Reading suffering, says specialist

A veteran educator is concerned that online instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic is seriously compromising the education of primary school students.

Tutor at the Barbados Community College (BCC) Dr Astra Babb has argued that the time spent by teachers trying to help some students log on to online teaching sessions, often resulted in other students becoming bored and distracted.
Furthermore, Dr Babb has contended that some under-achieving students found novel ways not to participate in class and sometimes hid behind excuses about broken technology.

“This prevented them from sharing their screen, while others pretended that the mic on their device had malfunctioned. However, a quick text message to the parent of the offender always yielded a satisfactory solution, at least for the tutor,” she said.

“Thus, teachers must develop a great relationship with their students’ parents. Constant interaction with the parents persuades students to give of their best. Class teachers should share their cell phone number with the parents and encourage them to reciprocate.”

Her comments came during a presentation ceremony during which Pastor Dale Haynes of the Seventh Day Adventist Church (SDA) handed over a donation to the participants of a recently held virtual reading clinic. Dr Babb, who is also the coordinator of the annual programme, also urged parents to invest quality time in their children and help them learn how to read.

She said parents should ask higherorder questions that force students to think, recognize implications and predict outcomes.
She encouraged parents to set a time every day for reading with their children and urged them never to use reading as a punishment.
The reading specialist said: “Parents should surround their children with books from a young age and encourage them to create their own stories, verbal at first and then written.

They should be gentle with the children, some of whom are presently suffering from online fatigue, hence the small number this year for summer school.”

The free reading clinic, usually held at the Barbados Community College (BCC) was hosted online this year due to issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Babb said because of the age difference, she taught two sessions daily for three weeks.
Babb’s Reading Clinic was conceptualized to cater to at-risk, 11-year-old boys who experience various challenges with Reading and who were transitioning to secondary school.

The coordinator explained that some parents of older boys who were not achieving expected reading levels, always sought to enroll their sons in the activity.

“This year was no exception as there were six boys from secondary schools, the oldest olbeing 15 years old. The youngest boy in one class this year was nine years old. Altogether, 15 boys benefited from the Reading Clinic,” she said. (AH)