I just read an article about Jenna Bush Hager (daughter of George W. and Laura Bush) who is joining the TODAY show as a part-time correspondent. She also works as a reading coordinator in a school in Baltimore, Maryland.
I also worked in Baltimore, Maryland in the Baltimore City School District and we didn’t have a reading coordinator. I’m sure of it because one day I discovered that one of my 15-year-old students could not read and I went looking for help only to find I was on my own.
What’s it like to find out that one of your students in the USA cannot read? It was scary. All of our reading had to be done in class because we only had one set of books which absolutely had to stay in the classroom. The books weren’t in great condition but considering that they were older than I was at the time I was teaching, I guess they were holding up pretty well. Want to read about the Vietnam War? Sorry, not possible, it’s not in our book. Want to read about the end of segregation in the South? Sorry, in our book the South is still segregated. As we were reading a few bits in turn, I called on a student to read. Another student promptly informed me, “He don’t read”. I responded that in my classroom everybody has to read. She said, “No, he can’t read”. The student in question in fact could not read or write. He was neither embarrassed nor proud of this fact. I was mortified. I mean, Jesus, Baltimore’s motto is “The City that Reads”. (It’s also the city with high levels of childhood lead poisoning and the number one ranking for syphilis and gonorrhea.) As soon as I could, I informed my bosses and asked what I could do. The reaction I got was not what I expected. From one boss, I was told to make all necessary adaptations to allow the non-reading student to be successful in the classroom (WTF???). From another boss, I got something like -Poor little girl in the big city school. You’ve got a lot to learn.
So with no reading coordinator or any assistance I tried to make adaptations. I gave the student oral exams. I allowed him to create artwork for his homework. I tried to teach him to read. Were we successful? No, because to actually pass through high school without being able to read and write you have to be a genius with a perfect memory. I’m not knocking this kid, but genius he wasn’t.
At the end of the semester, I did the only thing I could have done. I failed him. I did not see the next part coming. I was called into the principal’s office and ordered to pass him. “You don’t want to see him again next year, do you?” I refused and was written up for disobedience. In the end, he was passed by authorities over me. Sometimes I wonder what happened to that kid.
Article about Jenna Bush.
2 comments:
I've just discovered your blog -- I am a future Poland resident (born, raised in the US, and served our country in the Navy) -- I have Polish family and have visited many times (with latest trip being April/May 2014).
I have shared this post (regarding not being able to read) with my facebook wall -- it's absolutely a travesty what has happened to our education system in the United States... and these children are our future leaders (ok, I am scaring myself, so I will start to only think positively...like the start of my "next" semester of college at the ripe age of 48)...
Greetings future Polish resident. Thanks for reading my blog and taking the time to comment.
Yes, it is a scary thing to think about, kids finishing school without even the most rudimentary of skills. It was a hard time for me back then but I am glad that I did it even if just for the knowledge that it happens in our country - it's no Hollywood fiction.
Thanks for the FB share and good luck in college no matter the age. I remember back when I was a fresh-faced 18 in college and one of my classmates was in his 40's. We were like "Dude, your gonna be like 50 when you graduate". He replied, "I'm gonna be 50 anyways". I'll never forget it.
As you may have noticed, old posts go to moderation so that I don't miss them. I hope you don't miss my reply. If you want to be in contact with me directly (maybe some questions before your move), drop me your email in a comment to an old post. It'll go to moderation and only I will see it. I have to make a comment form, but I haven't figured out how to do it yet.
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