Are Illinois schools teaching reading all wrong? – Chicago Sun-Times

A mounting body of scientific research shows there are specific ways students should be taught to read. But many popular reading lessons in American schools, including those used in Illinois, aren’t aligned yet with that science. Data show that, even before the pandemic, only 1 in 3 Illinois third graders were reading at grade level according to the state test.
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Poor Taxpayer
3 years ago

I did not know the did teach the kids to read.

ProzacPlease
3 years ago

We have been teaching children to read for centuries. Now they want to act as if it is some big mystery that will require billions more in training $$. They want schools that are nothing more than woke madrasas.

debtsor
3 years ago
Reply to  ProzacPlease

We’ve been teaching people to read for Millennia. Aristotle taught Alexander the Great to read using the Iliad and sticks/clay tablets. Current woke administrators don’t want to teach children to read. They don’t care to. Like you said, all they want are woke madrasas. I point this out to my local school board that there is considerable evidence that its pivot to wokeness this past decade is directly related to falling test scores. The administrations response to falling test scores? We have an moral obligation to apply equity even if that means more students perform poorly. Parents scream at them… Read more »

Eugene from a payphone
3 years ago

The question is, how well can the teachers themselves read?

Giddyap
3 years ago

Illinois Public Schools today teach kids:

— how to hate God, America, and anyone of a different race

— all about perverted and deviant sex lifestyles

— that Marxist dictatorship is the only correct form of government

Waggs
3 years ago

*pounds head against wall*

This…is…what…good…old-school…teachers…have…been…telling…admin…and…reading…”specialists”… for… years…

*heavy sigh*

debtsor
3 years ago

They only care about equity. School administrators would be happy if no one could read – and that’s where my local district is headed – because then everyone would be on the same level. Reading proficiency in my district has fallen 12-14% in the previous six years. The administrators blame the tests instead of their curriculum. School board gets rid of advanced reading ‘for equity’ as test scores are dropping, renews superintendent’s contract, and everyone pats themselves on the back for being so great.

Old Joe
3 years ago

Hmm, where’s all those nuns now?

Pat S.
3 years ago
Reply to  Old Joe

Most are retired; though the ranks are thinned, there are still some hardy nuns out there teaching the next generation. At each grade level a single nun ran roughshod on a class of 30+. Over eight years students learned how to read, structure a sentence, comprehend, reason, do math and understand simple science and biology, as well as love our country and respect one another all while deferring to sister’s authority. Had a student dared to mouth off at the teacher, parents wouldn’t storm the convent to defend bad behavior and threaten to sue. Students graduated high school ready to… Read more »

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