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781 MILLION ADULTS and 126 million young people around the world lack basic literacy skills, meaning reading and spelling is difficult for them.
Here in Ireland, we tend to take the ability to read and write for granted, but one in 10 children leave Irish primary schools with serious literacy difficulties.
In disadvantaged schools, this figure rises to one in three. This Monday, 8 September, is International Literacy Day, and Suas Educational Development is hoping this will put the issue of literacy on the national agenda.
Educational disadvantage
Suas works to eradicate educational disadvantage, both here in Ireland and abroad. Around Ireland in 2013, Suas facilitated 46 literacy programmes, benefiting 650 young people.
Suas targets people who face the greatest challenges in reading and spelling, working with those who score below the 15th percentile in Ireland. It says that 79% of the students participating in the programmes have improved their literacy score.
Helina O’Donoghue is the project officer for Suas’ Literary Support Programme. Since 2011, Suas has gone from one or two partner schools to 38 partner schools.
“The demand and need is definitely there,” she said.
O’Donoghue said that sometimes literacy issues can go unnoticed.
Sometimes as the curriculum gets harder and as the child progresses, they really can miss that mark and can fall through a gap, and might not be able to keep up with the level of literacy as it increases.
This gap tends to be during the ages of eight to 14, during the transition from primary to secondary school.
“It can really come through behaviourally. Kids can act out, or be disruptive or not focused in school. It’s not their behaviour, it’s that they’re struggling with academics.”
She said there are many reasons why this can happen, such as a lack of a culture around literacy in the home.
Suas works with schools to help boost literacy rates, and every Deis school would have a literacy plan, said O’Donoghue.
She said it was “astonishing” to hear recent statistics that showed that in 2011, one in nine children left primary school without sufficient literacy, while this increased to one in three children in disadvantaged areas.
Suas’s two interventions include paired reading, and for children with a lower rate of literacy, the AccelRead AccelWrite programmes, which are computer based.
Definitely education starts in the home. It comes on in leaps and bounds when parents are encouraging.
O’Donoghue praised the Department of Education for its Time to Read programme that involves libraries.
But she said there are schools that are missing out when it comes to literacy, often due to resources and teacher time.
“I definitely believe in the power of community and the power of volunteering,” said O’Donoghue. “International Literacy Day is to recognise the importance of literacy – whether we realise it or not, we are all very lucky to have it.”
Looking for volunteers
Suas’ Literacy Support Programmes are carried out by over 800 volunteers, and more volunteers are needed for the AcceleRead AcceleWrite programmes in Dublin, Waterford, Cork and Galway.
For more information, visit the Suas website.
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I think it’s very sad to read a story like this.
I am grateful to my parents and grandmother who nurtured a love of reading in me from when I was a child.
I think any project that helps a child improve his/her literacy is worthy of support.
The JCSP Library Project also provides fantastic support in this regard
See this interview with Sir Ken Robinson – all about making education more about nurturing creativity, rather than standardisation and testing, and creating the conditions under which learning can flourish because it is enjoyable!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxkaApEbQek&list=UUPwfTjrXfg1nJItqSl9I9BA&app=desktop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U
A really interesting (and funny) animate of a talk by Sir Ken Robinson on why education paradigms must change – one thing is for sure – our current system is failing children… the idea is to move from a sausage factory mentality to one where learning is more creative and active – rather than mostly sitting listening in a class…
It hasn’t worked in The UK , being creative is grand but if you haven’t got the basics you are going nowhere , lack of parenting is a huge problem , if children are not read to , exposed to books encouraged to read etc you cannot be surprised when so many have difficulty reading
Shocken. Peeple should be learned how to speak gooder english.
talk good, know?
And right write
People are so concerned with correct spelling and grammar, and it has it’s place of course, but I wonder how many of them regularly pick up a book? As an avid reader I’m amazed at how many people of my generation will confess to never having read a book, I’ve noticed a number of people who will have difficulty reading out a newspaper article, a quote from a leaflet etc.
