Do the right thing.

Yesterday, my post was on an article on Greg Ashman’s blog post.

Here is Jennifer Buckingham’s tweet in rebuttal to my post.

 

Jennifer Buckingham @buckingham_j @luqmanmichel and @greg_ashman

Luqman, your insight about the importance of correct pronunciation of phonemes is neither original nor unique. It is well established even if not always perfectly implemented. That is why your views are not getting the attention you seek. Slurs against Pam and me won’t help.

Soon after the tweet above it was liked by Greg Ashman and Pamela Snow.

I never claimed that my insight of correct pronunciation is either original or unique. 

However, the fact that I have written that it is the wrong teaching of the pronunciation of phonemes of consonants which is the cause of many smart kids being unable to read is original and unique.

Prior to 2010 has anyone in the world said that it is this which is the main cause of kids disengaging from learning to read? 

Many smart kids shut-down from learning to read due to confusion. The confusion is caused by teaching the wrong pronunciation of phonemes of consonants. 

I have several posts on my blog showing students in Australia enunciating the phonemes of consonants wrongly and yet are able to read nonsense words, selected from Dr. David Kilpatrick’s book, given to them. 

The Reading Wars have been ongoing for decades because the Anglophone world is unaware of the reason why kids shut down from learning and that many kids take an inordinate amount of time to figure out how to connect the sounds represented by consonants they have learned to the words taught. 

Because of the inordinate amount of time spent on learning to read, these kids miss out on other aspects of learning to read viz. vocabulary, comprehension and fluency.

Pamela Snow shouts about students in varsity being unable to form correct sentences but does not realise that it is because these kids were still figuring out how to read when teachers were probably teaching grammar, sentence structure, syntax etc.

Jennifer Buckingham says that phonics is important whilst Jeffrey Bowers disagrees and challenges her. 

I have explained that Jeffrey and many others are saying this only because the foundation of phonics is taught wrongly.

Sound-symbol skills + Blending abilities = Phonics.

 

When sound-symbol skills are not taught correctly how can we expect children to read using phonics?

Neither Jennifer nor Jeffrey have commented on my blog post nor on the tweets on this matter.

“It is well established even if not always perfectly implemented.”

If it has been well established why is it not being perfectly implemented? How long do the Australians need to implement such a simple thing? I have been writing to the Australian ministers and educational institutions for 10 years. 

I am not interested in seeking attention. I just want to ensure that no smart kid is left behind because teachers teach the wrong pronunciation of phonemes of consonants.

I am not interested in damaging anyone’s reputation. If statements of facts are considered as a slur, then so be it.

Incidentally, in 2010, I was the first person in the world to dispute the theory that phonological awareness deficit is the cause of dyslexia. Prior to 2015 PAD was considered as the main reason for kids being unable to read. For more than 40 years as of 2010 PAD was the excuse given for kids being unable to read.

As I have always said, we are all going to die soon. Let us leave our egos behind and make this world a little better for the future generation.