Discussion on Pinyin with Grok 4 (Part 1)

Luqman Michel:

Grok 4, you have been influenced by what is said or written by the masses - putting the blame on hand phones etc. You said: Chinese-medium schools (SJKT/Dong Jiao Zong) face trilingual overload (Mandarin, Malay, English), amplifying interference.

Has this overload not been there 10 or 20 years ago? So, this can't be the problem, can it? Pinyin should be easy for any kid if the sounds are taught correctly. The sounds of letters - b,p,m,f,d,t,n,l,g,k,h are exactly as in English. If kids learn it this way, they will not have a problem reading in Pinyin. However, many schools for some reason started teaching pinyin using Bopomofo. Teachers from China have influenced teachers in Malaysia as well as in the US to teach using Bopomofo. So, many kids are confused and can't read in Pinyin. When schools start teaching characters together with pinyin these kids get confused and as in English, they shut down. There were hardly any smart kids who shut down in pinyin when pinyin was taught correctly. What is your take?

Disengaged students and Waiters/waitresses

 

I prepared the article below about 10 years ago but archived it. I have been reading posts by Darren Clark and decided to post this article now. 

The marginally ready child

 

Here is a post by my mentor Dr. Richard Selznick that caught my eye. 

One that caught my eye was an article by the late learning dishabilles pioneer, Dr. Jeanette Jansky, called, “The Marginally Ready Child.”

​

In the opening of the piece, Dr. Jansky refers to early elementary grade children who rarely get anyone’s attention and are only, “marginally ready.” (In effect, they're borderline "ok.")

Frustrated and confused English learners

 

A Twitter discussion on frustration and confusion in English Language learners.

Meena Wood @WoodMeena

English is NOT a phonetic language much to the frustration and confusion of millions of people all over the world and in the UK. They’re learning English as a second third or fourth language! Most learn English through alphabet, look cover check and comprehension!

"Dazed & Confused"

 

I simply could not believe that this was a question to an eight year old student. I wrote to the author and here is my email.

Must See a Neurologist

 

I have handed my Vistana Heights matters to my solicitor. Now, I am available to continue with this blog which I have neglected for quite a while.

Here is a post by my mentor Dr. Richard Selznick.

Why Are Kids Still Dropping Out? Unpacking Malaysia’s Education Crisis with YB Fadhlina Sidek’s Plan

 

I haven’t written here in a while—my last post was on June 22, and my readership has plummeted from over 4,000 daily views to just around 400. I’m nearly done with my Vistana Heights posts, so it’s time to return to this blog. Below is a Malaymail report from August 12, 2025, about what Education Minister YB Fadhlina Sidek said on school dropouts, with extracts and my commentary.

Extract:

Fadhlina said her ministry’s approach to the dropout problem is focused on needs that cuts across ethnicity and locality, deploying what she described as “contextual” intervention.

A chance meeting of my student from 10 years ago

                                                     My former student from 10 years ago

Terjemah ke dalam Bahasa Melayu - tatal ke bawah untuk versi Bahasa Melayu

Two weeks ago, I met one of my students I taught in 2015 (exactly 10 years ago). He has completed his A level and is waiting for his result. This was the kid who was retained in grade 2 as he could not read like the other kids in his class. I taught him for only 2 months and told his mother his problem.

He said the following that welled my eyes: I will never forget you telling me to read as many books as possible.

Read about him in my post here. LINK

For parents of Dyslexic kids in Malaysia

 

Terjemah ke dalam Bahasa Melayu - tatal ke bawah untuk versi Bahasa Melayu

For Malaysian Parents of Dyslexic Children

I’m not a trained educator, but a neighbour asked me to help his son, Ian, learn to read. Despite completing kindergarten and Grade 1, Ian couldn’t read a single English sentence. After three days of teaching, I told his father I couldn’t help, and he revealed Ian was dyslexic.

Complexities & misconceptions

Below is an article on LinkedIn I have copied followed by my thoughts.

We are quick to judge and blame because it takes time to get to the root of the problem.

We also like to see the complex picture of things when it can be simple right in front of our eyes!

That makes me wonder why we always try to complicate.

John Corcoran’s post on LinkedIn (Part 2)

 

John Corcoran’s website says the following which appears to be a copy-paste effort.

His website:

While a small subset of children can learn to read no matter how they are taught, a majority of students require explicit instruction to learn how to decode and encode the written language, skills that the human brain is not naturally wired to do.

John Corcoran’s post on LinkedIn

 

Here is a post on LinkedIn by John Corcoran and my comments.

This guy couldn't read and yet was teaching high school for 17 years. 

John Corcoran CEO of John Corcoran Foundation Inc. and Education Management

I grew up in the dark shadow of illiteracy. I often think about what my life could have been like if I had learned to read at age 8, instead of age 48.

Today, over 60% of children in the U.S. are not reading at grade level. That is around 44 million children who will never maximize their fullest potential, no matter how smart or clever they may be, unless they learn to read.

We cannot leave them behind.

Our mission is to facilitate the prevention and eradication of illiteracy in adults and children. We call on others to join the mission.

"People for whom English is a second language will understand this better". I understand and empathize with them too, I think of my oral language as my first language and the written language as my second language. The written is the dominant language for success in the school house and in the workplace. Learning how to read and write is a blessing and dream come true for me. John

Dr. Richard Selznick advice to parents - Trust your gut

 

Here is another post by Dr. Richard Selznick that I have copied in full. LINK

Don't Wait for the School's Blessings: Trust Your Gut 

Anxiety over a child’s school-based problems can start very early.

After reading The Shut-Down Learner, a mom contacted me. “My son’s drowning in in school. Do you think he could be a shut-down learner,” she asked.

After asking a few more questions, I was struck by the fact that the child in question was only six in the beginning of first grade.

以下是来自《第六声》(Sixth Tone)的摘录和我的想法 (Unlocking the Potential of China's Dyslexic Students - Part 2)

 

以下是来自《第六声》(Sixth Tone)的摘录和我的想法。LINK

 

《第六声》：

 

如何在中国学校中阅读障碍依然隐形

 

在中国，承认这种学习障碍的需求迫在眉睫：根据中国科学院2016年发布的研究，估计有11%的小学生患有阅读障碍，总计约有1000万儿童。尽管这个数字惊人，但在中国大陆，对阅读障碍学生的理解几乎为零，支持也微乎其微——位于南方科技中心深圳的维宁中心是为这一事业而设立的少数组织之一。阅读障碍在许多西方国家是众所周知且经过充分研究的，但在中国大陆对这一障碍的认识仍然很低；没有支持，受影响的学生无法在学校中竞争，扼杀了他们未来的潜力。

 

小谷无法理解为什么他在同龄人轻松掌握的事情上如此挣扎。他对学校作业的厌恶与日俱增。最终，他完全放弃了努力，提交了空白的考试卷，尽管他本可以回答其中的一些问题。

我的想法：

释放中国诵读困难学生的潜力（第一部分）

 Translation of:

Unlocking the Potential of China's Dyslexic Students (Part 1) (LINK)

全球时报 (Global Times)

 

自2010年以来，中国学校开展了一项提高儿童读写能力的运动，因为教育工作者警告说，年轻人由于广泛使用电子设备，越来越难以阅读和书写中文。

 

我的想法：