This right here...I didn't wait for the school to teach my son. If I can read, I'm teaching him to read, and reading books with him. If she doesn't know how, PBS and RUclips are her friends.
Teaching your child to read starts way before school even starts. You can’t depend solely on any school to teach your child, especially with the large amount of students in these classrooms. Teachers simply don’t have the time to cater to each student individually.
Our kindergarten teacher at my private school had us each get a victory drill book and we had to log hours with our parents of practicing so she instilled parents getting involved early on. I remember dreading the drilling because you not only had to read but it is was also timed and my mom is competitive. It worked but not the most fun way to teach a kid to read in my opinion.
@@Imissnormal I agree! I’m glad it worked out for you, but that seems tough. I try to make reading fun with my girls. We even started making up our own stories.
@@softersideofc.c.5655 I agree! My mom was a math teacher my whole school life, so she did not play about our education. She turned everything into a lesson.
My baby boomer elementary school classes were crowded to the max. Overflowing. We id just fine. Our teachers spent 100% of their time teaching reading & math. Not pronouns and Racism.
We need to hold the parents accountable for making sure their child is behaved and respectful and wants to work hard to learn. The schools need to be held accountable for teaching and offering extra help to students having difficulties learning. Both the parents and schools need to work together for the betterment of the student. If that many teachers are quitting, you need to ask the question why are they leaving???
Exactly! Some parents refuse to hold to their kids accountable when it comes to bad behavior and makes it very difficult for teachers and other students. I literally left my job at an elementary school yesterday because of it. I was over it.
@@sarebear7777 Sorry to hear you left your teaching job because of this. Hoping you find a more fulfilling position. Less people are entering the teaching field and more are leaving....our country is in big trouble educating future generations if these issues are not addressed.
@@Taneisha-fp5qtreally it’s the petty teachers, is it? Not undisciplined children, piss poor parenting, administration that dosent want to get sued for racism?
Was a teacher for 3 years and I taught at a Title 1 school, 98% black. It broke my heart that I had to walk away from the school system. As a black man, they wanted me to be every child's FATHER and not just a teacher smh. These parents put these kids in horrible situations to begin with ( like being homeless) and so learning is the last thing on the child's mind when they are facing adult issues as children. The parents don't want to be parents and the school doesn't want the smoke so they just push the kids through even though they aren't on grade level smh. Couldn't deal with it.
Have you taught at an 70-90% White or Asian school? If so what was it like in comparison. Seems leaders would need to hear what you’ve experienced first hand!
@@pinchebruha405 This is the thing too that a lot of people don't want to mention. You kind of get what you put into it. If you have a large base of people sending their kids to school, needing resources, you need money for that. If you have parents sending multiple kids and they're on welfare and/or not working, they're not paying taxes. If they're not paying taxes, schools aren't getting resources. This teacher is expecting schools to get resources out of nowhere.
Former teacher, and your entire breakdown was on point. I started homeschooling because of my experience in the classroom, with great results! Parents really are their child’s first teacher.
Really When every school is Baltimore is failing every kid it's NOT on the parents it's on local school the teachers unions and the teachers. Time for teachers union to be held accountable the Democratic party DEI bullshit .
@@ruthsturgeon4979 What qualifies you to make this call? I hate to break it to you, but there are whole swaths of our country where parental/community support is subpar and the educational outcomes show, not just in Baltimore, affecting a variety of ethnicities. As a teacher, I saw time after time, when parents homeschool or send their child to school reading or mostly ready to read, there’s a marked difference compared to children that get none of that. The way education works, a child is presumed to be able to do certain things at a certain age, and to know certain things. I’m afraid this parent was not aware that sending her child to school is not enough.
I homeschool also. I feel my daughter learns more than she will ever be taught in public schools. It made me feel good I got her through her first year of school and graduation kindergarten as a result. On my second year teaching. I feel that there isn't enough one on one that children need to learn. Not all kids keep up the same pace. If her son didn't know how to read she should of addressed it years prior. But the issue needs to be addressed to the media if they are not learning anything in school. The child's loss more than anything!
We know that there is a shortage of teachers. Why? Is it because teachers are not paid enough and they don’t want school loans and a low salary to pay the loans off. We expect teachers to take care of people’s children and the parents do not engage with their own children.
