Reading Pedagogy at DCPS Elementary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS only uses science of reading-aligned curricula.

To all the parents saying the OP is wrong simply because they listened to a podcast, you are actually the ones who are wrong .

No one is saying they're wrong because they listened to one podcast, they're saying one podcast does not make you an expert.

And yet...OP's concern is well-founded.

Their concern and the entire thread is silly. The navel gazing on pedagogy should preserved for EdD candidates and others who spend their time outside classrooms. Parents who want to wax philosophic about this stuff in the context of DCPS are ignorant of the realities of public education, especially in DC. DC schools are filled with food insecure kids from unstable homes with parents and guardians that haven't been reading to them in utero. Educators in DC are triaging a ton of systemic and societal problems. These get worse as time goes on. If the wanna be public policy experts on this thread knew a darn thing beyond their under 5 year olds they'd realize how silly then entire discussion is. Instead, you all vomit the daily drivel of "deep thinkers" with 3 year olds who think they have a clue.

This is a wild take. So we shouldn’t demonstrate any interest in educational methods? (My kids are average and I’m pretty hands off. But the Lucy Calkins stuff seems like a big fail, no?)

Nope. You miss the point. The point is that you are all expending an awful lot of energy worrying about pedagogy for 3 year olds, all of whom have parents who read to them and resources to backstop. You are all doing so in a school system with significant challenges that you all appear too self centered to understand. You are like most parents of ECE kids; you think what is happening in school right now matters and that the fact that you listened to a podcast about ECE makes you qualified to have a clue about the challenges that your kids will face when they get beyond 2nd or 3rd grade.

I see. You are a typical DCPS supporter (likely WTU member) who demands that parents with resources STFU and not expect anything at all from DCPS. This is a viewpoint that pervades DCPS at all levels - just check out the thread on how Jackson-Reed communicates about AP classes. In DCPS parents are not allowed to ask that their children receive challenging and appropriate academics.

OP - take this viewpoint very seriously because it only gets more concerning as kids get into middle and high school. If you want to be in a school district that prioritizes academics, you need to move.

+1. And, PPP, funnily enough, it's because how a 3 year old spends their *does matter* that DCPS now offers and promotes PK3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS only uses science of reading-aligned curricula.

To all the parents saying the OP is wrong simply because they listened to a podcast, you are actually the ones who are wrong .

No one is saying they're wrong because they listened to one podcast, they're saying one podcast does not make you an expert.

And yet...OP's concern is well-founded.

Their concern and the entire thread is silly. The navel gazing on pedagogy should preserved for EdD candidates and others who spend their time outside classrooms. Parents who want to wax philosophic about this stuff in the context of DCPS are ignorant of the realities of public education, especially in DC. DC schools are filled with food insecure kids from unstable homes with parents and guardians that haven't been reading to them in utero. Educators in DC are triaging a ton of systemic and societal problems. These get worse as time goes on. If the wanna be public policy experts on this thread knew a darn thing beyond their under 5 year olds they'd realize how silly then entire discussion is. Instead, you all vomit the daily drivel of "deep thinkers" with 3 year olds who think they have a clue.

This is a wild take. So we shouldn’t demonstrate any interest in educational methods? (My kids are average and I’m pretty hands off. But the Lucy Calkins stuff seems like a big fail, no?)

Nope. You miss the point. The point is that you are all expending an awful lot of energy worrying about pedagogy for 3 year olds, all of whom have parents who read to them and resources to backstop. You are all doing so in a school system with significant challenges that you all appear too self centered to understand. You are like most parents of ECE kids; you think what is happening in school right now matters and that the fact that you listened to a podcast about ECE makes you qualified to have a clue about the challenges that your kids will face when they get beyond 2nd or 3rd grade.

I must be still missing the point because I’m really confused about this angry response. I don’t have a 3 year old and I’m not OP. I am interested in how my older kids are taught to read. Phonics has been essential for both, and they really take off once they start unlocking the keys to reading and writing. Their teachers are also really open to explaining approach. I don’t think being curious about my kids’ education detracts from high-needs kids.

