Learning to read is like learning to ride a bike or play a piano.
It is a skill.
It is built up step by step.
New skills build on the previously learned skills.
Can you remember the exhilaration you felt when you took off on your two wheel bike.
You could balance without falling! Remember the hours of practise, the frustration of not having success straight away.
Learning a skill takes effort and input from the learner.
People are different.
They learn at different rates.
As far as learning to read is concerned some kids take to it like a duck to water.
Many struggle because of a biological disposition or fail to learn the basics during early primary school.
They might have a thinking style (dyslexia) which causes difficulty in learning to read.
Providing hearing, sight and sound processing are normal children usually succeed when reading is taught in a systematic way.
It seems a quarter of children struggle to learn to read.
I find this deeply concerning.
I can't believe one quarter of children have inherited reading problems.
It does seem that the whole language approach to teaching literacy adopted by modern education does not suit a lot of children.
Research indicates one-quarter to one-third of children cannot learn simply by the whole language approach.
I totally support a phonics based program to teach children to read.
I have sat using one for with many students and each one has begun to read more confidently.
The material they read is pitched at their level of development.
Comprehension skills are developed at the same time.
They also have to take responsibility for their learning and continue to read.
If children are told learning to read is easy the achievement is downgraded.
Reading is a lifelong development and one of the most life enhancing skills a person can develop.
It takes commitment and effort by a child and their parents and teachers and it is never too late to learn.
No excuses! I have found teaching a person to read involves the same approach.
It is used with children who are autistic, have an intellectual disability or are dyslexic.
The alphabet code must be taught.
That is 25 letters are used to spell the 44 sounds that make up English.
One, two, three and sometimes four letters are used to spell one sound.
The sounds of English (and other languages) are divided into 2 groups: vowels and consonants.
All words must contain at least one vowel sound.
A syllable or part of a word contains a vowel sound.
If a word has 2 vowel sounds it is a 2 syllable word.
Knowledge of blends of consonants, prefixes and suffixes, word patterns and word meaning are all part of the process.
When a child begins with simple texts that are easily decoded with a sprinkle of the words not easily decoded their reading and language develops step by step.
I think our education system has to move away from encouraging children to think that learning should 'always' be easy or fun.
It isn't.
The learning process is gradual and success is an ongoing thing.
This attitude seems to be prevalent in society.
"Hard' or 'difficult' seems to equated with 'boring' or 'grim' so that when the learning requires effort too many give up and don't experience the real satisfaction there is when a task is mastered.
The idea that everything has to be easy and fun has I believe brought about a lack of respect for education and educators.
The acquisition of language and the mastery of reading are two of the most complex and important tasks most of us will ever undertake.
Part of the joy of literacy development is the sense of accomplishment the learner feels when they know they have worked at, practised and mastered a skill they have felt to be difficult.
We must get this message across to students.
Their life depends upon it.