How Can We Educate Educators Who Struggle with Critical Thinking?

Luqman's Dyslexia Blog · 2 years ago · 159 views

  Learners generally fall into two categories: approximately 80% of children accept what their teachers present without question, often learning to read through patterns and analogies. In contrast, about 20% are logical thinkers who question everything they encounter. When their lessons conflict with prior knowledge or fail to make sense, these children may shut down or disengage from the learning process. This was already discovered by Thorndike in 1913 (More than 100 years ago). LINK When children enter primary school, they bring knowledge acquired from kindergarten and influences from parents, siblings, friends, and various media.   The Reading Reform Foundation UK (RRF) and its members often overlook how poorly taught foundational skills can adversely affect children. When initial learning is flawed, it becomes challenging for students to build new knowledge on a shaky foundation.   I have reached out multiple times to the RRF regarding the negative impacts of certain educational programs, such as Baby TV.   The RRF's mission statement emphasizes their commitment to improving reading instruction, based on extensive research that highlights the importance of letter-sound relationships, alongside skills in sounding out and blending. They assert that comprehension requires first being able to read the words.   However, in response to my outreach, RRF executives indicated that they receive numerous requests and viewpoints, making it impossible to address them all. They suggested that I write and publish my program instead. Read my letter to Debbie Hepplewhite and Geraldine Carter of the Reading Reform Foundation. LINK    While I have successfully worked with my daughter to remove several YouTube videos that mispronounced phonemes, many others continue to circulate globally, including one from January 20, 2014, that has garnered over 6.1 million views. LINK I believe there are vested interests keen on maintaining the status quo. The dyslexia industry is a multi-billion-dollar enterprise, and the more children who struggle with reading, the more profit these stakeholders stand to gain.