Questions by Suri Charles and my responses

 

“Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible.” Carl Jung

 

Suri Charles

Luqman Michel You’ve mentioned that the children you came across and/or worked with couldn’t read because they 'shut down,' yet you also stated that you taught 80 dyslexic children from 2004 to 2019.

1. How do you reconcile these two positions?

2. Are you suggesting that these 80 children had both emotional or psychological shutdowns as well as dyslexia, or were they misdiagnosed as dyslexic?

Dyslexics and phonological processing

 

In my post about why many schools in China are teaching Pinyin using Bopomofo initial sounds, DrJulie Safri made a comment and this is a short extract that I decided to reply to separately from the rest of her comment.

DrJulie Safri

Good morning Luqman, let me clarify my statement.....Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental condition, meaning it originates from differences in how the brain processes language, particularly phonological information. However, it is important to note that these neurological differences don’t mean a person with dyslexia cannot learn to read, they just require tailored, evidence-based instruction that accommodates their unique learning needs.

My thoughts:

“Tailored, evidence-based instruction that accommodates their unique learning needs” is something I’ve frequently heard from many teachers providing intervention for dyslexic kids.

I don't know how the brain processes languages and would be grateful if DrJulie Safri can educate me and whoever else is interested. 

“How Ivy League Admissions Broke America:”

For ‘The Atlantic's’ December issue cover story, contributing writer David Brooks argues that the nation's top schools are trapped in an outdated meritocracy system that needs to be redefined. LINK

 

My thoughts:

I believe David Brooks is missing the mark, yet this will be the cover story for The Atlantic’s December issue. After listening to his commentary, I have several observations:

David’s commentary:

James Cannon didn't have the right definition of human ability. For him, it was all IQ and IQ is important if you want to be an astrophysicist, it is probably important to have a high IQ but other things are more important, being curious, having a passionate drive, being a good team member, agility, knowing how to move in life so it's you're graceful toward other people.   All these traits which were hard to measure got lopped off and so we not only created these Elites, this inherited cast system but it's not that competent because it doesn't select based on the real skills in society.

Controlled by Funding Sources (Part 2)

 

Has the National Research Council hoodwinked the educators and parents?

The National Research Council in their book ‘Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children’ on page 22 says:

‘There are 3 sounds represented by 3 letters in the word “but” but each sound alone does not refer to anything, and only the middle sound can really be pronounced in isolation; when we try to say the first or last consonant of the word all by itself, we have to add a vowel to make it a pronounceable entity.’

What nonsense is this?

How did a 6-year-old kid in Lagos pronounce the letters without adding a vowel sound to consonants? LINK

How did this lady pronounce letters without adding a vowel sound to consonants? LINK

Chinese Students are not Smart - Prof. Datuk Dr. Teo Kok Seong of UKM

 

Another University Kebangsaan Malaysia Lecturer has hit the headlines for saying stupid things.

Here are extracts from the Sin Chew Daily.

A Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) professor is currently under fire for something he said recently concerning Chinese school students.

“These Chinese students studying in Chinese schools are not very smart. Although the school teaches 3 languages, they are only good at their mother tongue. They are not very good at English or Malay,” he said. LINK and LINK.

PISA exam revisited – Part 1

 

                                                              Anuar Ahmad from UKM

Here is my Facebook post about Anuar Ahmad dated 23.2.24.

I have been reading some articles by Anuar in Utusan Malaysia. He raises many valid points.

Here is an excerpt from one such article.

Anuar Ahmad 23.2.24

When I give views, isn't my real duty as an academician assigned to conduct research and provide views on implementing the country's education system?

They told me to shut up. I say ok, I'll keep my mouth shut. It's not because I'm afraid, but because I want to fully focus my attention, time, and energy on understanding education issues. I don't want to argue with anyone.

Even my views focus only on the education system issues, not an 'attack' on any individual. I'm silent because I don't want to lose focus to continue sharing education issues with the community.

We all have a collective responsibility to provide sincere ideas and views for improving children's education.

Turning a school around - Graham Chatterley (Part 2)

                                                          

You may read part 1 HERE.

Here are more comments on the thread by Graham Chatterley. 

NickRiden50575

The point is that schools can only be successful, positive, engaging learning environments when the culture is right. Children need to see clearly right from wrong and that their actions have consequences. If not, schools become chaotic.

graham chatterley

Yes, and the leadership have the job of getting children and staff to buy into that culture. Not taking a shortcut of getting rid of all the children who are struggling.

Turning a school around

                                                            

Here is an interesting thread on Twitter on turning schools around by a Former school leader, Director - author, radio presenter and SEN parent who has more than 3,600 followers on Twitter. 

Most educators are good at going around the mulberry bush repeating the same thing again and again expecting different results.

graham Chatterley @grahamchatterl2 29.1.24

If you are bragging about turning a school around, but your exclusion figures are sky high and you are sending parents elsewhere, you haven’t turned anything around, you’ve taken a massive shortcut. If you cherry pick your students of course results go up.

Red flags in education research - Anna Stokke with Ben Solomon

 

The clip above is copied from Anna Stokke’s Tweet dated 28.1.2024. Anna is a math professor and has a podcast that will be useful for all those interested in Math. I have only listened in full to 2 of her podcasts and think it is one of the best podcasts I've heard.

