They began to struggle with focus.
Increasingly, younger kids were not nailing basicreading skillsbefore third grade a crucial window.
Those who miss it have a tough road ahead in middle and high school.
McGoun, who has a doctorate in education, shared one stark example.
With struggling readers, he hands each child a book upside down and backward.
These days, “some students aren’t able to do that.”
This is not unusual.
Across the US,kids are struggling to read.
Parents with resources to do so are moving their kids to schools that tout science-backed teaching styles.
“We’re burning out at a faster rate, and it’s causing a lot of apathy.”
Get all teachers to use the same, evidence-backed teaching style.
Teaching styles have served as political footballs for over 100 years.
It became known as the Mississippi Miracle.
TEACHING STYLES
In other states, parents want a Mississippi Miracle of their own.
Despite spending a second year at that level, the little girl had fallen behind in reading and writing.
Coughlin was appalled; spelling was why Carter struggled to keep up in other classes.
The mom took up her concerns with the teacher, who, she said, defended the visual method.
“So we hit the brakes.”
Her progress was dramatic, Coughlin said.
Now 8 years old, Carter thrives in her second-grade reading classes.
you might’t use anything else, McGoun said.
Nailing the right method is not a teachers biggest concern, McGoun said.
When you have motivated students, they will read.
Parents know tearing a school-age child away from a phone is no easy feat.
No matter what literacy technique you employ, the pull ofscreenstends to be stronger.
There are efforts to leverage technology to help with literacy.
Getting teachers on board may not be easy.
Jeff Jarvis, a public-school teacher in Los Angeles, is skeptical about the tech method.
Thats where parents come in.
Liza and I are from different generations with different interests, Buyeu said.
Buyeu devised a game to make reading fun for Liza.
The pair read and discussed the books before writing an alternative ending to the plot.
Family members voted on a winner, which motivated Liza even more.
Buyeus game speaks to the power of parental involvement a luxury not afforded to every kid.
It helps to be able to read and comprehend complex material.
The companys methodology incorporates both meaning-based instruction and phonics.
She was worried that the disruption of the health crisis might set him back.
Id read articles about children being home and getting further and further behind, Brooks said.
Shes glad she did.
Jessica Mercedes Penzari, a 40-year-old mom in New York City, can relate to Brooks dilemma.
Her son Hendrix’s kindergarten report card showed that he had dramatically fallen behind in reading within months.
It was a moment of panic, Penzari said.
Once you fall behind, getting caught up is so difficult.
I thought, Im slipping as a mom because my eye isnt on the ball.
Penzari secured a private tutor a special-education teacher who lived in her building.
She babysat the womans kids in exchange for the typically $75-an-hour lessons.
Children who have fewer educational resources find themselves a step behind their peers at the outset.
How is he supposed to be productive if he cant read?
she said in the news segment.
She said legislators to whom she later wrote pleading for improvements ignored the problem.
I feel like they dont care.
Its not their children, she said.
What now?
Shessparked angerfrom some educators who argue her plans would hurt public schools.
She has also been accused ina recent lawsuitof enabling sexual abuse of kids in the WWE.
Still, its not enough to simply shower schools with cash smart policies are key.
He agreed that federal funding for literacy programs is essential to stop reading rates from tumbling further.
Take your kids to libraries, the teacher said.
Let them read aloud to you and then ask questions about the text.
Its important to have parent-child time away from technology.
