Is it on parents to teach kids to read?

[Anonymous]

I still can’t believe this was even a question. It’s on parents to ensure everything regarding their own child and their upbringing.

[Anonymous]

I took a small wait and see approach. I'm lucky in that DD's Kindergarten teacher sends updates everyday on the types books they read and also somewhat weekly what types of words (very phonics-based) they're working on. It gave me a good way to know where to start reinforcing.
Honestly, the Hooked on Phonics learning to read program has been pretty awesome. I get a set of workbooks and little books every month. The has little books are like Bob books but kind of nicer drawings (lol) and it really builds their confidence reading. We do exercises and read the little booklets at least 10 minutes a day. I also send worksheets with her to work on at SACC (they don't have homework in kindergarten, but I have her practice hand writing using the most common sight words). It's not the only way to get at it but so far this is working.
So to answer your question, yes, you have to teach or at the VERY least reinforce what your child is learning which requires a lot of hands on-ness beyond reading a few books a night.

[Anonymous]

One of my kids just learned on his own. But the second I had to teach, despite being in a school with explicit phonics instruction. I was told in K and 1st to just wait and see, but by the middle of 1st he still couldn't read the most basic books. We worked all summer to catch up and I'm very glad we did, because at the start of 2nd, there's an assumption the kids can read directions on their worksheets/class rules and expectations just go up from there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t read 8 pages but I’m guessing DMV k and no phonics means MCPS

Some of the absolute dumbest in the county are deciding on the curricula there.

My advice? Really focus on district that chooses smart curricula. Keep open mind. It may surprise you.

Frederick County for instance is the only public school system that sends teachers to Neuroteach seminars at St Andrews in Potomac.

https://neuroteach.us/

Frederick county only school that pays for ASDEC - explicit phonics instruction - for its teachers.

No other DMV county has this innovative math curriculum:

https://illustrativemathematics.org/illustrative-mathematics-9-12-math-wins-silver-stevie-award-in-2021-american-business-awards/

Businesses are the only lobby that can influence any change to public schools - that’s why this is big deal.

So you may be surprised about the ‘quality’ of your DMV public school system.

A better system may be in a place just outside.

They do now but didn't until a couple years ago. I agree about the bizarre curricula decisions. It's no wonder the achievement gap is so big because the parents who could were desperately trying to make up for the deficienies at home or with tutors. Kids who did not have those advantages suffered the most from the poor ELA curicullum.

What do you mean "until a couple of years ago"? They were still using Benchmark until the current school year when they implemented CKLA. Benchmark is so bad that their assessment system is literally the same thing as flipping a coin. Like, it is a system that MCPS paid a ton for that makes teachers spend 30 minutes assessing each child, yet, the results would be equally accurate if the teacher flipped a coin for each child and it would take a lot less time.

Do your kids attend MCPS? In 2022 most ES in MCPS started using Really Great Reading to supplement Benchmark (which I agree is terrible).

My kid just started ES MCPS. We are still getting Benchmark readers sent home which I promptly disposed of. From looking at them it is clear they are detrimental to developing strong reading skills. The fact they were still being used in schools until 3 months ago and are STILL being sent home is a disgrace.

My understanding is that prior to the school year that started 3 months ago, systematic phonics instruction was not available to all students. That means MCPS was NOT teaching kids to read, which is borne out by the horrific literacy rates. Those that did learn to read were supplemented at home or are among the minority of kids that can figure it out themselves.

That isn't true. Mcps was teaching explicit phonics with really great reading starting in 2022.

The benchmark curriculum is separate from Fountas and Pinnell’s Benchmark Assessment System. Mcps has used mclass/DIBELs (which is published by Amplify) to assess student reading skills for the past 4 years. If a child is below grade level they are supposed to be progress monitored weekly or monthly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:About 30% of kids will learn to read no matter if they were taught properly. Studies are mostly consistent about this.

Its the other 70% - a clear majority - that do need explicit instruction using proper methods - Science of Reading.

Yes that's why we had only 30% literacy rate before Science of Reading was invented.

Right?

