Back in 2001, with the Labour's manifesto fresh in our minds, adult basic skills was at the fore of Government funding. Now, in 2013, it feels as though the glass is half empty. Much has been done to improve the basic skills of adults in the UK, since 2001, but the journey is a relatively new one. There are no statistics to give us an accurate picture of why adults cannot read and write adequately, but in my previous experience (as a literacy tutor and Dyslexia Specialist Tutor) many of those accessing adult literacy classes in FE, failed their 'O' Levels or GCSEs at 16 for a reason. This could be due to any of the following reasons:
- poorly differentiated support;
- home support;
- not understanding how students can learn;
- lack of language learning in the curriculum;
- class size.
Does the Government expect all students to leave with good grades? The answer is, they no.
What is the matter with education today if the basics aren't being taught and aren't improving?
I sound old; I'll be complaining about a draft on my neck next, but come on Gove, it's simple! Phonics (without shwa), and parts of speech are the foundation of our language. Teach those first and you can add anything onto that later!
Whose bright idea was it to take these out of the curriculum and not recap on it regularly? Oh yeah, it was teachers in the 1960s, sorry.
Dyslexic students predictably slip through the net. When I taught Level 2 literacy, some of the students I taught had obtained degrees, GCSEs or Level 2s in literacy, but had no idea how to break words down, use spelling rules, write paragraphs and sentences or punctuate properly and so could not function adequately and with CONFIDENCE, in the workplace.
Whose bright idea was it to take these out of the curriculum and not recap on it regularly? Oh yeah, it was teachers in the 1960s, sorry.
Dyslexic students predictably slip through the net. When I taught Level 2 literacy, some of the students I taught had obtained degrees, GCSEs or Level 2s in literacy, but had no idea how to break words down, use spelling rules, write paragraphs and sentences or punctuate properly and so could not function adequately and with CONFIDENCE, in the workplace.
"We have revolutionised the way in which basic skills are dealt with, and through the Skills for Life strategy, have helped more than 5.7 million adults to improve their numeracy and literacy skills," (DIUS spokesman, 2009). You may think so me dook, but don't go blowing your trumpet too soon because those who have their National post 16 qualifications may not have retained anything. I propose a test, to measure the retained learning of those 5.7 million adults, to test their skills. Don't all rush now!
Learning = remembering. If you cannot remember what you have been taught in order to put it into practice, you haven't learnt it!
