Every day, I encounter high school students who can barely read. Every time I ask them to get their books during their reading time, and make them read a 2 to 3- page story, I don’t see any enthusiasm at all. Their looks tell me that I am punishing them for making them read a story, written in English. As I observe them while they read, some would just browse the pages of their books, other would pretend to be reading (actually they are just staring at the page where they are at) and then, few would secretly chat with their seatmates to kill the time. There are others though who would try their best to please me; so they would read- yes but loudly.
Minutes after, my discussion would commence. First, I ask them simple questions like who the author is, or where did the story happen. These questions are the most popular among these kids; however as I began to go into details, and ask them how did the story start- this is where the problem begins.
It is so frustrating. High school teachers are supposed to give higher level of education to the students. As they say, high school prepares kids for college. But how could that be possible, if at this point the students are still being taught how to read. When I say read- some are just basic readers (like that of grade 1) while the others are NO-COMPREHENSION readers. One might even wonder that this is impossible. But this is reality.
With that scenario on hand, it has resulted in spoon feeding kind of discussion. The difficult words are provided (higher sections will get the meaning on their own; lower sections are provided with the meaning), background of the author is given while the story has been reworded the simplest way possible. Worst, the summary of details are even translated in tagalog in the lower sections!
I wonder- how is the “No Read No Move Policy” being implemented in the elementary schools? Are the ones administering this consistent? Is this policy limited to the oral reading skills of the students? Are the students not asked questions based on what they read to test their comprehension?
Just asking…
