When Kids Can't Read

Finally!

I've been so patient as we read previous assignments, wanting to ask questions about what happens to the struggling reader when he lacks the knowledge or skills to transact with the text. I didn't ask the questions because I did not want to be the one to bring in the deficit language. But now that our attention is turned to students who are not successful in decoding or comprehending text, I am willing to bet that our conversations will take on a whole new dimension. Surely someone else has encountered the struggling/disabled/illiterate/alliterate student and was baffled by how you were supposed to help him/her.

As I read Beers, I was amused by her stories of her poor reactions to George's questions and her feelings of helplessness as George and his parents looked to her for an answer. As secondary language arts teachers, haven't we all been there? Haven't we all met a student who could not or would not read the text? And haven't we all been tempted to pull out a worksheet that would fix "it"?

Maybe I've confessed too much, but I am so anxious to hear everyone's reactions to the Beers book and maybe a few war stories from the rest of you.

By the way - As president of NCTE, Kylene Beers was central to the discussion regarding reading comprehension skills during the revision process for the ELA/Reading TEKS. She sent a letter to each state board member in hopes of explaining how important it is that reading comprehension skills be explicitly taught. I will post a link before class.