To think more should be done to target reading problems

[ReallyTired]

If a child does not learn to read, it does not matter how intelligent they are, they are doomed to a life of povety and social exclusion. Labels like dyslexia are almost irrelevent. A child with any IQ level needs to learn to read. I think it would be wrong to give children with low intelligence less than children with high intelligence.

There are certain children who you can tell are at high risk of reading difficulties. For example the children of parents with learning difficulties, the children of those who have no qualifications (especially GCSE English equivalent), those with heaing problems or English as an addtional language.

I think that these children should have one to one attention to help with learning to read from the start of reception. I would go as far to say that they should get substantially extra attention in the early ages before they start school.

It may well be expensive, but if it means children are employable in twenty years time then its worth it.

We are Welsh speaekers. My dd reads well in Welsh but I wanted her to learn properly in English (which is harder). She says a couple of things in an American accent but it fades in minutes.

Cory - My Zimbabwean refugee wrote the most amazing stories! He'd spent most of his life outside doing things. Unlike his counterparts in this country who had had too many lesson learning how to write in the formulaic way it is taught these days.

...so she does say it in an American accent?

Moondog...do you think this kind of thing can be used for older children, say y6 kids, who've missed the boat on phonetics and need to be re-engaged?

I worry about the fact that material for these kids is limited. You can't take them back to basics because they've moved past that, to some degree, but they have often 'guessed' the basics, which means they sometimes get things wrong.

There's also the cool factor to overcome and the pride they have in where they are, even if they're not consistent readers.

Also, do you know how to address the fact that some older kids miss out the little words? They're so important to meaning, but they seem to be the things that kids miss. How do you go back and teach them this?

I've always found the idea of phonics and accents an interesting one anyway.

Definitely Squilly.
I use the analogy of a brick wall built with bricks missing. Eventually it will fall down. You are best off taking the bricks apart and starting again, layer by layer.

I konw Headsprout are thinknig of doing a more 'streetwise' version for older kids.

It tkaes 80 episodes of 15-20 mins each,starting with assumption the child knows nothing and getting to 8-10 age level.
In 20 mins. it does more than even a good teacher could do in three days.

There is a free 3 episode trial with it if you are interested (I don't work for Headsprout by the way, am merely evangelical at spreading the message.

There is no reason for kids of any background to be shit readers. We know enough to avoid it.

Yes, to a point Reallytired, you are probably right.

But I do find there is a massive distrust of what parents can do in this country- unless the same parents are solidly middle class and highly educated. Some of it may well be motivated, but I think there is a serious risk of it becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

When our kids go on summer holiday the school sends out letters with suggestions of what we should talk to them about. Nothing to do with the curriculum, you understand, but just on the assumption that nothing that we are interested in off our own bat would be of any value to our children's education.

I remember a friend suggesting some sort of parenting club centered around our local school, and how another mum immediately seconded it 'so that the mums can learn parenting techniques from us'. 'Yes', said my friend, 'or maybe we can learn from them'. Apparently the other mum looked totally taken aback- the idea had never occurred.

Yet when I grew up, my best friend's Mum was both mine and my parents' idea of a wonderful parent; she was barely literate (only had Junior school as far as I know) and worked on the assembly line, hardly very skilled work. But she talked to children- both her own and other people's.

I think the assumption that the underclass will be the one doing the lazy parenting can easily turn into a self-perpetuating one. I am sure there are lazy parents (or overtired, overworked ones) in all classes, but if the underclass (for want of a better word) are being told that their conversation is not of value, then clearly they will be less motivated to talk.

God...I'd love to take up the software but £100 is too rich for my blood.

I was fortunate that dd took to reading naturally. The experiences we shared during the early days encouraged me to volunteer and help others. The frustration has been how do I strip back to basics with these older kids?

I have spent a lot of my own money on books and magazines for my boys (as I call my 2 readers), probably nearly £100, but with the creidt crunch dh has banned me from buying any more stuff for the school. (darn that man of mine, but being a SAHM I do feel like I ought to respect his wishes at least to some degree).

I might have words with the school, though, to see if there is any way they could fund this kind of software. I'd have thought, in the scheme of things, £100 wouldn't be too much for them. Maybe we could even raise the money to buy this separately...

They may feel it conflicts with the current curriculum, bu tit's food for thought. I was also looking at the phonics Plus 5 system, which is American, and uses great techniques too.

Oooh...so many roads, but so little time.

Just re-read your OP, ReallyTired and realised that ds does fall into one of your at-risk groups. He does have a mother with English as an additional language.

Though that is hardly enough as an explanation, since dd has the same mother and she was identified as G&T in literacy the moment she set her foot in Junior School.

I think that part of the problem is that in the UK there are very jobs for people who cannot read. Many jobs that required unskilled labour have either been mechanised or are outsourced to countries where they pay people 20p and hour or something dreadful like that.

Our children also face global competition from immigrants from all corners of the world. My husband has a good job as a software developer, but he is the only white male in his team. Most his collegues come from India.

English is the hardest language to learn to read in the world. Most european languges are more phonetic than ours. It is not fair to compare the progress of a child in Finnish with the progress of a child in English.

I think that you are probably right in that children in the UK do start school too early. We definately need more flexiblity for summer born children.