US Politics on Yik Yak | I sub at a middle school and today I had one seventh grader ask me how to spell “swing” and another who asked me how to spell “speaking.” I don’t know what the answer is, but it’s evident to me that they can’t read or write without the use of a computer.

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US Politics 5d

I sub at a middle school and today I had one seventh grader ask me how to spell “swing” and another who asked me how to spell “speaking.” I don’t know what the answer is, but it’s evident to me that they can’t read or write without the use of a computer.

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Anonymous 5d

It’s bc they used shit like Lucy Calkins “three cueing” system that not only doesn’t work, but actively reducing the success of reading in children who were also taught phonics (like at home, for instance)

Anonymous 5d

They also aren’t typing “correctly,” many of them type with just their pointers and thumbs and HEAVILY rely on spell check/ai or copy phrases word for fucking word. I love what I do, I care about these kids, but I don’t know what the (academic) world is going to look like in the next 10 years.

Anonymous 5d

it’s so bad but trying to legit get kids to learn now is almost perceived as cruel and unusual punishment smh

Anonymous

#1 5d

Like I’m sorry but I CANNOT keep doing guided notes as the main lecture. That’s either a fucking pre-test or a study guide. By 8th grade I had learned how to take Cornell notes, which I don’t feel is the most effective, but certainly developed my strategy for note-taking I use in uni. I cannot in good faith tell you that they’re actually learning anything. Grading quizzes today was painful and it’s OPEN NOTE!! FROM THE GUIDED NOTES!!

Anonymous

OP 5d

lowkey praying on their downfall for job security in the future lmao

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Anonymous

og_beer 5d

It’s not actually the fault of computers. It’s school districts adopting bullshit reading curriculums that abandoned phonics

Anonymous

og_beer 5d

Yes to 99.99% of this. Schools still teach phonics, just not nearly as effectively or independently as it once was. The reliance on sight words or contextual information (balanced literacy) has only gotten heavier in younger grades, despite k-5 habits to memorize the “sound” rather than the pronunciation. Phonics has its issues, like not really having a comprehensive way to measure mastery, but we still utilize it!

Anonymous

OP 5d

If it were up to me (I don’t teach English), I would suggest that young children start with the basics of phonics so they learn to enunciate. By the time they begin deeper reading, the focus should be between contextual redefinition (using context clues to predict meaning) and pronunciation. Then grammar, prose, oration, etc etc. The problems I notice in my classes are students who recognize words, pronounce them, but can’t spell them correctly. I have no idea where it gets lost in translation😔

Anonymous

OP 5d

This is “traditionally” how it goes, I just feel like students who aren’t actively engaging the strategies of contextual redefinition and phonics become paralyzed when they see/hear unfamiliar words. It’s why, as much as more students are falling behind in literacy, it’s still important to keep working on decoding higher level reading. Less about picking up on themes or plot or whatever, more about trying to shift from sight words and expand vocabulary.

Anonymous

OP 5d

Lastly, I don’t believe it’s the computers either! I was using computers when I was probably in 2nd/3rd grade, but I did learn how to type, if you will. I think there’s a lot of really great benefits to having increased out-of-class access to learning materials or technology. On the contrary, writing does invoke deeper cognitive development, understanding, and recall. Assignments? Tests? Resources? Sure. Online. Notes? I’m going to have to lean towards the pedagogy with this one.