A commission set up to tackle literacy problems in Scottish schools has found almost one in five Scots has difficulty with reading and writing. The commission made 11 key recommendations aimed at addressing the problem of poor literacy skills.
It said tackling problems caused by deprivation was crucial. Judith Gillespie, chairwoman of the commission and development manager of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, said: "There needs to be a zero-tolerance approach to tackling poor literacy and it's time that this problem was effectively addressed. At the heart of the commission's findings was the need to address the problems caused by social and economic disadvantage at an early age. This should be a key feature in the development of any literacy strategy."
From the BBC News Website
The above story comes as no surprise. I'm proud of my two daughters and what they've achieved in life but it has to be said their spelling leaves a lot to be desired. Many people blame - somewhat ironically - technology for the alarming drop in standards of literacy. Michaela sent me a text the other week telling me she had 'flue' - only she could buck the trend of text language by expanding words unnecessarily rather than abbreviate them. However many youngsters are so accustomed to text protocol that they find it difficult to write in English.
When Laura and Michaela were at primary school they used to get glowing reports from the teachers. However, it was always a bone of contention come parents evening when I got to see some of their work and I would ask why their spelling was so awful. The school party line was consistent if nothing else - it didn't matter how they spelt things as long as they were writing things down. Something I didn't agree with at the time but my pleas were ignored.
I shudder when I read reports like the one above and read about a 'zero-tolerance' approach. I wish the experts would leave the cliched spin and buck passing and just get on with tackling the problem. They could start by teaching primary school children how to spell. As for blaming deprivation - this seems to me to be disguised as lazy parents who can't be arsed to sit with their children and read them stories because 'I'm a Big Brother Celebrity Strictly Dancing in the Jungle Get Me Out of Here' is on the goggle box.
Try that as a starting point for the 'literacy strategy'....
7 comments:
Mike, I when I was at school I remember there being no emphasis put on spelling or writing. This means that every time write a comment like this one I have to run it through spellchecker first, it’s a bit of a pain.
While it was policy at the time not to put to much emphasis on spelling and writing, I don’t blame the system, we are all responsible for ourselves.
My two children have applied themselves more at school than I ever did and have benefited from that.
I love the way they blame social deprivation! In the past the poor were desperate to 'get ahead' and education was the way!
Lazy parents indeed and uneducated ones at that, help no-one but more effort from schools and parents is required. There again trash TV is attractive....
We were always 'encouraged to spell properly but I love spellcheckers!
Umm, I wonder if anything can be done about the kids being Scots?
I agree AOM - we are responsible for ourselves. I just used to get frustrated when trying to help my girls with their homework and them telling me spelling wasn't important...
Adullamite - erm, I love spellcheckers too...
Fishy - good to see you back!
Good poast Sir.Moar please!
Bad spelers of the werld UNTIE!!
Excellent June! And a very happy birthday to you, my dear!
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