Right?

The study just says explicit and systematic instruction not a specific curriculum.

No. Multiple studies (science of reading has multiple independent studies, not just one) say multiple elements are needed in any viable curriculum and that Phonics needs to be front and center.

Mere systematic instruction is not sufficient - Calkins crap was systematic but it did not work.

Interestingly even Natalie Wexler just had a post out about this - there's phonics and then there's treating 5 year olds like aspiring linguists and teaching them every single phenome until they are bored to tears. The point is supposed to be teaching the most common patterns in English and at some point kids will just start to get it, not making sure kids can nearly rattle off the International Phonetic Alphabet.

https://nataliewexler.substack.com/p/has-the-science-of-reading-gone-overboard

With really great reading the approach was that kindergarten focused on basic patterns like short a and long a and then first and second grade focused on complex patterns like r controlled vowels

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t read 8 pages but I’m guessing DMV k and no phonics means MCPS

Some of the absolute dumbest in the county are deciding on the curricula there.

My advice? Really focus on district that chooses smart curricula. Keep open mind. It may surprise you.

Frederick County for instance is the only public school system that sends teachers to Neuroteach seminars at St Andrews in Potomac.

https://neuroteach.us/

Frederick county only school that pays for ASDEC - explicit phonics instruction - for its teachers.

No other DMV county has this innovative math curriculum:

https://illustrativemathematics.org/illustrative-mathematics-9-12-math-wins-silver-stevie-award-in-2021-american-business-awards/

Businesses are the only lobby that can influence any change to public schools - that’s why this is big deal.

So you may be surprised about the ‘quality’ of your DMV public school system.

A better system may be in a place just outside.

They do now but didn't until a couple years ago. I agree about the bizarre curricula decisions. It's no wonder the achievement gap is so big because the parents who could were desperately trying to make up for the deficienies at home or with tutors. Kids who did not have those advantages suffered the most from the poor ELA curicullum.

What do you mean "until a couple of years ago"? They were still using Benchmark until the current school year when they implemented CKLA. Benchmark is so bad that their assessment system is literally the same thing as flipping a coin. Like, it is a system that MCPS paid a ton for that makes teachers spend 30 minutes assessing each child, yet, the results would be equally accurate if the teacher flipped a coin for each child and it would take a lot less time.

Do your kids attend MCPS? In 2022 most ES in MCPS started using Really Great Reading to supplement Benchmark (which I agree is terrible).

My kid just started ES MCPS. We are still getting Benchmark readers sent home which I promptly disposed of. From looking at them it is clear they are detrimental to developing strong reading skills. The fact they were still being used in schools until 3 months ago and are STILL being sent home is a disgrace.

My understanding is that prior to the school year that started 3 months ago, systematic phonics instruction was not available to all students. That means MCPS was NOT teaching kids to read, which is borne out by the horrific literacy rates. Those that did learn to read were supplemented at home or are among the minority of kids that can figure it out themselves.

That isn't true. Mcps was teaching explicit phonics with really great reading starting in 2022.

The benchmark curriculum is separate from Fountas and Pinnell’s Benchmark Assessment System. Mcps has used mclass/DIBELs (which is published by Amplify) to assess student reading skills for the past 4 years. If a child is below grade level they are supposed to be progress monitored weekly or monthly

The Benchmark curriculum was still in place until last year and they are still sending home Benchmark readers which are terrible and are made by Fountas and Pinnell. Stop pretending there is no connection.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t read 8 pages but I’m guessing DMV k and no phonics means MCPS

Some of the absolute dumbest in the county are deciding on the curricula there.

My advice? Really focus on district that chooses smart curricula. Keep open mind. It may surprise you.

Frederick County for instance is the only public school system that sends teachers to Neuroteach seminars at St Andrews in Potomac.

https://neuroteach.us/

Frederick county only school that pays for ASDEC - explicit phonics instruction - for its teachers.

No other DMV county has this innovative math curriculum:

https://illustrativemathematics.org/illustrative-mathematics-9-12-math-wins-silver-stevie-award-in-2021-american-business-awards/

Businesses are the only lobby that can influence any change to public schools - that’s why this is big deal.

