This essay was written by Hayden Miskinis, a 12 year old from Epping Middle School in Epping, NH. It was one of the top three winners in the middle school category of the New York Times Annual Student Editorial Contest.
Literacy: The Forgotten Social Justice Issue
EXCERPT: Yes, Black lives matter. But in the context of schools, as educators, as people who claim that their life’s work is for Black, brown, and disenfranchised children, we can not fully proclaim that Black Lives Matter until Black literacy does.
Prioritizing Educator Knowledge through Grassroots Activism
Inspiring article by Maria Murray, CEO and President of The Reading League.
EXCERPT: I received numerous emails from previous students once they began teaching. Their inquiries confirmed that even if knowledge of the science of reading is taught in university classes, it will likely melt away if the schools in which graduates are hired do not embrace it.
How ‘Reading Instruction’ Fails Black And Brown Children
By Natalie Wexler, author of The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System – and How to Fix It
EXCERPT: When it comes to reading, what works is a simultaneous mix of two things at early grade levels: systematic instruction in phonics, and starting to build the kind of knowledge students will need in high school and beyond. What doesn’t work is what schools have been doing: giving a token nod to phonics while encouraging kids to guess at words, and scrapping social studies and science to focus on illusory reading comprehension skills.
Every Child Is Unique… and Every Child Has to Learn the Same Skills
“It is simply not true that there are hundreds of ways to learn to read… when it comes to reading we all have roughly the same brain that imposes the same constraints and the same learning sequence.”
— Dr. Stanislas Dehaene, Reading in the Brain (2009)
Our Dyslexic Children – 2020 – Full Film
Definitely an important and worthwhile film to watch!
10 Signs of a Decoding Problem
This article has a comprehensive list of signs for parents (or teachers) to consider if a child appears to be struggling with reading. Signs include skipping words, misreading words, and guessing at unfamiliar words.
Schools Face Challenge of Teaching Reading in Proven Way – And Now in a Pandemic
Some states are leading the way in providing teacher training based in the science of reading. Let’s hope more follow this path!
Riccards: Twenty Years After the National Reading Panel, It’s Time for a Reading Rights Movement
Rushing to Fill the Gaps Coronavirus Has Widened
More great resources for distance-learning! These resources are not specific to struggling readers; however, all parents might find helpful information in the links about working on reading at home, including reading passages to use at home – some even offer passages in Spanish.
How to Handle IEPs During the Coronavirus Crisis? Some Expert Advice
EXCERPT: Education Week interviewed three experts—a special education attorney, an attorney who represents school districts in special education disputes, and a professor who studied special education law for decades—to find out what advice they have on handling IEPs during the global pandemic.
During the discussions, three common themes emerged. Schools should: provide services to students as soon as possible; worry more about making progress than following the letter of the law; and understand that much of federal law wasn’t written with online education in mind.
20 Things Only Parents Of Children With Dyslexia Would Understand
A great list for all to understand! All are important, but #16 is a favorite!
#16 – Dyslexic kids are individuals. Their disabilities come in all ranges. Some may exhibit symptoms of ADD, while others will not. Some have real difficulty putting thoughts into words, while others are much more verbal. Some are of average intellectual ability, while others are truly gifted. Some have “acting out behavior;” while others are too quiet. It is unfair to treat all dyslexic children as if they are one homogeneous group.
Thank You Dyslexia Moms: Now Can We Get Some Back Up?
We are definitely thankful for all the moms, dads, advocates, educators, journalists and policymakers who are working hard every day to ensure that every child learns to read.
Take a moment to enjoy this piece & take note of the excellent resource list at the end, too.
How Dyslexia is a Different Brain, Not a Disease
Excellent article!
“It’s important to note that dyslexia is NOT caused by visual problems, and it isn’t the flipping of letters, or reading letters backwards, or mispronouncing words—and it’s not related to motivation or intelligence. It’s merely the result of a brain with a different organization that makes reading and writing more difficult.”
“Because the human brain doesn’t come already wired to read, there is no “reading center” of the brain and there are no “reading genes.”
At Risk in the Culture of ‘Normal’
We are so excited that Jonathan Mooney is coming to Park City on October 30th! Read the Op-Ed he wrote for the New York Times.
