Recently a news item made me laugh: Reading will be returned to the curriculum. I paused in wonder and said out loud, “Reading not in schools?” How could that be?

Another headline stated that approximately 70 per cent of students in grade seven at a particular school were unable to read at their grade level and, of course, there was the usual shocked responses across the different agencies of government and other entities. Where have these people been for the last decades? This school is not the only one. There are too many students who graduate from primary and high schools who are unable to read, and you also have some who can “read” but cannot comprehend, which has led me to this observation.

At a function, a 14-year-old student, who would be in grade nine or third form, was called upon to read. As she stood up to read, it became immediately clear that reading was not her strong point. As she stumbled through the passage that she wrote, it also became clear that this was a copy and paste from the Internet.

In the past 10 or more years I have realised that the literacy level is not great. The problem is not just affecting boys, girls also have challenges. The more I interact with students I realise that there are too many young people who cannot read in this 21st century, and even some of those who can, have challenges with comprehension. And believe me, things like cellphones and other devices are not helping. After all, less than three minutes sound bites and constant scrolling is really not helping because they’re not reading.

The education system and parents have been failing these children for years. The schools speak about separating the students, yes, putting the so-called dunce ones in separate classes so they can get special attention.

In a classroom where there are basically different levels of students, you have the very bright, the average, and the different learner. The bright ones are the ones who attend classes and really pay attention and absorb the different lessons and do extremely well on their end of year exams and external exams.

The challenge with these students is that they are easily bored and many teachers don’t know how to work with them because of the class size and intelligence level of the other students. There may be as many as one in every five students in a class with this level of intelligence. The solution is to always have extra tasks, which are challenging, for them to work on.

The next set are the average students. Now average students are a teacher’s joy. They work hard, prepare their assignments on time, do homework, study hard, get good grades and a fair report. Yes, there may be challenges and from time to time, they get into trouble, but on a whole, they behave at school. They attend classes and perform the different tasks assigned to them efficiently. These students are the backbone of most schools. Teachers prepare lesson plans with these students in mind.

And then there are the students that people refer to as “slow” or “dunce”. I have a challenge with both these terms, but for the purposes of this piece I will use them to help bring the point across. I prefer the term “different learner”. These students are not dunce or even slow learners. In some cases they have other challenges that are not identified/diagnosed. Some may not even have a learning challenge, but the teacher does not cater to their learning styles in the classroom.

These students will hide from class, come to school but disappear at class time, or come to class but are very disruptive. They do very little work, sometimes no assignment or homework, and they do poorly at exams. Some can barely read or are reading below their age/grade level, but they pretend all is well.

An interesting point to note about these students is that, from my observation, some of them have very good memories, and if a teacher delivers lessons using audio equipment or practical exercises, they do learn. In many cases the biggest problem is being able to read. There are many factors that can contribute to these problems. Factors such as poor eyesight, poor nutrition, trauma, learning disabilities, etc.

When a teacher has a classroom of children with different learning styles, plus children who are having emotional and mental challenges, it is a recipe for failure. The classroom is hot and drab, the benches hard, the teacher sits at a small table with a very uncomfortable chair. There is not much equipment or tools to help enhance learning or motivate those who are already not interested and wish they were somewhere else.

What are the expected results? The ones who are motivated, like the bright and average, will push their way through and come out successful. But what about the different learners? How will they cope?

According to research, there are many learning styles, but the main ones are visual, those who learn by seeing; auditory, those who learn by listening and speaking; and kinesthetic, those who learn by doing and physical activity. One can see the confusion that can occur in a small, hot classroom with this mixture if the teacher is not wise and creative.

But are teachers allowed to be creative in all schools or is it about the curriculum and exams? Some schools have a teamwork approach across all subjects, especially in high schools, which works very well and produces really good results. But is this everywhere? No, it is not.

In preparatory schools, the teamwork is among the school, the students, and the parents, this also works in some primary schools.

The reality is that the school alone cannot solve the problems, it has to be a combination of parents, school, and other stakeholders, such as the Ministry of Education.

Parents need to understand their children by recognising their individual, unique perspectives and accept their capabilities. They should seek help if they realise they are unable to provide the help their children need. This is about the children, not themselves.

Teachers should be allowed to be creative and use wisdom to help enhance learning. The schools need to encourage a teamwork atmosphere for learning in which everyone is on the same page. Yes, I know the challenges with different personalities and people having issues themselves, but seek help to sort out differences, whatever they may be, whether emotional or mental. From the principal to the night watchman, everyone should be on the same page.

Government’s role is to ensure schools are attractive, equipped properly, and maintained; the staff is paid a living wage; and teachers are not so stressed about financial matters they can’t function at school. They shouldn’t have to be using their salary to provide equipment that should be provided by the school. Yes, people have financial challenges because they don’t manage finances very well, but that is a different topic. The Government needs to listen more, talk less, and do more.

I cannot speak about this issue without mentioning technology. Technology is a great tool, but like every tool, in the wrong hands, it can cause chaos. A knife is a very good tool in the hands of a chef, but in the hands of a child, it can cause much harm. So if we allow a child to use a knife, we supervise the use carefully to ensure the child does not harm themselves or others. But we don’t allow them to use a knife below a certain age, certainly not a toddler, but we give that same toddler a cellphone to to keep him/her quiet. The potential for harm may just be the same.

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