Every Parent Matters

The ability to read is the single most important factor in a child’s education. It is one of the easiest areas in which a parent can help at home using one of the reading games now available to help. Yet 67% of all parents don’t bother reading aloud with their children. Only 33% read with their children daily and the majority are mothers. Dad’s have given up or never started to help in the first place.

These startling figures have been revealed by Booktrust, a charity that promotes reading. They also established the drop off rate is alarming declining from 43% to 37% in the last two years.

Almost 25% rarely or never read with their children. And in the place of reading is TV. A further oddity is that the older the parent the least likely they are to read to their children. 75% of mothers aged 25 – 34 read to their children but this drops to 60% with mothers aged 35-44 and down to 33% if they are 45-54 yeard old.

In order to excel in school reading is an absolute must. Practice helps significantly and the easiest way is with your parents at home. There are some great online books that feature animations to help with the reading.

There is an army of five million adults in the UK that can’t read or write properly and of critical concern is this alarming number is growing. Children continue to finish their primary or secondary education unable to read or write.
The new TV documentary highlights the dilemma. Accepting the inevitable slant TV puts on many programmes to add drama, last night’s docudrama featuring a group of nine mature and illiterate students was still shocking.

The reality of this staggering statistic is a body blow to the educational standards in the UK.  We still fail to provide the very basics of education to all our children.  The TV teacher chosen to lead the recovery demonstrated passion and commitment to the role. But worryingly he was at considerable odds with the teaching resources he was advised to use.  If the reading support, including worksheets and procedures developed by the hierarchy were regarded by the teacher as complex, arduous and missing the point what hope is there it will work.

The slightly over emotional teacher, previously a musician, admitted he had never taught anybody to read in his life. Initially he seemed a strange appointment but his direct approach proved the skill of a good teacher can outweigh a multitude of ring binders of arduous theory.  His novel approach using educational games supported his passion in the role that started to break through decades of frustration and neglect. Turning reading support into fun and providing one to one support has started to overcome the many reasons for the student’s illiteracy, epitomising what good teaching is all about. Once the inertia is overcome we can expect rapid progress.

Each of the nine students had been failed by the initial schooling process. They had suffered the law of averages, inevitably casting students operating at the bottom of the class into the inevitable realm of exclusion from the lesson.  The point emphasized by the illiterate plumber set word search puzzles at school and sent home at midday.

Teachers facing the constant pressure of attaining academic targets are bound to focus on the average and brighter student to boost the score. In place of spending vast sums of money on complex procedures maybe we need to listen more closely to the operational experience of teachers. Investing in a policy where no student should leave primary school whilst failing in literacy or numeracy would deal with the problem at source. This perhaps brutal approach should receive vital direct funding where it will help give all children the best chance to thrive academically in secondary school.  The “Every Child a Reader” literacy scheme introduced by the government has to be a prerequisite in any target judgement.

The sterling work completed by the reading support organisations such as the “Volunteer Reading Help” ( primary schools ) and “Reading Matters”(secondary schools)  provide 1:1 support to struggling readers in school. Both are registered charities and reliant on volunteers. Should government funding be extended to develop the services offered by these groups? A greater number of trained volunteers to help teachers in more schools and perhaps adult classes can only help – provided they do not loose their independence.

The TV program’s refreshing angle showed the element of fun through reading games overcame many of the issues faced by the students, and that illiteracy is not down to a single cause. The musical introduction to reading skills introduced enjoyment to the process that seemed adequately to displace the complex procedures. But learning to read through English games involves teaching phonics – the sound of words – ironically where the “ph” of phonics is of course pronounced as “f” which is where we came in!

The key to education is the ability to read. We all have different speeds of reading and learning and all too often some of us can get left behind through in the whirlwind of modern life. Busy classrooms, busy Mums and Dads can result in the struggling reader slipping behind and maybe giving up. One of the recent success stories are the reading volunteers going into schools to give one to one support to a child. Startling results have been achieved. Within 6 weeks the struggling reader can overtake the rest of the class! If all children could receive this level of support we could expect substantially improved standards. But children don’t get 1:1 support in school, it’s impractical. In an average class of 30 there just isn’t the time despite the very best efforts of the teacher.

Some support at home is essential but how do we achieve this in the clamour of an equally busy home life. Bedtime stories have lapsed over the years yet these are the lifeblood of the help to be given at home. The part Dad’s play in this role has also slipped badly over the years due in the main to longer hours worked and perhaps the grim commute. The good news is there is some great new help for the busy school and parents

Technology has spurred the development of online reading games. Using a pc, whiteboard and especially a laptop computer, children can now watch animated stories where the script is highlighted as the narrator reads the story. Children love to repeat a favourite story – now just a click of the mouse away. And by turning reading into educational games there’s some great fun in the process.

To see an example of MightyBook reading support educational games take a look here

Alistair Owens operates www.keen2learn.co.uk offering educational games toys and puzzles.

They say education is a lifelong journey. Difficult to comprehend when you are at school slogging through lessons and exams but learning can be greater fun when turned into an educational game. Take a practical application and apply as many subjects that have been learned in the classroom.

This morning I took a shower, a frequent occurrence I hasten to add, but today I had one of those eureka moments – a tribute perhaps to that other rather more famous bather. Have you ever thought how much science is involved in the process of taking a shower?

To highlight the point I have used the following abbreviations as each topic appeared during my ablutions.

• Biology (B)
• Physics (P)
• Chemistry (C)
• Maths (M)
• Citizenship (City)
• Psychology (Psy)
• Geography (G)
• Geology (Geo)
• English Language (Eng)

The first question to loom up is why we take a shower? The experience is functional in removing body odours created by bacteria, (B) but also physiological as it induces endorphins that help wake you up and make you feel good (Psy) Removal of body odours also makes you a little less undesirable to others nearby ( City).