So you may be surprised about the ‘quality’ of your DMV public school system.

A better system may be in a place just outside.

They do now but didn't until a couple years ago. I agree about the bizarre curricula decisions. It's no wonder the achievement gap is so big because the parents who could were desperately trying to make up for the deficienies at home or with tutors. Kids who did not have those advantages suffered the most from the poor ELA curicullum.

What do you mean "until a couple of years ago"? They were still using Benchmark until the current school year when they implemented CKLA. Benchmark is so bad that their assessment system is literally the same thing as flipping a coin. Like, it is a system that MCPS paid a ton for that makes teachers spend 30 minutes assessing each child, yet, the results would be equally accurate if the teacher flipped a coin for each child and it would take a lot less time.

Do your kids attend MCPS? In 2022 most ES in MCPS started using Really Great Reading to supplement Benchmark (which I agree is terrible).

My kid just started ES MCPS. We are still getting Benchmark readers sent home which I promptly disposed of. From looking at them it is clear they are detrimental to developing strong reading skills. The fact they were still being used in schools until 3 months ago and are STILL being sent home is a disgrace.

My understanding is that prior to the school year that started 3 months ago, systematic phonics instruction was not available to all students. That means MCPS was NOT teaching kids to read, which is borne out by the horrific literacy rates. Those that did learn to read were supplemented at home or are among the minority of kids that can figure it out themselves.

That isn't true. Mcps was teaching explicit phonics with really great reading starting in 2022.

The benchmark curriculum is separate from Fountas and Pinnell’s Benchmark Assessment System. Mcps has used mclass/DIBELs (which is published by Amplify) to assess student reading skills for the past 4 years. If a child is below grade level they are supposed to be progress monitored weekly or monthly

The Benchmark curriculum was still in place until last year and they are still sending home Benchmark readers which are terrible and are made by Fountas and Pinnell. Stop pretending there is no connection.

No one is arguing in favor of Benchmark. But you sound confused.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t read 8 pages but I’m guessing DMV k and no phonics means MCPS

Some of the absolute dumbest in the county are deciding on the curricula there.

My advice? Really focus on district that chooses smart curricula. Keep open mind. It may surprise you.

Frederick County for instance is the only public school system that sends teachers to Neuroteach seminars at St Andrews in Potomac.

https://neuroteach.us/

Frederick county only school that pays for ASDEC - explicit phonics instruction - for its teachers.

No other DMV county has this innovative math curriculum:

https://illustrativemathematics.org/illustrative-mathematics-9-12-math-wins-silver-stevie-award-in-2021-american-business-awards/

Businesses are the only lobby that can influence any change to public schools - that’s why this is big deal.

So you may be surprised about the ‘quality’ of your DMV public school system.

A better system may be in a place just outside.

They do now but didn't until a couple years ago. I agree about the bizarre curricula decisions. It's no wonder the achievement gap is so big because the parents who could were desperately trying to make up for the deficienies at home or with tutors. Kids who did not have those advantages suffered the most from the poor ELA curicullum.

What do you mean "until a couple of years ago"? They were still using Benchmark until the current school year when they implemented CKLA. Benchmark is so bad that their assessment system is literally the same thing as flipping a coin. Like, it is a system that MCPS paid a ton for that makes teachers spend 30 minutes assessing each child, yet, the results would be equally accurate if the teacher flipped a coin for each child and it would take a lot less time.

Do your kids attend MCPS? In 2022 most ES in MCPS started using Really Great Reading to supplement Benchmark (which I agree is terrible).

My kid just started ES MCPS. We are still getting Benchmark readers sent home which I promptly disposed of. From looking at them it is clear they are detrimental to developing strong reading skills. The fact they were still being used in schools until 3 months ago and are STILL being sent home is a disgrace.

My understanding is that prior to the school year that started 3 months ago, systematic phonics instruction was not available to all students. That means MCPS was NOT teaching kids to read, which is borne out by the horrific literacy rates. Those that did learn to read were supplemented at home or are among the minority of kids that can figure it out themselves.

