Ontario Reads

Vikki Pike Stephen Lecce

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Why do we celebrate the little things. Things that others might give you the side eye if they heard your excitement or saw your emotions? Like when my daughter insists on paying for a gum pack at the checkout, and though it might take a bit longer, she correctly adds up the coins needed without my help. Yes I got teary eyed while standing in line and Yes I got the look. Or the first time she read a road sign while were driving. Phew that one is a doozy. Yes I cried. Those d...arn allergies. Or when we were waiting at the doctor's office for an 11:00 appointment and she announces loudly that the doctor is already 15 minutes late, because she understood the clock. Yes I got teary eyed, and yes I got the look. Because so many things are a struggle, I celebrate every step as though it was a marathon, because many times it took a marathon to take that one step. Many people don't have the privilege to see the marathon, to see their growth. For me , I'm not bothered, I'll take your side eye , I'm going to keep on celebrating even the little things.

If you can read the text below, congratulations , you are literate. Contrary to popular opinion. Not everyone can. In simple terms, the skills needed to get to this level of automaticity must be explicitly taught. If your teaching children to guess , your teaching them to be illiterate.

What being Dyscalculic is like for me as an adult. It's not something I actively think about, this fear of numbers. It's more of an awareness of my own stuggle and how I manage in my day to day life. It might seem pretty strange for some people to understand how I can have this difficulty and still work with numbers in my profession every single day. It's not something I can avoid , as much as I want too. ...Continue reading

A group of parents have submitted a request for the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission to open a systemic investigation into how public education is provided ...to students with dyslexia; specifically, in the identification, treatment and accommodations for students with reading disabilities in Saskatchewan and ultimately follow a similar path and structure to that of the Ontario Human Rights Commission - Right to Read Inquiry. Like, share and comment on the post to show your support. Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission Dyslexia Canada #righttoread

I post alot about special education across Canada. I wanted to make sure you know nothing I post is about teachers specifically, Many great teachers do the ver...y best they can , the system is set up so that ultimately classroom teachers are expected to be what every child needs which is an impossibility. Following "Balanced literacy" with our wait to fail system basically ensures that children at risk , will always struggle. Especially when schools have inadequate interventions. In grade 3 when children begin reading to learn, rather than learning to read, meaning all aspects of foundational literacy, these children are left behind. Assistive technology is used as a substitute for appropriate instruction from the noment kids walk into a school for the first time. Leaving teachers to single handedly be experts in their varying abilities. So when I post , I'm speaking up against the system that we are all a part of, and advocating for not only my children but every child who deserves better. The system begins with the Federal government who remains mute. The Provincial Ministry of education, who have all these great Policies but do not hold school boards accountable, insisting Boards are in the position of making appropriate decisions for the students it serves. The boards and schools . Complete failures. these two enterprises use every loop hole they can fabricate, because after all they made the rules. Teachers are left holding the bag. Ill prepared, and lets be honest little to no resources in the classroom or in the school. No amount of money is going to change that until the school boards and schools take some accountability and take action for the role they played in this equation. Teachers Unions, Where is their voice advocating for their members to be taught how children learn to read. At first glance it may seem that's a bold statement. NO teachers college does not prepare them how to teach a child to read. Nor do they offer any PD on the subject. Balanced literacy is an illusion, created to satisfy the masses who've been led to believe " children learn differently ". No the process of reading is the exact same for every person. Dyslexic's strengths are the opposite causing the struggles in written language. fMRI's prove this . Dyslexic's can be literate and thrive , so teach them. Reading is the foundation for all other learning. How does this not enrage you? It should ! Society is guilty. It should not take your family being involved in special education for you to realize just how bad it is, speak up , not only for your children but every child. OHRC "Right to read Inquiry " Look it up. There is a reason it's happening, it's time we do something about it.

You know what's awesome? The "Science of reading" knowledge flowing and becoming active throughout our communities. The only downside is that once more and more people, organizations and corporations become Informed , the more "resources" become available. Which is great. But they are not all equal. Some don't even come close to hitting the mark. It always comes back to the science, if you understand the why , then as "consumers" we can better understand the how's. We can sort through and use resources and materials that support this knowledge. Perhaps even hold issuers of these programs and resources accountable.

This is what educators are led to believe. Pg 96. "New technologies such as MRI have shown subtle differences in the brains of individuals thought to be learning disabled, Although the connection remains vague and its value to education, unclear" Special education in Ontario 7th edition 2013 ... Did you know in 2009 Stanilas Dehaene shared his research in "Reading in the Brain: The Science and Evolution of a Human Invention." A long and technical read but extremely valuable to further enhance what we know about reading and the brain. ( there are several lectures on YouTube as well ) Anyhow he included several fMri images of Neurotypical brains reading and Dyslexic's reading which show much more than subtle differences. Since that time many researchers around the globe have reported the same results. Dehaene 's findings were considered to be scientifically absolute well before the publication date of the Special education guide in Ontario. So why was the above statement included or even not revised. It's just another example of the many inconsistencies that drive our education system. I've included an example of the differences in fMRI's. Its really amazing if you take into consideration the speed at which our brain's process information ( fractions of a second ) What do you think, is this an example of subtle differences? I'll give you a sneak peek into the power of structured literacy. An initial fMRI showed these images from a Dyslexic Learner, upon receiving explicit Systematic multisensory literacy intervention for a period of time and a follow up fMRI shows that the neurons react in ways seen of neurotypical learners. One example : https://www.pnas.org/content/100/5/2860 When we know better, we do better. Those responsible for teaching our teachers have an obligation to be truthful and keep themselves informed , when the opposite occurs , we must demand to know, Why ?

From our partners at DDSK. The Ontario Human Rights Commission launched the Right to Read inquiry last year, and 9 school boards are under investigation for denying children assessment and intervention for reading difficulties. Unfortunately, they are not the exception, and all across Canada this is the rule, even though a Supreme Court ruling (Moore v BC) deemed it unacceptable to deliver insufficient instruction (anything but structured literacy) to children with Dyslexia. ... Several parents have been working on a joint request to start a systemic inquiry similar to Ontario’s Right to Read inquiry. If you would like your name attached to the request, please fill in your information on the attached link. If we achieved the inquiry, one of the key requests would be for teachers to have training in structured literacy which would benefit all children here in Saskatchewan public and catholic schools. https://form.jotform.com/201557901938057