[Anonymous]

Our Montessori teaches letters based on sounds. We had to intervene when well-intentioned family members would try and "correct" our kids (they would say to our kids, "no, that's not a [letter sound], that's a [letter name]").

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our charter is almost 100% phonics - and we hate it. There is no balanced literacy - it's all drill, baby, drill.

This is the way

...to make children hate reading...to bore children out of their skulls...to degrade the value of literature and great books...

Heavens to Betsy! My 3 and 4 year old doesn't like the way reading is taught and clearly this will have a lifelong impact on...NOTHING. Sometimes in life kids have to learn stuff. And sometimes in life it isn't as fun as eating Chocolate and playing. That's life. Parents like you amuse the heck out of me.

I never said it would have a lifelong impact. The biggest educational predictor is education level of the mother. My kid is going to be fine. DD seems to be of pretty average intelligence - speaks three languages and is learning to read in all of them. In two of them, lots of play, music, and reading a loud of actual books - in English, lots of phonics and drilling, and teacher has bad grammar. It's pretty grim. I am not convinced that pushing early literacy in PK is a good idea. Even the phonics pushers don't say that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lord, every parent listened to that podcast and now deems themself a reading specialist.

Agree! It’s comical. They’ve “done their own research” and now are experts.

Lol, OP here - actually studied applied linguistics in undergrad and did my field research research for a Head Start district.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been very happy with our PK3 charter, but concerned about the reading pedagogy. It seems like they are using approaches similar to the “three-cueing” system that teaches kids to rely on context clues, memorization, and skipping unfamiliar words all together to use more familiar words to make a guess. Cognitive scientists and applied linguistics researchers have proven this to be a horrible method to teach children to read and it actually does more harm than good. Found this article in a quick google search for reference: https://www.apmreports.org/amp/episode/2019/08/22/whats-wrong-how-schools-teach-reading

Contrary to popular belief, learning letters isn’t even the best place to start. Foundational skills in pre-k should focus on things like sound recognition and making sounds with your mouth. I would be surprised if I encountered a school that was onto this though. For some reason these things don’t seem to successfully bridge academia to the classroom. Would definitely like to know though if anyone has encountered anything like this in ECE.

I was reading on another thread that DCPS has an academic and rigorous approach to teaching kids to read in K, which is good to hear. This year we applied mainly to ward 3 DCPS schools for PK4 and we have a number of low waitlist numbers. Can anyone tell me about how these schools teach kids to read? Is the phonics instruction strong?

Reading and exposure to words is the single biggest determinant of early childhood cognitive development. It has major implications for lifelong education outcomes. Maybe you should read about it, lol no pun intended.

$%/# your kid is three. Choose other things to disrupt

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lord, every parent listened to that podcast and now deems themself a reading specialist.

Agree! It’s comical. They’ve “done their own research” and now are experts.

Sadly the parents who’ve listened to the Sold a Story podcast are more educated than most curriculum decision makers.

-OG tutor who does know the research and cleans up damage from poorly-informed schools

OP again - what is this podcast?? Not familiar but would be interested

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS only uses science of reading-aligned curricula.

To all the parents saying the OP is wrong simply because they listened to a podcast, you are actually the ones who are wrong .

No one is saying they're wrong because they listened to one podcast, they're saying one podcast does not make you an expert.

I’m Just going to repeat this for fun. I’m the OP and I actually studied this in college. Not an expert, but pretty familiar with the literature. It’s not new- been around for decades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS only uses science of reading-aligned curricula.

To all the parents saying the OP is wrong simply because they listened to a podcast, you are actually the ones who are wrong .

No one is saying they're wrong because they listened to one podcast, they're saying one podcast does not make you an expert.

And yet...OP's concern is well-founded.