I see others who read books and kindles (marvellous devices) and I can’t help but wonder if it’s like anything else, you use it or you loose it. How many of us could speak a level of Irish at one time but, as we no longer use the language, we can barely remember a few phrases now or how many of us could do quadratic equations and the like in a snap but would struggle to do them now? It has to be something similar with reading writing, spelling and grammar, if it’s barely used over decades it’s simply forgotten. I’ve read about people who have lived in different cultures for decades, learning a new language, eventually they forget their native language. It’s so sad to see something similar happen to literacy here.
They then become journal.ie posters
A high proportion of journal posters don’t know when to use ‘there, their, they’re or they’d’ – and many ‘seen’ things. Poor Glen is the worst offender.
I seen it yesterday! With my eyeballs!
I bet these kids leave school knowing loads about jeebus.
A rather nasty and uncalled for swipe at Glen there.
I wonder if you would be brave enough to say that to his face !!.
Glen is a paid shill for the lexdyslic assiciation.
Have to congratulate Glen . As he’s now the equivalent of a Shinner when it comes to articles on the Journal.
@Rosie dna tey I ma ton :-D
Which of his two faces, Clinton?
I have come across shocking levels of literacy in secondary school students over the years. I’m not blaming the primary teachers they’re working with what they’ve got. Parents have a lot to answer for. Somewhere along the line is been forgotten that parents are the primary educator in a child’s life and children will ape a parents behavior and parrot a parents opinions. So if a child sees their parents reading, if there are always books in the house and they are read to then their vocabulary will expand and literacy, imagination and expression will improve. By the time kids get to 13 or 14 there is only so much that can be done to improve their literacy without intensive one to one help and a lot of encouragement from home. It’s amazing that the weaker students are generally the ones (from a certain set of backgrounds) who claim to hate reading and find it boring!
The sooner we get the Derek Zoolander school the better.
The center for ants?
I have a few nephews… Would I qualify?
Would it not be “one in ten Irish children are not able” as opposed to isn’t
No, as ‘one’ is singular – anything greater than that would be plural. I know that technically that means that thousands of children are affected, but in terms of sentence structure the ‘isn’t’ refers to the ‘one’. :)
Owned
But if your using the plural children in the sentence not child wouldn’t that rule out the singular?
Wasn’t “one in ten” a UB40 song?
Would ” aren’t capable ” be a sufficient substitution, not that I see anything wrong with your wording !
Should it not be “aren’t”
“They” is being used for the neuter singular. Personally I find it pretty ugly, but it’s common English usage.
One in ten of these commentators is correct.
*you’re
Right, to avoid everyone wasting their time arguing over the headline, I’m going to change it to something that hopefully won’t bother you as much… ;)
You’re – and the agreement is with the singular as that’s the subject. To be honest though – a lot of these mistakes don’t really matter. It’s only when they change the meaning of the sentence, cause confusion or prevent a deeper understanding of the language that I have a problem with them.
1 in 37 Journal headlines is bothersome to 8 in 70 readers.
..I liked the old headline :,(
But of healthy banter on a literacy post Aoife ;)
Haha talk about backfiring obviously it should have read “bit” not but
Drinks anyone?
Some of you seriously need to go back to bed. Grow up a small bit.
Grow up says he who comments on all the most infantile radio presenter’s posts on twitter.
That’s terrible news … Hopefully the minister for education has a plan of action that is going to work as this I’SNT acceptable !!
You’re
You are a bit late to the party Eanna !
At least I don’t hide behind a fake account to troll the journal @Ross. That has to be the most childish use of someone’s time I’ve seen.
@Kev – so you don’t deny it! Thank you.
You may even be him!
If it were worded “one child in ten is not able…” you’d see why ‘is’ is used, not ‘are’.
@Ross, at least I’m me. A real account. Yes I do comment on a variety of radio shows that is true. But unlike you I’m no troll. You my friend need to act your age, or maybe you are. Bet mums proud.
@Kev – and that is a typical response from the type of show you’re listening to.
Maybe you should tune into something where the presenter actually is fair and does research and isn’t vulgar and can actually debate with a person without insulting them when he gets beaten.
Maybe then you yourself wouldn’t insult random people.
Think about it?
That’s no way to talk about pj coogan. Be nice.