But...maybe she can't read. Really. You would be surprised how many adults are technically illiterate. You can read, but not know how to apply what you have read (the def of adult illiteracy) and certainly not enough to teach someone else. I'm a teacher, I know educated teachers who can't teach children how to read. We go to school for years to learn how to teach. Think of the anxiety this poor baby must have about reading at this point. This would be no easy task. Listen to the frustration and sadness in her voice, she is asking for help, she is literally asking for help knowing she will be judged and ridiculed. That should mean something.
How can a parent “teach” if she can’t read? I mean really think about this question and think critically before you answer…HOW? This mom needs help. She apparently has asked for it and no one helped her. She’s not one in a million. Her child is one of MANY kids being robbed educationally by this school system. Look at those schools… and those testing scores. Her baby is lost in a sea of failure and she can’t do a thing. She needs help. They need help 🥺
@@nope_n0pe I'm sure that woman gets at least 11K per year in earned income tax credit, so it was her responsibility to go find a tutor with the free money she gets from the taxpayers. Worst, if she's blessed and privileged to be a homemaker via public housing, food stamps, cash assistance then she definitely should take the 'L' for not teaching her kid to read. I'm tired of these women, ALWAYS black women, cussing out the "system" for not rescuing them from their own bad behavior.
@Misty Tarlton @Tori Leira I can attest to this before I pulled my son last year. I'd been yelling since he was in kindergarten and of course the pandemic happened so it was a slow moving train unfortunately. The system is overwhelmed. It's a sad reality and because my son doesn't fit the mold he was gonna fall through the cracks. So I pulled him . And I've been reading and practicing with him the entire time . At least I thought I did until I realized sight word memorization doesn't work. Sometimes unless you do some digging you don't know and unfortunately parents have a lot on their plates too with the rising costs of everything. It's a horrid circle.
That's not how you learn to read though. Phonemic awareness, rhyming, blending, etc. is a science. It's not inherent like language can be, reading must be taught to children for them to learn it. Not to say reading to your child isn't great for other reasons!
@@pinkqueenscookie I know there’s a lot of misinformation about how to teach reading. I’m just saying that parents should know what their kids are learning and review/read with them regularly. I’m not saying the mom didn’t do this but how did it go unnoticed for so long. I’ve seen kids in high school that can’t read. Usually their parents are too busy working or are illiterate and neglect to properly look after their child’s academic progress.
I’m a teacher and their is enough blame to go around. One of my biggest hurdles are the behavior problems. I have to stop teaching several times a day just to address that. And when you bring the concerns to parents some of them are incomplete denial.
@Winsome very few people go into RUclips comments with 100% correct grammar. It can be argued that you used incorrect grammar in your comment. What Cathy said is 100% true in the modern classroom. I’m a music teacher and math tutor and the obscene behavior problems educators have to face make learning almost impossible, yet society places all the blame on teachers.
@@MrJessietyson You're both right. Winsome is right in that teachers lacking the necessary skills to teach are flooding our classrooms. That's a fact. University students in the Education College are generally the least desirable students in their student body class. There are different reasons for this, but there it is. And you cannot teach what you don't know and/or never learned. Also, sometimes it's a simple autocorrect error. It's happened/will happen to all of us at one time or another. You are also very right about the behavioral problems in the classrooms and much of this issue appears to have a subcomponent of The Parent(s). Home training is disappearing along with the traditional foundations of family. This is shown to be a fast growing problem with the entire generation of school aged children. Therefore, if teachers can't ally with parents because the parents see the teachers as enemies or devalue them as "glorified babysitters," this is a tremendous problem. If amusement parks are changing their entrance policies and pricing because they don't want parents just dropping off their kids and teens there, treating them as babysitting centers, we must admit that this is a problem. Raising children Must Start and Continue in the Home. In Asian, South Asian, African, Caribbean, White, and Jewish society, culture, and communities, there are strong childrearing rules that play out in greater society that makes it easier to teach and interact with those children. Namely, the parents make discipline and education a priority and fixture for their outlook on life. They know it doesn't matter what the parents Say. It's what they Do that's looked at and copied by the children. So, bad/violent/uncaring behavior in the classroom is a direct reflection of what kids are learning from home. There are additional strings in this tangled web. But, the clock is ticking and, to paraphrase Benjamin Franklin, if we don't hang together on this entire educational system issue, every single one of us will hang separately
True. Teaching is hardly possible anymore. The teacher's job is to try and keep them safe during the lessons while kids behaving and speaking vile. And arrogant parents teach their kids that a teacher is not allowed to discipline. No way these kids will politely listen while the teacher is talking about the alphabet.
