Listening to children reading is not a good use of a teacher's time.

[seeker]

Honestly.

The children learn to read through all sorts of classroom activities. Reading aloud to an adult is only one small part of it, and one which can perfectly well be done by anyone who can read. So if you hear your child read every day, don't worry if he doesn't read to the teacher very often- he will be having lessons in all aspects of reading which he then practices at home with you, and in some schools on parent helpers, other volunteers, year 6s- anyone who will sit don with them for 5 minutes.

The teacher meanwhile is doing loads of other things- things which you need to be a trained teacher to do!

Can I just add that the Firefly range of books are so dull. Why on earth do teachers give such boring books to early readers? Reading is so much easier when there is a subject that engages the child.

Weird schools some MNers send their kids too.

The teachers here teach their kids to read, write and count, and so does my ds's school.

I am also laughing because it's only last week that another poster was complaining because all teachers talked about was how hard they worked and the long hours they put in and how that made them terribly boring social company.... not quite the same thing as an impression of laziness...

Could have fooled me, gaelic

I can't say I've heard anything better about schools in England teacherwith2kids. More than happy to be enlightened however.

Indeed - HUGE number of teacher bashing threads lately.

Gaelic, tbh, you'd have to visit some.

I'll try not to bash anyone, but has it been confirmed that teachers are striking in England on 30 November?

I haven't called teachers lazy, I'm saying that's the impression they often give as a group. They should think about that, and remember how many illiterate children leave school every year, before talking publicly about hearing reading not being their job.

Gaelic, as a Literacy coordinator, I am far too busy making sure 100% of the children at my school leave us reading well to worry about you or anyone else thinking I am lazy.

I'm a teacher in Scotland. A bit surprised at some of the comments on this thread to say the least.

However I am sorry to read that your experience with the school system has been such a negative one gaelicsheep.

Lostlady, your child will be taught to read, write and count at school, but if you do nothing at home then don't expect them to be at the same level in these areas as children who are also being helped at home to do these things or had been taught some skills before they started school.

Feenie - OK, let's say I'm not huffy with the people on this thread, perhaps just a touch of PMT

I'm seriously not winding you all up though. I really do have genuine worries and concerns.

To Firefly I will add Oxford Reading Tree. When DS started school they were proposing to leave him with one of these godforsaken books for a whole week. Thankfully enough of us complained and it was changed to two a week. Whoever thought that the best way to teach children to read was to give them the most boring books in the world?

NAHT are striking, ATL and NUT are striking, NASUWT ballot result is due next week.

We (teachers) are not saying its not our job to hear readers; we are saying its not the most productive thing (for the class) for us to do it.
Would you be happy, gaelicsheep, if I heard your DC once a week, but then have to hear the other 29 children as well (fair is fair), so I don't give your child any input for the rest of the five hours of reading time? As a parent, that would be when I would feel my child was missing out most.

Yes I think at least 10 minutes of one on one time with the teacher for each child, per week, is more than fair, essential surely? It can be done while the other children are doing all this small group work.

Agree - we teach reading in a different way to the old hear-30-readers-once-a-week-sitting-at-my-desk way while the class get on with painting/playing/doing sod all for five hours a week. It's very effective.

I don't even have a desk.

and when the rest of the class are doing busy work I should imagine AbigailS

handsomeharry, I apologise. Although I have visited a couple of Scottish primaries - in which textbooks, workbooks and sheets were a big feature - and have friends whose children are in the Scottish system who I compare notes with occasionally, I am making the basic error of extrapolating too far from limited data and therefore you are right to be surprised. What is your experience?

I'm sorry, but with so many illiterate youngsters I refuse to believe that the current methods are working. I do realise I sound like I've swallowed a Daily Mail.

10 minutes x 30 children = 300 minutes, FIVE HOURS of your children doing occupational tasks they can get on with which teach them NOTHING. Instead of actually TEACHING them reading every single day.

I will have to go to bed soon -am getting shouty.

I really don't expect a teacher to listen to my child read, that is my responsibility, however, when I suggest that my child should go up to the next level I do expect the teacher to trust my judgement (fairs fairs).

I don't have small group work so where do I fit in the reading ... I know lunchbreak! ... oh that's what I do now

And me - I apologise for generalising handsomeharry. But I have had about 6 children in from Scottish schools over the last 3 years and SMP worksheets and handwriting/spelling sheets have featured very highly, with no creative writing having been done at all by the middle of Y2.

I do not do nothing at home I wish. But I did expect that the teaching professionals would do their job, as I do mine. I live in the back of beyond in Scotland and have no choice but the local state school. If I sound bitter it is through despair and disillusionment.

Small group work?, that doesn't distrurb the teacher and reader, that doesn't need any input from the teacher i.e. work they can do already so it doesn't move children on in their learning. Oh I'm sure I've got some old colouring sheet somewhere. Or maybe lots of wordsearches?