Oh and Ross. Use a real account and I’ll take anything you have to say with some credit. Till then, troll someone else. Or being it to twitter. The forum is a better place to take it
@Kev – nice attempt at deflection from another “dj” there!
“…being it to twitter” – you see if you listened to an educated and articulated show you wouldn’t make such spelling and grammatical errors.
The ‘isnt’ just doesn’t sound right!
Children who have speech and language delay and children with specific speech and language disorder are at significantly higher risk for developing later literacy impairments , even if the speech and language delay has been otherwise remediated or the child’s speech now ‘sounds normal’. This risk is believed to be linked with a common underlying deficit in phonological awareness and auditory working memory. Prevention is better than cure, yet SLT interventions are thin on the ground and possibly do not allow for as much work around preventing literacy difficulties in these high risk children as would be recommended. An increased focus on preventative practice is needed in this country, not only reactive practices.
The level of literacy of those who can read seems pretty bad too. ‘I would have went’ ‘I seen it’ ‘I should of’ – you’ve got to wonder what they’re doing during all those hours in school and if their parents ever read to them.
Thanks for deleting my comment. The majority of these children should be taken off their parents. Child neglect by the underclass is ignored in Ireland. Is that an acceptable comment?
Your earlier comment was a total disgrace. I salute the Journal for taking it down.
Casey.. The Laughter Police.
Oh no. We should change our education system, and encourage parents to read to their children. Have you ever seen an ad telling parents to read with their kids?
There was nothing funny about your comment even by the standards here. Why not post it again and get a broader opinion.
Casey, I’m referring to your general joylessness. You do nothing but whinge. Clearly I’ll be banned if I repost it but feel free to do so yourself.
Post it from one of your other troll accounts “Forty Coats”.
Feeling stung you got your little comment deleted lol
Ireland’s oldest woman.
Ross
Don’t lower yourself by feeding it !!
What kind of parent needs to be told to read to their child?
Not all children with literacy issues don’t go to college – I should know I made it there! I still have issues with English and IT has helped me over come a lot of my problems with spelling and grammar to the point I’m now auto correcting myself. It wasn’t parental neglect they tried – I just couldn’t learn/understand – I had remedial classes in school with a lovely lady but nope it didn’t help. It took until an masters course for people to tell me I had issues and with learning help – how to sort it out in a way that worked for me. It’s help people need ideally earlier!! Early intervention is shocking in Ireland. We need to invest in services – don’t assume it us always the fault of teachers and parents.
*a masters* !
its funny that this week a mother was sent to prison without any evidence that she wasn’t going to educate her kids properly, yet 1 in 3 kids in certain areas can’t read to a reasonable standard, how many parents or teachers have been sent to prison….
She went to prison for not registering her children as being home schooled. Not for home schooling them.
They have to be registered so that every once in a while their progress can be checked to ensure they are indeed being educated.
If the parents had registered the children none of this would have happened.
If anything, this highlights a drastic need for the reinstatement of all Special Needs Assistants that were let go due to this government’s brutal cuts. It’s obvious that the teachers just can’t cope on their own while having to struggle with larger class size and less facilities. Again it’s the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in our society that have to suffer most.
Okay, here’s some suggestions to help people who can’t read well, or who have children who can’t read well. Firstly, take them to an optometrist. Often the problem is undetected visual problems. Secondly, choose reading material at an appropriate reading level. There are plenty of high-interest, low-level vocab novels and non-fiction books around. Thirdly, try covering the writing with a coloured transparent acetate sheet. Some people need yellow, some pink, some blue. Sounds odd, but it works. It’s just a matter of finding which colour works best. If acetate works, it could be worthwhile having specs made up with coloured glass lenses.
How is 1 in 10 even possible, we are not talking about algebra or trigonometry, we’re talking about reading. How does 1 in 10 (3in a class of 30) leave school without basic reading skills? How???
Terrible parenting. Same kids that are obese at age 5. Take a look around we have a nation full of scobies.
It’s simple BAD PARENTING or NO PARENTING
I would have being one of those 1 on 10. Who do I blame? Bad teachers. Of my 8 years in primary school only 5 teachers had any interest in their job. Only for the fact that my mother took me aside and though me herself I still not be able to read or write. I hope and pray things have changed
So most of your old schoolmates are probably illiterate then? I doubt it somehow.