Their concern and the entire thread is silly. The navel gazing on pedagogy should preserved for EdD candidates and others who spend their time outside classrooms. Parents who want to wax philosophic about this stuff in the context of DCPS are ignorant of the realities of public education, especially in DC. DC schools are filled with food insecure kids from unstable homes with parents and guardians that haven't been reading to them in utero. Educators in DC are triaging a ton of systemic and societal problems. These get worse as time goes on. If the wanna be public policy experts on this thread knew a darn thing beyond their under 5 year olds they'd realize how silly then entire discussion is. Instead, you all vomit the daily drivel of "deep thinkers" with 3 year olds who think they have a clue.

You people are insane. Not claiming to be an expert, but I ACTUALLY DID MY OWN PRIMARY RESEARCH ON THIS TOPIC. You people are out of control. Guess what? You know what makes HUGE differences for cognitive development in underprivileged children? READING TO THEM and TEACHING THEM HOW TO READ. It does more than even food security does. It has more of an impact than any other single variable. It’s amazing how much ROI simple programs like giving underprivileged families free books and simple tips and tricks like speaking to your kids constantly about every daily thing you do has for outcomes. Google “the word gap.” Then come back and tell me this is a ridiculous conversation to have. Not my fault you are ignorant on the topic. Not to mention the ridiculous notion that bc other kids are struggling I shouldn’t be concerned about the education of my own children. Lol, what?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our charter is almost 100% phonics - and we hate it. There is no balanced literacy - it's all drill, baby, drill.

This is the way

...to make children hate reading...to bore children out of their skulls...to degrade the value of literature and great books...

Heavens to Betsy! My 3 and 4 year old doesn't like the way reading is taught and clearly this will have a lifelong impact on...NOTHING. Sometimes in life kids have to learn stuff. And sometimes in life it isn't as fun as eating Chocolate and playing. That's life. Parents like you amuse the heck out of me.

I never said it would have a lifelong impact. The biggest educational predictor is education level of the mother. My kid is going to be fine. DD seems to be of pretty average intelligence - speaks three languages and is learning to read in all of them. In two of them, lots of play, music, and reading a loud of actual books - in English, lots of phonics and drilling, and teacher has bad grammar. It's pretty grim. I am not convinced that pushing early literacy in PK is a good idea. Even the phonics pushers don't say that.

To clarify- (OP again, lol) my point was that ECE should not focus on early literacy, but instead focus on skills that will lay a good foundation for learning to read later. Appropriate activities include things like “going on a listening tour,” and pointing out sounds like cars driving by, birds chirping, leaves blowing in the wind. Training the ear to be perceptive is a really great, age appropriate skill that helps kids to be good readers when the time comes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS only uses science of reading-aligned curricula.

To all the parents saying the OP is wrong simply because they listened to a podcast, you are actually the ones who are wrong .

No one is saying they're wrong because they listened to one podcast, they're saying one podcast does not make you an expert.

I’m Just going to repeat this for fun. I’m the OP and I actually studied this in college. Not an expert, but pretty familiar with the literature. It’s not new- been around for decades.

Then why waste time here? Why don’t you speak to the school/teachers directly? Random DCUM threads where you can talk up your degrees seem silly. Oh are you just a person who talks about change but never does anything to make it happen?

[Anonymous]

My impression is that DCPS largely does phonics in line with the latest research. This instruction does not really start until K. Lots of children still do not learn to read very well until 1st.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS only uses science of reading-aligned curricula.

To all the parents saying the OP is wrong simply because they listened to a podcast, you are actually the ones who are wrong .

No one is saying they're wrong because they listened to one podcast, they're saying one podcast does not make you an expert.

I’m Just going to repeat this for fun. I’m the OP and I actually studied this in college. Not an expert, but pretty familiar with the literature. It’s not new- been around for decades.

Then why waste time here? Why don’t you speak to the school/teachers directly? Random DCUM threads where you can talk up your degrees seem silly. Oh are you just a person who talks about change but never does anything to make it happen?

