Educators, texting not the problem

SOME newspaper stories puzzle me. Take, for instance, a November 14 news story by senior political reporter Gail Alexander in the Trinidad Guardian with the headline, “Ex-principal says texting has hurt students’ communication skills.”

The litany of educational woes presented by former Naparima College principal Dr Michael Dowlath, his call for educational reform and a more relevant education didn’t mention education’s biggest problem: our reading crisis.

The former principal says communication skills are critical in today’s job market, but never mentions issues with reading and writing – two of the major skills people need for work.

He says schools should offer more than intellectual and technical skills, but those “intellectual” skills come from reading. Educators can’t teach research and critical thinking skills at a meaningful level for students who don’t read.

I agree with his point about teaching more social skills so we can avoid bullying and violence in schools, but he calls for more experts in education and psychology to deal with mental health and never once mentions the cheapest way to tackle these problems: reading fiction and non-fiction.

Dowlath's recommendations to tackle bullying included having school supervisors speak to parents. Those of us who worked in education know just how parents and students feel about being lectured. Parents who show up for informative meetings are the ones who don’t need to be there.

Educators know the students who act out, disrupt class, bully and fight lack confidence and have learning issues that include reading, but many educators don’t create ways to encourage reading and connect it to topics that resonate with students – like texting.

Problems begin early in education. We need more resources in early intervention to help struggling readers – like Hi/Lo books (high interest/low reading-level books) that engage struggling readers who also benefit from listening to books. As an English teacher and librarian, I read to students up to 14 years old.

Use books that target social issues all teenagers face, like acceptance, confidence, substance abuse, relationships and success, and they will listen. Build 20 minutes of silent reading into a daily schedule to develop a habit of reading.

Alexander’s story said, “Dowlath called for comprehensive mental health services in every school and a hotline...Many students are afraid to talk to their teachers or friends.”

Some students can’t articulate their feelings or trust any adult, but they can trust and identify with characters in books and work through similar issues.

Ideally, we should be facing our children’s educational, personal and social needs with input from the many experts Dowlath mentions. The story called for guidance counsellors, police officers and social workers to deal with disturbed and suspended children. But this takes money and commitment. Books are cheap and dependable. Reading benefits all students.

Many of the students I taught in YTC and in prison had been expelled from school. Reading helped them to articulate their feelings, develop critical thinking skills and empathy. Those who read came out of prison and did well. Look back at the series I did with nine former inmates who succeeded when they re-entered “the free world.” They all kept up the love for reading they developed in prison.

One person in Alexander’s story spoke about how bullying begins in primary school. These students can benefit greatly from teachers who read engaging picture books that show the values we want children to have.

No teacher in this country at any level should be teaching if they don’t read. And yet who is pushing reading in this country? NGOs, of course, are at the forefront of a battle that the government ignores.

Suzette Cadiz and her Let’s Read team create libraries in primary schools and stock them with books. The government doesn’t have the sense to provide primary school librarians. Paula Lucie Smith and her army of ALTA (Adult Literacy Tutors Association) workers tackle illiteracy nationwide in a way the government never has. They know reading is empowerment, and the foundation for all learning. We can’t talk about education without stressing the importance of reading.

Frankly, I am appalled that any discussion on education in this country would not mention reading or the importance of school libraries that should be stocked with books relevant to students’ needs. We need to get real in this country.

Texting is not the problem. It’s a relevant form of communication for students, and it offers opportunities to teach communication skills. It’s an educator’s job to evolve and creatively tackle educational issues.

Next week, I’ll show you exactly how that works.