That isn't true. Mcps was teaching explicit phonics with really great reading starting in 2022.

The benchmark curriculum is separate from Fountas and Pinnell’s Benchmark Assessment System. Mcps has used mclass/DIBELs (which is published by Amplify) to assess student reading skills for the past 4 years. If a child is below grade level they are supposed to be progress monitored weekly or monthly

The Benchmark curriculum was still in place until last year and they are still sending home Benchmark readers which are terrible and are made by Fountas and Pinnell. Stop pretending there is no connection.

No one is arguing in favor of Benchmark. But you sound confused.

I'm hallucinating the Benchmark readers that our MCPS ES sent home?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t read 8 pages but I’m guessing DMV k and no phonics means MCPS

Some of the absolute dumbest in the county are deciding on the curricula there.

My advice? Really focus on district that chooses smart curricula. Keep open mind. It may surprise you.

Frederick County for instance is the only public school system that sends teachers to Neuroteach seminars at St Andrews in Potomac.

https://neuroteach.us/

Frederick county only school that pays for ASDEC - explicit phonics instruction - for its teachers.

No other DMV county has this innovative math curriculum:

https://illustrativemathematics.org/illustrative-mathematics-9-12-math-wins-silver-stevie-award-in-2021-american-business-awards/

Businesses are the only lobby that can influence any change to public schools - that’s why this is big deal.

So you may be surprised about the ‘quality’ of your DMV public school system.

A better system may be in a place just outside.

They do now but didn't until a couple years ago. I agree about the bizarre curricula decisions. It's no wonder the achievement gap is so big because the parents who could were desperately trying to make up for the deficienies at home or with tutors. Kids who did not have those advantages suffered the most from the poor ELA curicullum.

What do you mean "until a couple of years ago"? They were still using Benchmark until the current school year when they implemented CKLA. Benchmark is so bad that their assessment system is literally the same thing as flipping a coin. Like, it is a system that MCPS paid a ton for that makes teachers spend 30 minutes assessing each child, yet, the results would be equally accurate if the teacher flipped a coin for each child and it would take a lot less time.

Do your kids attend MCPS? In 2022 most ES in MCPS started using Really Great Reading to supplement Benchmark (which I agree is terrible).

My kid just started ES MCPS. We are still getting Benchmark readers sent home which I promptly disposed of. From looking at them it is clear they are detrimental to developing strong reading skills. The fact they were still being used in schools until 3 months ago and are STILL being sent home is a disgrace.

My understanding is that prior to the school year that started 3 months ago, systematic phonics instruction was not available to all students. That means MCPS was NOT teaching kids to read, which is borne out by the horrific literacy rates. Those that did learn to read were supplemented at home or are among the minority of kids that can figure it out themselves.

That isn't true. Mcps was teaching explicit phonics with really great reading starting in 2022.

The benchmark curriculum is separate from Fountas and Pinnell’s Benchmark Assessment System. Mcps has used mclass/DIBELs (which is published by Amplify) to assess student reading skills for the past 4 years. If a child is below grade level they are supposed to be progress monitored weekly or monthly

The Benchmark curriculum was still in place until last year and they are still sending home Benchmark readers which are terrible and are made by Fountas and Pinnell. Stop pretending there is no connection.

Okay we are really confused and I'm trying to explain this to you. Benchmark ready to advance curriculum is published by raycraft publishing. It is not affiliated with fontas and pinnell. They just both happen to have the word benchmark in the title.

When mcps discontinued the use of benchmark curriculum last year, the teachers were instructed to give away all the trade books since classrooms have a finite amount of storage space as well as book rooms and such. Some schools opted to send the books home with children so they would not end up in a landfill. Although the curriculum is imperfect, it is not harmful to send home these books with children to add to their classroom library. And if you ended up with something you did not want, you are certainly within your rights to donate it or give it away or turn it into an art project

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t read 8 pages but I’m guessing DMV k and no phonics means MCPS

Some of the absolute dumbest in the county are deciding on the curricula there.