I started watching this video,but it broke my heart. I searched for his mom and offer to help tutor him ,but she said that he's already in a reading program. However I told her that I'm willing to help another child . .. we are working on that .
I taught my kids to read by age 4. I was a full time working registered nurse and my husband is a full time engineer. Our kids were our priority, my son graduated from ASU, my daughter is now in U of A and my youngest is a straight A student in high school. You have to show them how and why education is important and even when I was beat at the end of the day, I would take 1 hour to read to them and use flash cards with alphabet and sight words. If it’s important, you MAKE the time for it.
reading begins at home. The boy does not enter school until he is 5. That is five years of being read to and sharing books together at home. My kids were voracious readers because I made sure we always had a lot of story books. Then, when they got a little older, I subscribed them to bookclubs like The Babysitters Club and American Girls Club. Also, magazines like Cricket and Highlights. I was a poor single mother in Detroit but my kids were reading.
You were a poor single mom but you had books at home and literature subscriptions. There are levels of poverty where a child never owns a book (I didn't). Many in the comment section are suggesting that because they were able to do something, other parents should be able to do it as well. That's not how anything works (I did it so everyone can do it). What about the parents that have nothing, parents that don't speak English, parents that are illiterate, parents from the same broken system and don't know how to learn themselves, parents with addictions, grandparents raising children with the above problems, children in the foster system with no stability, children with undiagnosed learning disabilities. I'm not trying to target you, I'm just saying you had resources other parents may not have. The first step is empathy. This woman may not know how to read herself. If no one read to her, how would she know to read to her child? I'm a teacher, I have parents with money who don't know how to help their struggling babies, but they have the money and access to help. Helping a struggling child to learn how to read requires skill, time, and resources. Again, not saying this to you, just to the comments in general really.
@@charlirogers6235 what about the library? My kids loved a trip to the library. I don't think you could be much poorer than I was but whatever extra I had I tried to better my children's lives. Poverty is not static but dynamic, For instance I could not buy both my children new shoes so I bought one pair for one, then the following month I bought a pair for the other. I cleaned houses while putting myself thru school. Sometimes there would be money left in my student loan or I would get a income tax return.
In some cities there are no libraries. A library recently closed in a nearby city from where I live. I believe that anything other than a multi prong analysis to this situation is wrong. I did it so you can too attitude is short-sightedness. Clearly there are some issues going on at home as well as likely environmental factors.
@@bluestsea those probabilities would probably affect a fraction of the illiterate but there are millions of illiterate out there. You cannot let every parent off the hook for their child's illiteracy. Too many parents leave it up to the department of education to raise their kids and the dept of education does not care about your kids. They care about their jobs and doing as little as possible, especially in large cities.
@@kathleenmacdonald5511 No offense, Kathleen, but did you fully read Charli's comment??? Please re-read the comment. It requires comprehension skills and empathy. You have to be able to visualize each of those variety of families' realities and once you do you will see how extremely lacking your comment is.
Kids are starting school not even knowing how to hold a pencil... not being able to sit down... not being able to pay attention... no one reads them books at home.... the teachers cant do much
I knew how to read, write my name in cursive, everything before I even started kindergarten. Thank you, mom and dad for teaching me how to read while you were reading to me
Uppity and shelf righteous are we. Not all parents are educated. If teachers aren't for teaching and schools aren't for learning, then what is their purpose! Sayonara!!!
Yes hold the school accountable but please please pleaseeeee hold yourself accountable as well as a parent!! I worked in a school and it’s astonishing how many parents do not participate in their child’s learning or their life for that matter !
Lol they think school is supposed to teach the child everything...even how to manage their money. They don't want to take any responsibility. Oh well, let them suffer and find out the hard way.
How is it the schools fault? There's kids who came over the border not too long ago and they can read just fine matter of fact they can read Spanish and English perfectly well they do math as well how is it possible that kids who are migrants scoring better grades then black kids from America?
