3 ms·

If less than half of 8th grades can't read, should it maybe, just maybe mean it's time for spelling reform? It's baffling, that you need a method and something

If less than half of 8th grades can't read, should it maybe, just maybe mean it's time for spelling reform? It's baffling, that you need a method and something special for such a basic thing as reading.

Dylan16807 5y ago
If you mean "just maybe" literally, then sure, it's worth thinking about. Figuring out the sounds is a small part and we definitely shouldn't assume it's the bottleneck.
- Muromec 5y ago
  Well, that's literally how children read -- they figure out the sounds from letters and pronounce syllable by syllable, then repeat the whole word (if then don't forget something in the middle of it). Naturally, if there is more than one way to read everything, it kinda doesn't work.
  - Dylan16807 5y ago
    But that's well before sixth grade level. It's possible it is a huge factor, but it's also possible it's less than 5% of the problem.
    - Muromec 5y ago
      I would expect that to accumulate over years, because less proficiency in early age would mean less exposure to texts of increased difficulty. And if reading is not fun, cool and neither is it easy -- why even do that. Add absence of reading parents and general socioeconomical situation and it makes a disaster.
      - Dylan16807 5y ago
        It accumulates over time but so does every other factor.
rahimnathwani 5y ago
"It's baffling, that you need a method and something special" Spanish has almost perfectly logical spelling. I mean: given a sound, there's one way to write it. And, given an unknown written word, there's one way to pronounce it. Even if English were to have these two properties: - we would still need a method for teaching reading - it would be possible for more than one method to exist - it would be likely that one method would be generally better than all other methods
nzmsv 5y ago
No, vei nid to do al the saim drujeri bicoz ze jenerashon befor vem had to :) Olso, zis kaind of speling luks strainj to old pipl.

Dylan16807 5y ago

If you mean "just maybe" literally, then sure, it's worth thinking about. Figuring out the sounds is a small part and we definitely shouldn't assume it's the bottleneck.

Muromec 5y ago
Well, that's literally how children read -- they figure out the sounds from letters and pronounce syllable by syllable, then repeat the whole word (if then don't forget something in the middle of it). Naturally, if there is more than one way to read everything, it kinda doesn't work.
- Dylan16807 5y ago
  But that's well before sixth grade level. It's possible it is a huge factor, but it's also possible it's less than 5% of the problem.
  - Muromec 5y ago
    I would expect that to accumulate over years, because less proficiency in early age would mean less exposure to texts of increased difficulty. And if reading is not fun, cool and neither is it easy -- why even do that. Add absence of reading parents and general socioeconomical situation and it makes a disaster.
    - Dylan16807 5y ago
      It accumulates over time but so does every other factor.

rahimnathwani 5y ago

"It's baffling, that you need a method and something special" Spanish has almost perfectly logical spelling. I mean: given a sound, there's one way to write it. And, given an unknown written word, there's one way to pronounce it. Even if English were to have these two properties: - we would still need a method for teaching reading - it would be possible for more than one method to exist - it would be likely that one method would be generally better than all other methods

nzmsv 5y ago

No, vei nid to do al the saim drujeri bicoz ze jenerashon befor vem had to :) Olso, zis kaind of speling luks strainj to old pipl.