In our society, people are reading more than ever before, yet there is not really much of an increase in how literate we are. As an aspiring English teacher, these issues of literacy both in reading and writing hit close to home: it is my actual job description to make sure that kids are learning to be literate.
Due to the high stakes testing culture that is here is a lot of pressure placed on teachers to make their students meet standards in their content area. Luckily for myself, it is in good practice to make sure that students understand different types of texts (novel, poem, essay...) and how they are used, what their elements are, and how to read them. Once students have a grasp on these, all of the great themes and messages that are in the pages of a text are unlocked.
However, it becomes less simple when a student is not reading or writing at the standard grade level. When a student gets to a certain point in their academic career, they stop learning to read and start reading to learn. If they are not reading or writing at an appropriate level by that point, they will start to fall behind in other concepts as well: without reading at the class' level, literary elements are nearly impossible to identify, writing is weak and fragmented, and assigned novels are frustrating and meaningless.
To combat this issue, teachers need to make it a personal responsibility to alter their lesson plan, spend more time with struggling students, and especially implement elements of the Reading Next "Effective Adolescent Literacy Programs." For a detailed list (pp. 12-3) and more information on the topic, visit http://www.all4ed.org/files/ReadingNext.pdf [PDF Format].
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