[Reading-hall-of-fame] Are we smarter tha n the average 4th grader?

[Brian Cambourne]

  Tom,
Like Jay, I enjoyed this piece. The message from the 4th grader is  
succinct advice that teachers should heed.  I also like your attempts  
to cut through academic obfuscation and define  some key concepts in  
simple language.

  However I think we need to go one step further.  We need to define  
reading as comprehension.  In our country ( and I suspect in yours)  
the extreme right has subtly conflated "decoding to sound" with   
"effective reading". In the schools in which I observe, or work with  
teachers, I'm hearing more comments such as "Dick/Jane can read  
fluently at a high level but don't have a clue about what they read."

This rings alarm bells. It suggests reading is merely decoding-to- 
sound and implies comprehension is secondary to decoding.


There is a strong belief among  teachers ( both old and young),  
parents, politicians and journalists down here that there is  
scientific research which conclusively shows that effective reading  
and decoding to sound are the same thing.

  Is any body else  having similar experiences , or is it an  
Australian peculiarity?

Brian Cambourne


  Assoc. Prof. ( Dr) Brian Cambourne
Principal Fellow
  Faculty of Education
University of Wollongong
Northfields Rd Wollongong
AUSTRALIA
Phone: Overseas callers
Home 61-244-416182
email<brian_cambourne at uow.edu.au
  Mobile/Cell phone: 0408684368



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