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I'm skeptical of how the results of the educational field apply to the individual. They deal with very specific constraints because of classroom economy. If y

I'm skeptical of how the results of the educational field apply to the individual. They deal with very specific constraints because of classroom economy. If your stated goal is to get every child in this room to read, then you're wildly out of alignment with the needs of the child who could be reading the classics by the end of the year. Gifted and accelerated programs only alleviate the problem by a fixed amount by adding one additional more intense tier, which every child competes for to improve their university application profile. Any person who tried to teach a child one to one for a short period of time learns how unfit school is. The only limit to their learning is the adult's energy and skill. While school is the product of several rounds of the lowest slowest denominator. Kings and princes used to be taught by tutors they form long term relationships with. This is still the best way. School is the equivalent of feeding the masses dog food to keep them compliant.

yterdy 3y ago
This is not just for "elite" children, also. A good mentor-mentee relationship is how you get the best out of students in non-academic fields, too. It's why apprenticeship systems developed. One of the earlier posts decried "constructivism" in research, but I don't know how you get around the fact that most students are not, even cannot even be allowed to reach their full potential in whatever way that applies to them, because society requires us to fill certain roles, which that potential may not apply to. Educational outcomes are socially-constructed; I'd even go so far as to say that this social need is more predictive than inborn potential and even effort.
nickd2001 3y ago
When it comes to reading I believe the best way to help a child learn is simply for parents (or as you also suggest, teachers, if its smaller group / 1 to 1) to (1) take the time and effort to read to kids, and (2) find high quality children's fiction that's interesting and motivating for the child to read themselves. Usually can be found at the library. or second-hand children's classics. So free or cheap. Our daughter is an excellent reader because she's a "bookworm", and her younger brother looks to be going the same way. She is hooked on fantasy fiction, he more on non-fiction about animals, space, dinosaurs. Some people wonder how they're such good readers. My answer is always. - give them books that make reading a joy and fun, then people want to, then they learn. To be honest, its incredible how schools manage to demotivate kids and they end up as "slow readers". Barring some kind of disability, I don't think that's a natural state for a child.

yterdy 3y ago

This is not just for "elite" children, also. A good mentor-mentee relationship is how you get the best out of students in non-academic fields, too. It's why apprenticeship systems developed. One of the earlier posts decried "constructivism" in research, but I don't know how you get around the fact that most students are not, even cannot even be allowed to reach their full potential in whatever way that applies to them, because society requires us to fill certain roles, which that potential may not apply to. Educational outcomes are socially-constructed; I'd even go so far as to say that this social need is more predictive than inborn potential and even effort.

nickd2001 3y ago

When it comes to reading I believe the best way to help a child learn is simply for parents (or as you also suggest, teachers, if its smaller group / 1 to 1) to (1) take the time and effort to read to kids, and (2) find high quality children's fiction that's interesting and motivating for the child to read themselves. Usually can be found at the library. or second-hand children's classics. So free or cheap. Our daughter is an excellent reader because she's a "bookworm", and her younger brother looks to be going the same way. She is hooked on fantasy fiction, he more on non-fiction about animals, space, dinosaurs. Some people wonder how they're such good readers. My answer is always. - give them books that make reading a joy and fun, then people want to, then they learn. To be honest, its incredible how schools manage to demotivate kids and they end up as "slow readers". Barring some kind of disability, I don't think that's a natural state for a child.