The consequences of poor achievement in literacy in the early years are pervasive,
having detrimental effects on future school performance, cognitive capacity, self-esteem, motivation to read and school retention.
It is a big week for the Letchford family! This week, my son Nicholas takes his final oral examination to complete his DPhil from Oxford. This is the same boy the school diagnostician called, The worst child I’ve seen in twenty years of teaching! It has been a very long road, culminating in this major event. As a seven-year-old, Nicholas failed to learn to read in his first year of school. Testing showed he had less than ten words, limited concentration, no spatial awareness, and no strengths. It is possible that this year could have defined his future. Thankfully it didn’t.
The challenge for me, as a teacher, parent, and educator, is overcoming labels which limit children’s futures. I now work tirelessly to have students learn to read by writing poetry, engaging my struggling readers in both reading and writing with both the student and the teaching loving learning!
References:
The above quote derives from an academic article by Reynolds, Wheldall, and Madelaine (2011).
(Cunningham & Stanovich, 1997; Ensminger & Slusarcick, 1992; Juel, 1988)
(Stanovich, 1986)
(Rose, 2006)
(Chapman, Tunmer, & Prochnow, 2000; Morgan, Fuchs, Compton, Cordray, & Fuchs, 2008)
(Bost & Riccomini, 2006; Ensminger & Slusarcick, 1992)
