On Thursday 16th October, amid news of the UK government’s target for 90% of 5-6 year old pupils to reach the expected standard in the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check (PSC), my family attended the funeral of our dearly beloved friend, Jan Britton, at Margam Crematorium in Wales.
Jan was an Early Years’ teacher. Her career began in East London and continued in Plymouth (where we met). From her eulogy, we learned that Jan had kept in touch with the children she taught – from the day they started school, into their sixties. We also heard stories and saw photos which portrayed the part shared reading played in Jan’s relationships with her pupils, her three children, and her eight grandchildren.
(Photos shared with permission)
Jan’s thanksgiving service helped to bring my thinking to a head:
Have we devalued relationship in the teaching and learning of reading?
Learning to read has become big business. I suspect there are more than a few marketing managers rubbing their hands with glee at the Education Secretary’s announcement this week.
The evidence is clear: the science of reading drills the skill.
The evidence is clear: the spirit is unwilling.
Have we sacrificed relationship and strangled will in our pursuit of skill?
Read with Julia 