My son in high school was reading a novel for english. After a couple of weeks it became obvious something wasn't right. I called the teacher who assured me that my son was doing well and holding his own with a tough class. Turned out that my son was the only one who seemed able to understand the book (which he finished reading in less than a week) that the teacher was reading out loud to the class. As for the rest of it my son was small no athletic and a red head perfect bullying material but was managing to get along with some very unmotivated kids in that class. This class was not analyzing literature, exploring ideas or learning how to present them in written a paper. I told this teacher my child was going to college and he needed these things. Do you know what this teacher said? " I knew he was a mistake. " My child was out of that class and into AP English by the weekend. And yes my boy went to college and was on the deans list.
I was an English teacher. They are now discouraging reading novels in on-level classes. It is for the reason you described. When I taught 12th grade, in the on-level class (I also taught AP) even if we read an article I’d often have to read it out loud to the class to ensure anything got done.
I’m currently a Baltimore City public school teacher. I want people to understand that there are some misconceptions about how learning occurs. I TEACH EVERY DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Through a bunch of dysfunction! If you look at all the commentary around this issue it’s mostly this expectation that all it takes is for the students to be dropped off to school every day & voila they are able! There is so many issues outside of the teacher and that teacher’s abilities that impact academic achievement. No one wants to have a real conversation about what needs to happen. PARENTS, CHILDREN, ADMINISTRATORS, the DISTRICT have to be a TEAM!!!!! We are not! I and my colleagues across not just this city but the country are working ourselves ragged because this population is ALOT! The mother is on TV emotional about her FOURTH grade student not reading. Trust what I’m saying now, it’s partially on HER! And her CHILD! Akeeba you are correct in saying that many of us have to spend and inordinate amount of time DEALING with issues that impact academics, but not academics! Students with mental health, psychological, intellectual, social emotional issues! I’m one person in the classroom that should have at least student and parental support! I work from 7 am - 4 pm Monday -Thursday. Because I teach extended learning early in the mornings and I teach Gifted and Advanced learners Tuesday- Thursday afternoons. FREE of charge to our students! I only have 1-5 students each session out of a total of 51 kids! Did I say it was FREE!?!!!!??!!! Another big issue to help contextualize the data is absenteeism! I have students whom have missed over 50 days of school so far this year! One in particular has missed over 60! Another student I have not seen in 5 consecutive weeks! We have contacted parents because we are mandated to per our professional responsibilities! Parents have cussed me out when I called to offer assistance with attendance! Students do not want to do school work, or cannot so they do a myriad of disruptive behaviors in one class. I would implore all of you that think you know what goes on in a school to actually come sit in, volunteer to see what we are up against. Perception cannot replace the reality. The scores are the proof that the issues are deeper than a teacher not supposedly teaching. Parents and students get a pass on their personal responsibility for their educational achievement. Btw I became a teacher via Baltimore Teaching Residency an alternative certification program. I agree that the students here are high needs and benefit greatly from having an experienced teacher. I’m still here 15 years In because I know that! I also know that as long as teachers are under valued, threatened with violence, assaulted, stressed out by the mountain of expectations and constantly vilified by people on the outside judging in? Vets like myself will continue to leave, & newbies will continue to stay only long enough to fulfill their obligations to TFA etc. We are working hard for free most of the time and it’s old being blamed for things that are mostly out of our locust of control! We need full support not constant criticism and disrespect. Teaching is not a one man band it’s truly a symphony.
@@sarairivera4006 Are you insane? Copies of what? I do not know whose classroom you went into, because the only time I see copies is for morning work or for homework. Insane that you think that teachers get into a classroom and start handing out copies....you must be joking....parents need to spend time teaching their children how to read, stop condoning bad behaviors, latest Jordans, and technology and the child don't know ABC or how the count.... research has shown there is a correlation between home and school....dropping little Sammy off at school and think he is going to learn everything between 4 walls....take responsibility on homefront too.... ridiculous mindset in first world country.
My stay-at-home mom read to me every night, triggering my love of books. The many single mothers who work 2-3 jobs to keep their children housed & fed frequently do not have the ability to spend the time augmenting the teacher's efforts. If all U.S. workers were paid a realistic living wage, parents would have the time to parent their children the way we'd all prefer.
The lack of accountability we have as a group whilst also claiming to be "magic" is absolutely terrifying. Waiting on the schools to educate your child out of the hundreds of thousands that are there simply makes no sense. You have to care enough. It's one 1-2 teachers per classroom to 20+ children. The odds that every single one will have a superior education doesn't even make sense numbers wise. Why rely only on schools? I feel if you can make grownup choices to have babies you can make grownup choices to educate your children. Your job doesn't stop after birth. My goodness. The complacency is horrendous. What other group feels proud of this?