So with five good years you still didn’t learn to read?
Patrick, it was your parents fault. My daughter hasn’t started school yet and she can read, simply because I put in the time to teach her how to read.
Well forty coats. I don’t know many of my primary school pals now but I do remember when we went to secondary school the teachers commenting how way behind we were compared to pupils from other schools.
Gary. It good to know your daughter can read at such an early age because it’s obvious you cann’t. Did you not see where I said my mother took corrective action when she seen I was being let down by the teachers. So explain to me how is it my parents fault.
Patrick, fair enough, so it was your fault for not paying attention in school. Well done to your mother for taking action, but people tend to blame the teacher for everything these days. More than likely you did a bit of messing and didn’t pay attention or skipped a few classes when you were a child.
Well I never skipped classes. Maybe I messed a bit. What child doesn’t but that doesn’t excuse bad teacher. Two of the 3 teachers I’m talking about were old brothers who were more interested in beating religion into you than teaching you reading and writing. The 3rd was an alcoholic who would be hungover more often than not. Anyway that was 30 years ago. My own children go to a great school with young enthusiastic teacher and they love it. Hopefully things stay that way.
Gary you shouldn’t be making this into a personal attack. Teacher are you?
Nikki, it’s “are you a teacher” ;)
I’m a physics lecturer. I’m just standing up for my primary teaching brethren.
You’re all being awfully judgemental. A lot of people have undiagnosed difficulties like dyslexia. And yes, its the teachers fault for not spotting that.
Bring your children to the library as young as possible. Read to them as much as you can, even when they are babies. Libraries are free and are quite accessible. Being surrounded by books and stories will feed their imagination and make them more comfortable around books and reading when school starts. Continue to read with your children even when they can read for themselves.
The parents really do have to make sure and do reading at home with their children. IMO
Seriously though that headline looked 40 years old. I would never have thought that children still left school without being able to read and write in this day and age. Something very lacking within the Department of Education.
“One in ten Irish children cannot read properly when leaving school”
I wonder where this people are from. They definitely aren’t from Dublin 4
..I’m sure their address can move at the turn of a key in the ignition..
“This people?”good one
Obviously it was a typo David but stellar contribution
waiting for the abortion story to come ..not long more now id say
Ouch! a bit early on a Saturday for that..
do the educate together crowd have school on Saturday Mornings
Isn’t it “togeather”? That’s what I was taught anyway
@finbarr – wonder will “Linda” make an appearance?
Thank Good for spell check
The corporate parent took control from the natural parents and they allowed it.
The corporate parent knows best and this is the result.
Same with the care and protection of children and we see the results of that now too.
Corporate parent copies ideas from abroad . All failed ideas of course, so i do not understand why anyone is shocked.
It was clear to me years ago, when all the fear of children came in for teachers. “Oh we might be accused of abusing children for touching them and hugging them when they fell, etc” Children looked at adult teachers and asked ” so why do you adults not care about us anymore, we sense your fear of us, are we sure we can trust you anymore, etc. etc. No one writes on this though.
Then we have the home schoolers- oh how they are despised and especially if their children do well in adulthood. Everyone wants to hear home schooling is a failure.
Now to create more fear and make sure all parents comply- an example was made of the Irish homeschooling mother to the world by jailing her. No jail for her partner though?
But they are thought Irish at a huge cost. I would suggest 50% of people in Ireland leave school with a bad English speaking and writing skills.
@nikki don’t you mean “you’re”..??
Yes Justin of course ? Unfortunately for some reason predictive text can play havoc with grammar
Less time at football and Irish dancing not part of school curriculum weekend activities
I suppose the problem is generational …the parents must have problems with basic reading themselves ….school was a place of fear not so long ago …a child.would never ask a question to clarify a lack of understanding … because of the ridicule that would.follow …
No surprise here with only 4 hours of classes a day and home by 2 pm.
They may not be able to read properly, what that means exactly I’m not sure, but can they read correctly? If they can read correctly then reading properly doesn’t really matter.
have your say