winning a summer library reading contest at age 7 in her drawer the other day and sent the picture to me. I think about how my kindergarten teacher and parents cultivated a love of reading and knowledge and how it’s carried me so far in life and the contrast for kids like my stepdaughter and I’m truly thankful.
> 
> I’m also faux-woke now with the anti-work Reddit subsection and I’m mad as hell that I read 192 books in one summer and all I got was a damn stuffed animal.
> 
> ...


My 7 YO read over 150 last summer but going out for pizza was enough for her. But this is the same child who settled for stickers as a treat for potty training rather than candy..... 

And you look absolutely precious in that picture. My 8 YO wears glasses and is into stuffed animals right now. Pandas are her thing


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## naturalgyrl5199 (Apr 1, 2022)

LivingInPeace said:


> I’m not surprised children in the U.S. are behind in reading after the lockdowns. They were behind before Covid happened. *Americans don’t value education* and have an infatuation with ignorance.


I feel like there is an intentional plan to let the bottom fall out.

Our school district is $2M short in funding (but will have to use Pandemic money to cover it) bc the republicans in FL changed the rules for scholarship funds (tax payer funded). One is for special needs kids an the other is for low income kids--both scholarships pay for private school. Now they have increased the number of scholarships for low income kids and increased the income threshold, initially due to COVID but its not being reverted. No one has a problem with these scholarships but this is tax payer money funding PRIVATE schools. Its then taking away from the kids and families who are committed to the public school system. And its unfair. I still have to shell over $25-30/month on cleaning supplies for my kid's classroom. Its like they are eating away and stuff little by little until there is almost nothing for public schools. 

I believe they want education to go the way of other countries where families pay to send their kids to school---it creates an elite class and a truly uneducated class of citizens. 

Academic freedom is on the chopping block too. Texas is proposing to remove tenure to professors who teach CRT. This will set a precedent but basically forces kids attending public universities to be taught what the government wants them to teach. 

Meanwhile the Democrats are fighting about respectability politics and social issues.


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## LivingInPeace (Apr 1, 2022)

naturalgyrl5199 said:


> I feel like there is an intentional plan to let the bottom fall out.
> 
> Our school district is $2M short in funding (but will have to use Pandemic money to cover it) bc the republicans in FL changed the rules for scholarship funds (tax payer funded). One is for special needs kids an the other is for low income kids--both scholarships pay for private school. Now they have increased the number of scholarships for low income kids and increased the income threshold, initially due to COVID but its not being reverted. No one has a problem with these scholarships but this is tax payer money funding PRIVATE schools. Its then taking away from the kids and families who are committed to the public school system. And its unfair. I still have to shell over $25-30/month on cleaning supplies for my kid's classroom. Its like they are eating away and stuff little by little until there is almost nothing for public schools.
> 
> ...


Thank you for this. Education in the U. S. Is being openly dismantled. Unfortunately we’re not doing anything to stop it. With the way we’re going, in fifty years there will be no public schools. If you want your child educated you will have to pay for it. If you can’t afford to educate your children, you will send them to work when they’re about seven or eight because the GOP will get rid of child labor laws. Those laws will disappear because people will keep believing that there’s no difference between democrats and republicans and won’t vote. We’re in the new version of The Gilded Age.
Let me add this: If you think for one moment that the GOP is anti-abortion because they care about "babies" you're delusional. They want to control women and make sure that they have enough babies being born to become low income wage slaves. We'll have poor children working in factories again just like they were in 1900.


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## shasha8685 (Apr 1, 2022)

naturalgyrl5199 said:


> I feel like there is an intentional plan to let the bottom fall out.
> 
> Our school district is $2M short in funding (but will have to use Pandemic money to cover it) bc the republicans in FL changed the rules for scholarship funds (tax payer funded). One is for special needs kids an the other is for low income kids--both scholarships pay for private school. Now they have increased the number of scholarships for low income kids and increased the income threshold, initially due to COVID but its not being reverted. No one has a problem with these scholarships but this is tax payer money funding PRIVATE schools. Its then taking away from the kids and families who are committed to the public school system. And its unfair. I still have to shell over $25-30/month on cleaning supplies for my kid's classroom. Its like they are eating away and stuff little by little until there is almost nothing for public schools.
> 
> ...



This reminds me of something that has been stuck in my head and I always find myself repeating. Way back when, just going to high school (never mind college) was something that rich folks did- that's why high school classes were created to focus more on academic/theoretical intelligence vs. practical skills- and these rich folks were going to go on a run the world.  However, over time, education became accessible to all but the model of how students are taught and what they are taught has not changed. I think that was done intentionally and we know have people who don't see the value of education because what they were taught isn't applicable to their lives. As a result, the elite class is still maintained. 

That's just what I think though.


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## naturalgyrl5199 (Apr 1, 2022)

shasha8685 said:


> This reminds me of something that has been stuck in my head and I always find myself repeating. Way back when, just going to high school (never mind college) was something that rich folks did- that's why high school classes were created to focus more on academic/theoretical intelligence vs. practical skills- and these rich folks were going to go on a run the world.  However, over time, education became accessible to all but the model of how students are taught and what they are taught has not changed. I think that was done intentionally and we know have people who don't see the value of education because what they were taught isn't applicable to their lives. As a result, the elite class is still maintained.
> 
> That's just what I think though.


You're definitely on to something.


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## naturalgyrl5199 (Apr 1, 2022)

LivingInPeace said:


> Thank you for this. Education in the U. S. Is being openly dismantled. Unfortunately we’re not doing anything to stop it. With the way we’re going, in fifty years there will be no public schools. If you want your child educated you will have to pay for it. If you can’t afford to educate your children, you will send them to work when they’re about seven or eight because the GOP will get rid of child labor laws. Those laws will disappear because people will keep believing that there’s no difference between democrats and republicans and won’t vote. We’re in the new version of The Gilded Age.
> Let me add this: If you think for one moment that the GOP is anti-abortion because they care about "babies" you're delusional. They want to control women and make sure that they have enough babies being born to become low income wage slaves. We'll have poor children working in factories again just like they were in 1900.


Exactly. 
Education is a gold mine for black and brown people. We have to continue to foster it. I feel like the "Idiocracy" is coming.


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## Evolving78 (Apr 2, 2022)

LivingInPeace said:


> Thank you for this. Education in the U. S. Is being openly dismantled. Unfortunately we’re not doing anything to stop it. With the way we’re going, in fifty years there will be no public schools. If you want your child educated you will have to pay for it. If you can’t afford to educate your children, you will send them to work when they’re about seven or eight because the GOP will get rid of child labor laws. Those laws will disappear because people will keep believing that there’s no difference between democrats and republicans and won’t vote. We’re in the new version of The Gilded Age.
> Let me add this: If you think for one moment that the GOP is anti-abortion because they care about "babies" you're delusional. They want to control women and make sure that they have enough babies being born to become low income wage slaves. We'll have poor children working in factories again just like they were in 1900.


I feel the same way.


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