Reception DC encouraged to guess words from pictures. Afraid I've got off on the wrong foot with teacher.

[Satina]

DC2 has just started reception and we were excited for all the new experiences the next year would bring. I'm worried however that I've got off on the wrong foot with the new teacher.

Sorry, this is long:

When DC1 was in the same class she flew through reading books and was known to be a very strong reader. However she eventually hit a barrier and her progression stalled. School weren't bothered as she was still ahead of expected for her age but I, who listened to her read daily noticed problems. Specifically that she was guessing unfamiliar words which sometimes meant she completely misunderstood the meaning of the passage she'd just read.

I'd never helped a child learn to read before, so I did extensive research into how to help her and went back to basics of focusing on decoding unfamiliar words and eventually she flew.

Since DC1 was in reception the school has replaced their book scheme to one that's supposed to be more decodable.

I was eager to avoid the same problems occurring for DC2 and was optimistic that the new book scheme would mean decoding would be encouraged rather than guessing.

I was therefore surprised when the very first comment in DC's reading diary was 'DC has been encouraged to use the pictures to help guess unfamiliar words'.

All of the reading I did around the subject, when DC1 was learning suggests this is bad practice.

E.g. The Rose Report says:

"However, if beginner readers, for
example, are encouraged to infer from
pictures the word they have to decode
this may lead to their not realising that
they need to focus on the printed
word.They may, therefore, not use their
developing phonic knowledge. It may
also lead to diluting the focused
phonics teaching that is necessary for
securing accurate word reading.Thus,
where beginner readers are taught
habitually to infer the word they need
from pictures they are far less likely to
apply their developing phonic
knowledge and skills to print. During
the course of the review, several
examples were seen of beginners
being encouraged to infer from
pictures the word they did not
immediately recognise from the text."

I asked for a quick chat with the teacher who rang me at home. I explained that I was very happy with everything in reception so far but that I'd really prefer DC to be encouraged to decode unfamiliar words and not guess. She thought I was trying to push for DC to have more complex books and spent some time telling me why she thought this would be detrimental. I clarified that I definitely was not pushing for harder material and in fact would have preferred an easier, decodable book.

I said I wasn't expecting any changes to the way the class is taught as a whole, but wanted DD to have books she could decode with her current knowledge (which I'm happy to provide if they don't have enough) and to be encouraged not to use alternative methods until she was secure in her decoding.

Teacher then spent some time telling me the importance of using other methods as some children struggle with phonics and it helps them and that it's important for children to learn through repetition and using other cues aswell as decoding.

This is where I'm worried I overstepped the mark as I said that I appreciate what you're saying but all my research suggests otherwise, which I know must be really annoying to be told as a professional by someone who is not a professional in that area.

I said I'm happy to provide all my references which the teacher said she didn't need.

Ultimately, all I wanted was for my DC to become secure in her decoding before other methods are used, so as not to confuse her.

Teacher has now agreed to this with DD, but I'm feeling so guilty and anxious about having said anything in the first place.

I should have kept my mouth shut and just focussed on decoding at home and let them do their own thing at school.

Do you think there's anything I can do to improve matters and reassure the teacher that I'm not going to be a PITA parent all year?

YANBU. Never be afraid to stick your neck out for your child. I am a teacher and if your school labels you, so what. Your chat with the teacher was a result of your experience of trusting the learning before. If I had a parent like you, I'd be sad that your DD1 was let down previously and delighted that you had been able to improve matters yourself. Parents who support their children like this make my job easier: you weren't complaining, you were being constructive and not unreasonable.

"Christ alive I’m soooooo glad I’m not a teacher" I am a teacher and I'm so pleased some parents are challenging poor practice when they see it. It's your child's future at stake!

I have terrible anxiety
Yet a-fucking-gain this excuse is thrown out to explain bullshit behaviour. You were completely inappropriate.
And yes, you will be spoken about and the teacher will remember this about you the whole year.
As a fellow teacher, leave us the fuck alone to do our job.

As a fellow teacher, leave us the fuck alone to do our job

Just finished two parents' evenings and am baffled by this attitude. So not what primary school should be about.

As a fellow teacher, leave us the fuck alone to do our job.

No. As a teacher, if I do my job badly, and not according either to best practice or government mandate, then I should expect a level of challenge and should expect to have to justify and back up my pedagogical choices.

It may well be that the OP didn't approach this in quite the best way - but that doesn't mean that she was wrong to challenge or that she was completely inappropriate.

Primary school teachers and parents / carers are partners in children's learning. Partners work together, discuss things, challenge each other, debate the best way forward, have open lines of communication. Not demand to be left alone to do their part of the job - not least because it can't be done by one partner alone.

There's a way to question and challenge and what the OP did isn't it.

It's a partnership and there should be a dialogue between parent and teacher, but haranguing and carrying on the way the OP did doesn't help.

But how would she have known that?

If you look at the record of the conversation in the OP, absolutely NOTHING in the first part of the conversation is an issue at all in terms of the OP's approach. She probably expected a positive response, as she was, after all, only talking about what the school should already be doing as a matter of best practice and statutory requirements.

It is ONLY when the teacher responds with what the OP KNOWS to be against said best practice / statutory guidance (and I can well imagine the OP's surprise and frustration at this point) that she starts talking about evidence. That may seem to you to be unacceptable - but in the OP's line of work, as in my own previous career, that's what you do - use evidence to support your case. The fact that citing research evidence is seen as 'bullshit behaviour' is perhaps a weakness in the teaching profession, not a weakness in OP.

