Inside America’s Literacy Crisis and Efforts to Change How Kids Learn to Read - ABCNL

Among the many crisis we face America has a long standing literary crisis. Our education system along with the collapes of family and community is leaving chirldren struggling to read, write and comprehend.

We must all do what we can to help nour chirldren and grandchildren to be able to function in the world.

Video from ABC News

Inside America’s Literacy Crisis and Efforts to Change How Kids Learn to Read - ABCNL

"ABC News’ Jay O'Brien reports on the challenge some students face learning to read in America’s schools, speaking with the parents, teachers and students working to improve how reading is taught." from video introduction

To Weather the "Literacy Crisis," Do What Works

Language and literacy pioneer Catherine Snow discusses the current state of literacy in America

"While the pandemic has challenged literacy development and outcomes for many students, that doesn’t mean America is currently in a literacy crisis. Professor Catherine Snow, a pioneer with decades of research in language and literacy development, says she’s puzzled by the public discourse about a literacy crisis.

“I am … struck by the degree to which people are willing to invoke a literacy crisis, when the data do not support anything like a literacy crisis,” Snow says. “NAEP scores, over the last 10, 15 years have grown — slowly, but they have gotten better in literacy.”

There are many districts that weathered the storm of COVID. Snow cautions that it’s important to remember the negative impacts on children’s reading test scores is not evenly distributed, and in time we will have a better understanding of its impact on literacy development. In the meantime, Snow reminds educators to remain steadfast with balanced literacy instruction.

“What worries me about the post-pandemic instruction is that people are particularly under the influence of these worries about phonics are retreating to a stance of, ‘Oh my gosh. They've missed the phonics instruction. We've got to do that more and more and better and better,’” she says. “And the fact of the matter is that yes, they need phonics instruction. But they don't need an hour and a half a day of phonics instruction. Fifteen minutes a day, in the context of opportunities to read and practice and play with language, is probably more effective than overloading literacy instruction with phonics in order to repair the ravages of the pandemic.” .." from the article: To Weather the "Literacy Crisis," Do What Works

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