Order
Because I have been grieving over the loss of my sister, Gail, I have been unable to blog. Happiness eluded me, so I decided to pack away all my educational materials. I could find neither optimism nor joy in writing about education without Gail. From our grade school and college days until her death, we were teachers with classrooms of our own. We talked with each other about education and were more than happy.
My granddaughter was helping me pack, when she came across and read something aloud: “The Children’s Gift Award is presented to Jane F. Dixon in recognition of personal and professional courage, sacrifice, dedicated service and outstanding accomplishments in the field of education for African American Children.” Hearing those words reminded me that I should not leave Education without sharing something important that I discovered:
African American children, like all children, appreciate order.
Every teacher, without fail, should present all skills and content in a logical, systematic fashion. African American children thrive this way. For example, no child should be asked to read anything if he doesn’t have instant letter recognition of the alphabet. The only exception is if the child is reading something he/she has written themselves.
Let us look at the order for a teacher teaching reading. Thinking comes first. Then teaching to the point that a child has sufficient knowledge of the letters of the alphabet.
Learning The Letters- Gaining Sufficient Knowledge
- Learn to recognize the letters and then learn how to write them.
- Learn the sounds of the language.
- Learn to say the sounds of the language.
- Learn to write words using the letters and sounds they have learned.
- Learn how to read the words they can write.
Remember: writing comes before reading.
With the use of appropriate order, children will thrive!