Lol obviously learning my lesson about DCUM…was hoping to hear about people’s first hand experiences rather than only get info from the school, which as you can see from people’s responses may or may not line up with reality. You must be one of the people who wrongfully accused me of listening to a podcast or you wanted to talk about the legitimacy of the topic bc you’re desperately trying to come up with something to get me on lol. Regardless — Your comment doesn’t even make sense. This isn’t a post about activism and I’m not trying to change anything - I’m asking for a description of what exists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS only uses science of reading-aligned curricula.

To all the parents saying the OP is wrong simply because they listened to a podcast, you are actually the ones who are wrong .

No one is saying they're wrong because they listened to one podcast, they're saying one podcast does not make you an expert.

I’m Just going to repeat this for fun. I’m the OP and I actually studied this in college. Not an expert, but pretty familiar with the literature. It’s not new- been around for decades.

Then why waste time here? Why don’t you speak to the school/teachers directly? Random DCUM threads where you can talk up your degrees seem silly. Oh are you just a person who talks about change but never does anything to make it happen?

Lol obviously learning my lesson about DCUM…was hoping to hear about people’s first hand experiences rather than only get info from the school, which as you can see from people’s responses may or may not line up with reality. You must be one of the people who wrongfully accused me of listening to a podcast or you wanted to talk about the legitimacy of the topic bc you’re desperately trying to come up with something to get me on lol. Regardless — Your comment doesn’t even make sense. This isn’t a post about activism and I’m not trying to change anything - I’m asking for a description of what exists.

There’s at least one lunatic on every thread; just ignore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS only uses science of reading-aligned curricula.

To all the parents saying the OP is wrong simply because they listened to a podcast, you are actually the ones who are wrong .

No one is saying they're wrong because they listened to one podcast, they're saying one podcast does not make you an expert.

And yet...OP's concern is well-founded.

Their concern and the entire thread is silly. The navel gazing on pedagogy should preserved for EdD candidates and others who spend their time outside classrooms. Parents who want to wax philosophic about this stuff in the context of DCPS are ignorant of the realities of public education, especially in DC. DC schools are filled with food insecure kids from unstable homes with parents and guardians that haven't been reading to them in utero. Educators in DC are triaging a ton of systemic and societal problems. These get worse as time goes on. If the wanna be public policy experts on this thread knew a darn thing beyond their under 5 year olds they'd realize how silly then entire discussion is. Instead, you all vomit the daily drivel of "deep thinkers" with 3 year olds who think they have a clue.

This is a wild take. So we shouldn’t demonstrate any interest in educational methods? (My kids are average and I’m pretty hands off. But the Lucy Calkins stuff seems like a big fail, no?)

Nope. You miss the point. The point is that you are all expending an awful lot of energy worrying about pedagogy for 3 year olds, all of whom have parents who read to them and resources to backstop. You are all doing so in a school system with significant challenges that you all appear too self centered to understand. You are like most parents of ECE kids; you think what is happening in school right now matters and that the fact that you listened to a podcast about ECE makes you qualified to have a clue about the challenges that your kids will face when they get beyond 2nd or 3rd grade.

I see. You are a typical DCPS supporter (likely WTU member) who demands that parents with resources STFU and not expect anything at all from DCPS. This is a viewpoint that pervades DCPS at all levels - just check out the thread on how Jackson-Reed communicates about AP classes. In DCPS parents are not allowed to ask that their children receive challenging and appropriate academics.

OP - take this viewpoint very seriously because it only gets more concerning as kids get into middle and high school. If you want to be in a school district that prioritizes academics, you need to move.

What???!!! From my posts you took away that I must be a WTU member? Could not be farther away from reality. What I am is a parent of older kids (at charters) from a 2 parent working household with better things to do with my time than listen to 20 and 30 something parents of ECE kids who think the way you teach an UMC kid to read at 3 had a darn thing to do with anything that comes later. You are divorced from reality, my friend. You seem to spend an awful lot of time on pedagogy and creating these WTU/DCPS/charter DMZs.

You think all of these deep thoughts matter because you have young kids. You will learn. For now, enjoy your self important ignorance.