I have had a parent of a child with SEN bring and use research to tell me about how to best manage their child's needs. The parent was upset, as the diagnosis was new, and she (rightly) wanted the best for her child. Their use of evidence might have been clumsy, in its assumption that i did not know anything about the condition, but I understood it entirely - the wish to support an argument or a request with key facts and research is something i perceive as a) normal and b) nothing I should feel threatened by.

Children's books have pictures in. Loads of them.

I wonder why...

Totally not the point but my dd started reception in september as well and the only reading books she has brought home are for us to read together and then do some activities with such as "look at the cover what do you think its about" "what's the first letter of the first word" "can you tell me what happened at the beginning" etc. Is this right? I know she has been learning phonics cause she comes home singing songs that teach phonics.

Surely they have pictures in them, because pictures are engaging and can enhance the enjoyment for the child.

There are utterly fabulous picture books for all ages - surely you aren't implying that the pictures are only there to help the reader to decode the words?

This is a very interesting thread for me.
My dd cannot decode words properly.
She is a teenager now but for some reason never got phonics. She was assessed and they realised she was remembering whole words rather than decoding. They said despite her reading age being miles ahead she couldn't possibly continue this way.
For example she would see a word, guess it completely wrong, be told what it actually said and just remember what that word was in the future.

I was just glad she could read at the time but as she got older , particularly at secondary it definitely became an issue.

Do you think there's anything I can do to improve matters and reassure the teacher that I'm not going to be a PITA parent all year?

How about stopping being a pain in the arse and let her do her job?

My son had wordless books for the first few weeks of his first year at school. By the start of his next year at school he was reading chapter books and is an amazing reader, started his last year of primary with a reading age of 16. Let the teacher get on with it. They know what they’re doing. How would you feel if someone without your professional expertise tried to tell you that you were doing your role all wrong?

They know what they’re doing.

Evidence from this thread says that this is not the case - and I say this as an experienced teacher.

How would you feel if someone without your professional expertise tried to tell you that you were doing your role all wrong?

If what I was doing was against best practice AND against statutory requirements, I would hope that I would be mortified, and do something to improve what I was doing PDQ.

Your child is in reception!! Why are you putting so much pressure on it? First term isn't even over yet. My child is also in reception and hasn't been sent home with a book yet, as they are still getting used to school and settling in.Why would you even bring this up so early on?

You've massively overstepped the mark and to tell her about references is disrespectful in my
opinion. She has trained for many years in that field and you've spent a couple of hours on google. You know you have over stepped the mark and I think if you apologise I'm sure it will be fine.

How would you feel if someone without your professional expertise tried to tell you that you were doing your role all wrong? I actually encourage my equivalent of students/parents to engage in discussion about my recommendations. If I'm doing something against national guidance for an individual, I'd expect to be able to back up, with evidence, why that was the case. I keep very much on top of new developments in my own field however if some new evidence was presented to me that I was not previously aware of, I'd make myself aware quickly and be happy to discuss the validity of such evidence.

However, this is not about how I conduct myself in my professional role. I started this thread about how I felt I had handled a situation badly and wanting advice as to how best to rectify matters.

As it stands, I would still prefer my DC not to be encouraged to guess words by using picture cues, however fully admit that I handled this discussion wrong with the teacher. I do really wonder what the best way to approach this would have been. I'm thinking probably just to keep quiet and do my own thing at home.

Snort

I think you are definitely NBU. I use research in my line of work and have similar personality traits getting really into a topic. It sounds like you're an anxious person who would be v v v v v unlikely to come across as rude. I think you were very respectful in how you disagreed with the teacher.

I've also read up all about phonics etc. She is definitely factually wrong and you are correct. The question is whether this discussion is going to have been more trouble than it was worth. I reckon not as long as you now carry on as normal. I'd say this is a small blip in your social relationship with the teacher that can be easily overcome by being helpful in the PTA etc etc as you plan to do. And I think it was worth making a stand for something important especially as your older dd struggled with mixed methods.

Good luck, you have nothing to apologise for but I hope you can be confident and smile next time you see the teacher and if you are I'm sure it will not be a big deal at all.

There are waaayyyyyyy worse parents out there than a polite respectful well researched concerned mum who is factually correct. Stick to your guns!

As much as there have been some pretty harsh replies on this thread, there has also been so much support and I am thankful that you have taken the time to read such a long thread and reply.

I'd like to think the powers of above would be keeping a close eye on their teachers and making sure they are following best practice. If they're not, then that is the fault of the management, not the teacher.

You are putting trust in the teacher and the school to provide the best education for your child. If for whatever reason the trust isn't there, and you are completely convinced they are not providing for your child's needs and are not willing to, then move your child to a different school.

It's really quite simple. You can bitch and moan and throw your research in their faces but if this is a whole school approach, you haven't got much of a leg to stand on. You are only one parent after all, and you'd be deemed an awkward one at that. If there were many of you, the story may be different.

But if its just you, and the Headteacher isn't willing to cater to your child's needs, then it isn't the right school, surely.

"There's a way to question and challenge" and as a teacher I applaud the OPs restrained response to ill informed teacher arrogance.