My advice? Really focus on district that chooses smart curricula. Keep open mind. It may surprise you.

Frederick County for instance is the only public school system that sends teachers to Neuroteach seminars at St Andrews in Potomac.

https://neuroteach.us/

Frederick county only school that pays for ASDEC - explicit phonics instruction - for its teachers.

No other DMV county has this innovative math curriculum:

https://illustrativemathematics.org/illustrative-mathematics-9-12-math-wins-silver-stevie-award-in-2021-american-business-awards/

Businesses are the only lobby that can influence any change to public schools - that’s why this is big deal.

So you may be surprised about the ‘quality’ of your DMV public school system.

A better system may be in a place just outside.

They do now but didn't until a couple years ago. I agree about the bizarre curricula decisions. It's no wonder the achievement gap is so big because the parents who could were desperately trying to make up for the deficienies at home or with tutors. Kids who did not have those advantages suffered the most from the poor ELA curicullum.

What do you mean "until a couple of years ago"? They were still using Benchmark until the current school year when they implemented CKLA. Benchmark is so bad that their assessment system is literally the same thing as flipping a coin. Like, it is a system that MCPS paid a ton for that makes teachers spend 30 minutes assessing each child, yet, the results would be equally accurate if the teacher flipped a coin for each child and it would take a lot less time.

Do your kids attend MCPS? In 2022 most ES in MCPS started using Really Great Reading to supplement Benchmark (which I agree is terrible).

My kid just started ES MCPS. We are still getting Benchmark readers sent home which I promptly disposed of. From looking at them it is clear they are detrimental to developing strong reading skills. The fact they were still being used in schools until 3 months ago and are STILL being sent home is a disgrace.

My understanding is that prior to the school year that started 3 months ago, systematic phonics instruction was not available to all students. That means MCPS was NOT teaching kids to read, which is borne out by the horrific literacy rates. Those that did learn to read were supplemented at home or are among the minority of kids that can figure it out themselves.

That isn't true. Mcps was teaching explicit phonics with really great reading starting in 2022.

The benchmark curriculum is separate from Fountas and Pinnell’s Benchmark Assessment System. Mcps has used mclass/DIBELs (which is published by Amplify) to assess student reading skills for the past 4 years. If a child is below grade level they are supposed to be progress monitored weekly or monthly

The Benchmark curriculum was still in place until last year and they are still sending home Benchmark readers which are terrible and are made by Fountas and Pinnell. Stop pretending there is no connection.

Okay we are really confused and I'm trying to explain this to you. Benchmark ready to advance curriculum is published by raycraft publishing. It is not affiliated with fontas and pinnell. They just both happen to have the word benchmark in the title.

When mcps discontinued the use of benchmark curriculum last year, the teachers were instructed to give away all the trade books since classrooms have a finite amount of storage space as well as book rooms and such. Some schools opted to send the books home with children so they would not end up in a landfill. Although the curriculum is imperfect, it is not harmful to send home these books with children to add to their classroom library. And if you ended up with something you did not want, you are certainly within your rights to donate it or give it away or turn it into an art project

They should have burned or recycled them. There is a reason MCPS doesn't want them anymore. They teach bad habits. It's appalling they were sent home. Of course, when students have bad habits, y'all will just blame the parents for not getting appropriate materials themselves. https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2020/12/14/22164235/denver-benchmark-reading-curriculum-english-learners/

[Anonymous]

I also used Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons. My DD and I LOVE it. We started in Spring of PK4 and by K she was reading at 1st grade level. She is also a late birthday she just turned 5 in September. We aren’t rich but we value education in our household. We plan on supplementing for math as well in Jan 2025 with Russian Math School.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also used Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons. My DD and I LOVE it. We started in Spring of PK4 and by K she was reading at 1st grade level. She is also a late birthday she just turned 5 in September. We aren’t rich but we value education in our household. We plan on supplementing for math as well in Jan 2025 with Russian Math School.

What’s the benefit of Russian Math School?

[Anonymous]

Yes it’s up to you.