The water is fed from a header tank under gravity- thanks to Newton (P) – and as I’m a devout wuss, heated. Energy is consumed to heat the water by the conversion of electrical energy into heat P). This is measured in watts, the result of multiplying volts by amperes (M +P).

Responding to marketing persuasion I have been attracted to the delights of a power shower. The increased force (P) boosts the endorphins (B) but unfortunately uses 12 times the amount of water (Geo) than the gravity shower all of which has to be heated (P ) This is draining the natural resources, literally, of water and power causing environmental concerns (forgot to add the code for the environment – that’s an (E). The availability of water depends on geography (G) and the natural storage which locally are aquifers (Geo).

Being male I have a predilection to B.o.g.o.f offers ( buy one get one free) in supermarkets and anything in blue packaging (Psy) The resultant over purchase of needless stock (M) led to a ban by my wife (City)that means all shower products used have her stamp of approval and sensible supply level.

Today’s showering experience was a cornucopia of non blue ingredients. The shampoo promised a “Fruitful Infusion” to produce a “Dazzling Shine” (Eng) from the passion flower, patchouli and vetiver ingredients(B). The conditioner provided “Tangle free hair with uplifted volume” enhancing the dazzle effect by way of a “Citrus lift”(Eng) from tangerine, lemongrass and aloe vera (B) And the rest of the body below the head was in turn subjected to “Serious pampering”(Eng) from fennel (B) and sea mineral (C) based in a silky smooth shower gel (C).

The post shower application of talcum powder, contained talc mineral (C+Geo). The deodorant, promising to maintain a “desert – dry”(Eng) atmosphere under the arms (B +G) from aluminium zirconium trichlorohydrex (C). The aftershave contained alcohol ( C).

In the space of 5 minutes I had consumed 150 litres of water, 4 kilowatts of energy (P), half an alpine meadow of additives, and drained the lot away to the water treatment works where they will use bacteria (B) to break the ingredients free from the water, and off we go again.

Taking a simple shower will seem a lot busier from now on. My shower involved 34 applications of science and learning and a lot of fun to see just how many links with education can exist.

Alistair Owens operates an educational games web site www.keen2learn.co.uk and writes on educational matters for a wide range of publications.

Some great news! keen2learn now has access to the fantastic range of English games and Maths games from Smart Kids. Included in the comprehensive selection of literacy, maths and numeracy games is Chunks a great word game that is in extensive use in school. These teaching resources from Smart kids have proved a significant hit in lesson planning and turning many subjects at school into great fun.

The ease of use of the keen2learn website allows teachers to quickly select the products they need matched to the curriculum. Now parents can also access these same products to reinforce the lessons at home. As educational games they are great fun – you only have to ask your children which games they like to play.

The role of a modern teacher is not easy. The objective to impart knowledge, instil a learning ability, an interest in learning and ultimately groom their students towards examination success posses many challenges in modern schooling. The expectations of parents, educational authorities, the schools inspectorate and changes in society are a growing challenge to the average teacher resulting in a significant number falling by the wayside.

The dilemma is how to provide the ideal modern teaching resource extending from early learning through primary to secondary and high school. We need to compare the honed skill of the experienced teacher applying the traditional approach, able to control a class of mixed ability, with that of a computer literate vogue fledgling teacher. But in the contemporary school which has the greater relevance? Modern technology has resulted in significant changes to the teaching resources now used in school. Sophisticated software and a games approach to learning can enliven the class lesson content immeasurably compared to 15 years ago. Educationalists have developed a fun learning approach to education, turning many a dull subject into educational games. This approach has even spurred eminent scholars in education research on the University campus to recognise the advantage of applying greater video game content in education.

But still that question, which of the teaching skills is therefore better matched to the modern classroom. The mature disciplinarian versus the technocrat. A few years ago I had a conversation with a large supplier of “whiteboards” that have appeared in many classrooms. This sophisticated piece of modern electronic wizardry allows the teacher to project information onto a class sized interactive screen and interface with a computer program. The problem is the computer literacy required to make them work effectively is not second nature to many otherwise skilled teachers and many have tended to switch them off having spent most of the lesson trying to master the operation. The supplier found a significant number being used only as a modern “blackboard” with dry wipe pens used instead of chalk. This expensive technical standoff can be perhaps personified by the “video chasm”, where parents rely on children to operate the video or DVD recorder.

Yet technology is a core element of the curriculum and needs cohesive introduction, or does it? Can anyone recall giving instruction to children on the operation of a mobile phone? Doubtless the skill wasn’t taught at school yet the average child’s speed of operation and use of a phone’s features is phenomenal. Children learn from experimentation, the buzz of immediate feedback and peer support. The hands -on approach has a significant benefit. It would seem there is a need for a mixture of instruction at school and experimentation that might have to extend beyond the school timetable.

So who does makes the better teacher; the mature disciplinarian or the technocrat? I believe the mature approach has the edge. Learning is a process that benefits from a sound structure that can be enhanced by technology rather than replaced by it. The early building blocks for learning need to be put in place correctly to guide and enthuse. If this is enhanced through an element of fun in learning English games rather than pure text book slog then so much the better, but in the long run it is the steady experienced and proven approach rather than the fashionable that wins through. Yet the time served teacher is under threat as many are leaving the profession early due to the mounting pressures of the role. And of equal concern the young fledgling that would ultimately become the next generation of mature teacher is also falling by the wayside, with a significant number of new teachers leaving the profession within three years. Perhaps we need to turn education inside out and really get to understand the needs, motivation and experience of teachers and how the system should be best configured. Maybe the experience of an Ofsted inspection on the bureaucrats behind the system could be the start.