More on Anuar Ahmad of University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)

                                                        

                                           

Recently I blogged on Dr. Anuar Ahmad of UKM and Puan Fadhlina Sidek stating that they do not respond to emails on how to reduce intervention. 

A Facebook member replied that it is harsh to put the blame solely on them as Dr. Anuar Ahmad is a researcher and Puan Fadhlina Sidek is only a minister. He said that it was the Education Ministry who implemented irrelevant curricula that is to be blamed.

'Unfair to judge just on Pisa' - New Straits Times

                                                                   

Education Experts in Malaysia must think the Malaysians are a stupid lot of people who will believe everything they say. 

Here are extracts from our New Straits Times dated January 24, 2024 and my comments.

Education experts said it is unfair to entirely judge the standards of the country's education system based on lower scores in the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa).

"The success of our education system is not determined just by Pisa," said National Council of Professors (MPN) president Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Raduan Che Rose.

Behind & Beyond Sold a Story with Emily Hanford - Part 4

                                                            

This is part 4 of Kate Winn's podcast with Emily Hanford.   

 

Emily Hanford:

The problem with teachers is they haven’t learned how kids learn to read.

 

My Comment:

It is not only the teachers who have not learned but no one in the world has learned how kids learn to read. I have stated this for many years now. Does Emily Hanford or anyone from APM Reports know how kids learn to read? 

YOU ARE BLOCKED by Rebecca (@BeckRSaunders) on 13.1.24.

                                                                  

Rebecca Saunder's profile on Twitter https://twitter.com/BeckRSaunders says she is a Professional Learning Coach.

The following is what she tweeted.

I have been screaming this into the void for years - why would kids care about an exam that means nothing to them?

Australian students aren’t trying in the Pisa exams. They should be congratulated for their disdain.

She copied that statement, without thinking, from an article by Van Badham a Guardian Australia columnist.

Donna Lee Fields on openmindedness in LinkedIn.

                                                                    

Here is a post on LinkedIn on 24.12.23 by Donna Lee Fields and our discussion.

 

Donna Lee Fields's profile on LinkedIn says: 1st International Teacher-Trainer/Podcast Host.

Donna Lee Fields

When I asked Shelly Winterboer to define 'education', these were her first words. How could you expand on them?

 

For me, education is freedom… education expands my mindset. (Shelly Winterboer)

Note: Shelly Winterboer’s profile states: Providing services Life Coaching, Public Speaking, Team Building, and Interview Preparation.

2022 PISA - Amir Faizal Abdul Manan is feeling concerned. 20.12.2023

                                                       

The following is from a Facebook post by Amir Faizal whose English is a pleasure to read.

Our latest 2022 PISA scores (released in December 2023) are actually quite depressing.

Hypothesis - Why Singapore consistently does better in PISA (Part 2)

                                                           

                                                     PISA reading Singapore vs Malaysia

A Twitter friend said the following:

Singapore's success in the PISA reading test can be attributed to several factors and effective teaching strategies. Here are some key aspects that contribute to Singapore's strong performance in reading:

Emphasis on Early Literacy: Singapore places a strong emphasis on early literacy development. Teachers focus on building a solid foundation in reading skills from the early years...

The other points he mentioned are general and common to most countries around the world.

Hypothesis - Why Singapore consistently does better in PISA (Part 1)

                                                             

Back in 2010 after teaching so-called dyslexic kids for 6 years I was convinced that all my approximately 20 students whom I taught during the 6 years were shut-down kids who had disengaged from learning to read due to confusion.

At that time the existing theory that had existed for more than 35 years was that kids could not read due to phonological awareness deficit.

I disagreed with that theory and wrote over 100 articles/comments that disagreed with it until it was debunked in 2017. You may read some of my articles/comments in 2010 here. LINK

Why Questions become a threat?

                                                           

Here is a post on LinkedIn that I have copied verbatim. This comes exactly at a time I have asked an important question -  Why is Singapore number 1 in reading for years. Compared with Malaysia which is number 60 out of 81. 

Dr.Shalini RatanDr.Shalini Ratan  • 1st • 1st Founder & Chief Knowledge Facilitator, NIRVAN Life Sciences.Founder & Chief Knowledge Facilitator, NIRVAN Life Sciences. 1d • 

Dr. Anuar Ahmad and PISA results

                                                          

                                                                     Dr. Anuar Ahmad

Recently I saw a Facebook post by one Dr. Anuar Ahmad who has a following of 64K members. He writes many articles on education in Malay on Facebook. His motto on his Facebook profile is: "The great aim of education is not knowledge but action.” – Herbert Spencer

I have copied below his article dated 7.12.23 translated into English by Google and my comments. I hope to be able to pick his brains on this matter. 

Learning to read in a language children understand - World Bank

                                                             

Here is an article dated September 19, 2023  by the World Bank I read yesterday. LINK

Learning to read in a language children understand

Authors: Jason Weaver, Alison Marie Grimsland, Fatim Lahonri Diabagate

There are many things I would like to comment on in the article above but decided to ask just one question based on the first paragraph. This is simply because of my experience of writing comments on blogs that are left under moderation or removed. My post yesterday may explain. LINK

To the best of my recollection, the following is what I commented in the morning and by afternoon it was removed.