SOUTH CAROLINA ORGANIZATION OF RURAL SCHOOLS
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SOUTH CAROLINA ORGANIZATION OF RURAL SCHOOLS
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FOR PITY SAKE- TEACH READING

School district test scores for South Carolina schools hve just come out. Lots of information to go through and analyze. In some instances, school districts have improved. In others, no improvement, or some going down. This is true all over the country. Even in the wealthiest school districts, there are always pockets of children who do not do well on reading tests.


Yes, most of the low scores come from poor communities. If we have not figured that out yet, we are doing a disservice to those children. Yes, the emphasis on reading may not exist in some homes. Some very thoughtful people have provided those children with books. Yet scores do not seem to rise in those communities.


There are many panaceas that claim to be able to teach reading. There are many companies, for a few bucks, that will claim to teach reading. Meanwhile, teachers are struggling to get these children up to grade level. It’s like shoveling against the tide.


Forget the arguments about phonics, whole word, LTRS, the Science of Reading. It does not matter how you might teach the children. The pros in the teaching field know how to do it. How do I know. I have seen it. After 62 years in education, I can tell you that there are those kinds of teachers everywhere. I have seen them in many schools and in many states.


So what’s the trick? What’s the magic bullet? O.K. you caught me.

  • Have the state make reading a statewide priority
  • Have the school district and each school make reading a priority. It will certainly be different p-5, 6-8 and 9-12.
  • Reduce the amount of paperwork associated with teaching
  • Challenge Title I to allow you do what you need to succeed
  • Start working with parents. That will do so much good
  • Spend more time on reading during the day. If that means cutting out some other things, reading is imperative in life.
  • Give teachers the freedom to use any method they choose each year. We know that children learn in different ways.
  • Give teachers time to consult with each other.
  • Have administrators, who have not been teachers of reading, take a course or two in reading instruction.


Are all of these pipe dreams- absolutely not. It has been done before and can be done here.


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