Teachers improve skill to fight illiteracy

Over the last twenty-five years Belizeans have watched the nation’s literacy rate plunge from a percentage in the upper 90’s to somewhere in the mid 70’s. While some of this embarrassing decrease can be attributed to the arrival of large numbers of uneducated migrants from Central America, much of the blame must be placed on our education system. That system is changing, however, as News 5’s Jacqueline Woods found out.

Jacqueline Woods. Reporting

With only two more weeks to go before the opening of primary schools teachers are using the time to make sure they’re prepared. One area of focus this week is the vital skill of reading.

Carol Babb, General Manager, Anglican Schools

“Literacy is a huge problem in our country. At one of our largest Anglican schools, when I was the principal there, I did a reading survey and we discovered that seventy percent or more of our children are not reading at their grade level. And it’s not only an Anglican problem, it’s a national problem. As you may have heard in Sister Caritas’ speech, there are many children who are presently in high school who cannot read properly. So it is a big, big problem and we are trying to address the problem beginning with our infant one, infant two and standard one teachers.”

Carol Babb, General Manager of Anglican Schools, admits that many children do not know how to read because their teachers are not up to the task.

Carol Babb

“When I talk to some of our teachers, most of them do not have the skills and knowledge that they need in order to teach literacy properly. So this workshop is to address that and equipped them with the necessary knowledge, skills and help them develop the right attitude in teaching reading to our children.”

Many educators have their own opinion about when a child should start to learn how to read. Dr. Lorna Bennett, an international lecturer and the workshop facilitator, says there are different levels to reading and strongly believes that when it comes to literacy, there is no age that is too early.

Dr. Lorna Bennett, Facilitator, Literacy Workshop

“Because the children do environmental reading, for example if they like a certain cereal, you can’t change that, they know that box; that’s reading. So environmental print is as critical as learning the letters. We know from research that letter knowledge is one of the big predictors in success in reading, as well as phonological awareness.”

Dr. Bennett says the teachers will be involved in a comprehensive lesson that should adequately prepare them by the time school opens.

Dr.Lorna Bennett

“If you look at the process of reading, its third. You listen, you speak, you read, you write, so you can’t separate them out. So we are hoping to give enough information so that when a teacher leaves here by the end of this week, they have things that they can do. We brought a lot of materials and we’ll try to help them to modify it to suit their setting.”

Jacqueline Woods

“What should parents do when their children go home to help them to read?”

Dr.Lorna Bennett

“They can start as early as possible. They could only teach their kids colours, numbers, letters, they don’t need to worry about the sounds, we’ll do that part. Read to the children, they should be read to daily. It doesn’t matter what you read to them, just read to them so that they get in that space of active thinking in their minds and not just passively looking at things. And speaking to them so that they can start doing the interaction. Because reading is actually an inside out activity, so that if you treat it as a passive activity you don’t get any meaning from it. so it’s critical that parents do that piece with their children to prepare them for school.”

The one week workshop is held under the theme: Early Literacy – Success for all students. Jacqueline Woods reporting for News 5.

That workshop is taking place at the Bishop Sylvestre Memorial Centre on Regent Street in Belize City.