What's the Goal of the Classroom--And How Much Will It Cost? by Robert Hankes

 Robert Hankes blogs on issues in reading education every Friday.

Why must everything in America these days be so black and white?

Two interesting articles came out recently.

 

 One was entitled “Giving students reading choices can expand learning, engagement” Author Lauren Barack interviewed Heather Schwartz, practice specialist for the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). I’d never heard of CASEL before. I looked into the program. They have five components: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Sounds great! I don’t know how they assess it, but certainly we need more young people schooled in these five areas. Ms. Schwartz suggests that when we give students choice in reading, we honor who are students are, and support the students as part of our learning community. The result? Schwartz says reading choice “yields enormous results as educators see their students engaged, motivated and joyful.” I say, Yeah! That’s the kind of school I want to teach in. I want students to find their bliss. You can read the whole article, published 6/26/2024, at https://www.k12dive.com/news/giving-students-reading-choices/719848/ Takes three minutes.

 

A few days later, on July 1^st, radio station WTOP reported that the Maryland State Superintendent of Schools, Ms. Carey Wright, said this about the Science of Reading: “It can teach all students to read.” Immediately my red flags were raised. Dyslexic kids, too? Wright added, “It has decades of research behind it that proves that it works . . .” How many decades?

 

According to WTOP, here’s how it’ll work. “While phonics — understanding the relationship between letters and sounds — is part of the science of reading method, Wright said the science of reading also includes vocabulary-building, comprehension and fluency, meaning the ability to read smoothly and accurately.”

 

Haven’t we been there before? Have you ever seen a reading program that didn’t include vocab and comprehension?

 

Wright went on to say that students from K through 3^rd grade will be screened for dyslexia, and dyslexic students will be given “special help.” Isn’t that admitting that the Science of Reading alone won’t teach all students to read? Here’s the article: https://wtop.com/education/2024/07/it-can-teach-all-children-to-read-marylands-state-superintendent-of-schools-on-literacy-approach/

 

This reform, called “Blueprint for Maryland’s Future,” will cost Maryland taxpayers billions of dollars. I’m no whiz at math, but Google says implementing CASEL costs $130 per student. Maryland has 889,900 students. That’s $115,687,000.

 

Classrooms filled with joy, or classrooms filled with phonics and comprehension skills. Where would you rather teach? Where would you rather send your kids? And why does it have to be all one way, or the other?