Watch For Success

I laid the little trophy on the front seat and slid under the wheel. Happiness filled my heart and a big smile covered my face. My name and my first grade reading program were connected to the word “Success.” Having received the Quest for Success Award made me think of the twenty years spent perfecting the program by questioning little children and watching their minds work for answers. The answers were always simple and reflected what I had learned from our most noted educators.

Then my mind turned to present-day educators. Many of whom have been helpful to teachers in their quest for success, and whose thinking and writing are still appreciated. However, I would have found their research more useful had they emphasized the continued need for watching children during the teaching-learning processes. For example, many first grade teachers accepted the “Look-say” concept for teaching early reading without phonics.” The result weakened first grade reading instruction for decades. Even after Dr. Gates and others who studied early reading instruction realized the error, much damage was done. Later, because of this inadequate correction of the “findings”, first grade teachers were encouraged to use the “whole language” approach because they believed we really could teach children to read without the effort of teaching phonics. Wrong!

Today success in the education of our children requires joint effort. The United States Department of Education, the state departments of education, university departments of education and each school system must accept some of the responsibility. Let’s look at what might bring more success to schools from the U. S. Department of Education. Having taught for many years, I believe that the U. S. Department of Education should have model classrooms. These classrooms should demonstrate relevant “best practices.” These classrooms would allow parents, community leaders and educators to watch children having successful learning experiences.

University Colleges of Education must assume a larger part in our quest for success when educating our nation’s young people. After my daughter and her husband earned their doctorates in education, I hoped that they would teach at the university level. Each had taught ten years and had administrative experience in their school districts. However, when I reviewed the local university postings, the positions required only four years of teaching experience. I do not believe that four years of teaching experience could provide sufficient opportunity to watch very young children participate in teaching-learning situations.

Preparation to assist in the training of teachers for success as primary teachers requires at least ten years of carefully guided experience. Universities could also offer a way to success by having laboratory schools for demonstrating effective systems of teaching primary reading. These universities could be supportive partners with the U.S. Department of Education. Watch! Seeing what can be done to support a child’s learning is the most rewarding experience that teacher training can offer.

There can be many contributors to school success. The U.S. Department of Education, the state departments of education, and the many universities over our land in partnership with our school systems could create a mighty force for excellence in public education. States, while looking for greater success, chose “charter schools.” Many failed or simply were fiscally irresponsible. Having had a charter school myself, I think that having experienced support and a dedicated treasurer from the State level could have prevented some failures.

Brick and mortar do not make a school system. Informed methodology practiced within the brick and mortar is what counts. Actually, there is little likelihood of success without research-based, cumulative, systematic methodology employed within every school building.

Every teacher in every classroom yearns for success. Every teacher in every classroom is eager to become more and more successful. I know that I found success by listening to an experienced educator who said, “Writing comes before reading. The door to decoding and then comprehension is opened by the pencil.”

Lyn Lewis, having finished first grade at my small primary school, described her learning to read experience when she wrote: “When I first came to school, I could not read. My teacher taught us the sounds of the language. We wrote words. After we wrote words, we wrote sentences. I looked up and I could read.”