Lol that school has1:15 ratio. Also white and Asian kids are in public schools reading. Even brown non white hispanics are doing better than black students. Accountability? Our community has none, especially men. Some black families at my school have a 2nd grade reading level. You're telling them to homeschool...
@@pinkqueenscookie I agree. Homeschooling is not a viable option for many, if not most,of our families due to their own academic deficits. I used to work for DSS in the Employment and Training unit. Whenever a client came through, we had to do an intake assessment. This included administering a test to determine their MATH and READING levels in order to steer them towards appropriate training or education. The highest obtainable score in each area was a 12.9 which indicated that one had, at minimum, the skills and competencies of someone who had successfully completed 12 years and 9 months of school. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that hordes of "our" people consistently earned scores in the 3.5- 5.5 range. I couldn't place them in degree focused programs and had to direct them to soft skills classes and low level service oriented employment.
Agree to an extent (I'm a homeschool mom myself), but our tax dollars go to the government supposedly to teach kids to read and give them a basic education.
Superior??? Ha. I suggest u sit in some of these classrooms to see what is truly going on. Don’t let ppl guide u, just sit and observe. There is no need for public schools atp except for daycare centers. If we want change we need to take the whole matter into our own hands. Only then will we see change and positive results! I’ve watched teachers suppress education based on who they think is worthy and that worth is determined by how cute or wealthy the child is! Bias in humans is the problem all around. We should be arming parents to be educators and remember that the miseducation has been going on for a while so not everyone has the same level of sense.
I was a teacher for 8 years! Mainly kinder and first grade. I worked in title 1 schools (poverty areas) and had to work really hard to try to get my students reading at their level. The problem I faced most was lack of support from the school and some parents. It’s so hard when it’s 1 adult and 30 kids. Parents would hardly have the kids do their hw, the school only cares about attendance, test scores and to make sure us teacher are using whatever ridiculous curriculum they purchase. I was burnt out and left last year. I would not send my child to public schools. all that money NEVER trickles down to the classrooms! One of our districts had $15 million dollars DISAPPEAR! Like how?!?!!
I taught my three kids how to read during preschool and before entering kindergarten. It seems like education fifty years ago had better schools in all black schools back then. There was discipline and teachers was a noble profession. My mom was a teacher.
I was actually going to comment this which is similar…when black people were segregated they were better educated. This is a planned system. Mom should’ve paid more attention to her child.
It was better and teachers were respected and dressed like they worked at an office. I remember it was rare to almost of unheard of to have a 5 year who could read. Being taught how to read started about the middle of the 1st grade, after learning the alphabet in the first half. By the end of the 1st year most students could read.
I am the mom of a toddler with spee h delay, people would make comments to me and I would beat myself up, then I stood up one day and I had a flashback to when I was in school struggling to read bc I was dyslexic , I took matters into my own hands. As moms it's our duty to push our children. No one will have there backs like we do
@@marilynr409 1. Every country should value education. 2. No sentence should ever start with “because”. 3. You spelled “value” wrong but I’ll let it slide since auto correct does this to me too.
Akeeba, I want to thank you! I am a RN and never had confidence that I could homeschool my children and work. I recently transferred my children to homeschool. I watched all your reading videos and I can honestly say we’re doing so good. I purchased 100 reading lessons and Phonics to reading books. I enjoy your channel and your making a difference out in the world.
Praise the Lord! Yes, I love watching her channel as well. I work full-time from home by God’s grace and although my daughters are on two different grade levels, I have managed to teach. It is a little overwhelming sometimes. 🥴🥴 We can do it!!! 🙏🏼🙏🏼❤️
Wow thats amazing. I wanted to homeschool my kids, but when COVID hit, I realized it’s too hard for me. I don’t have the patience and end up yelling at my kids for not getting it the first time or for getting distracted. I wish I had the grace to slow down and teach, but it’s challenging to me personally.
I did the same with my 4 kids when they were young because I felt they weren’t getting quality education. I loved homeschooling and one on one schooling brought out their individuality as of course…no one learns in the same way. Even when they were in school..each summer I would have them signed up for a reading club. During the school year I would read to them and have them read back to me. I and my husband were very invested in their education and stayed on top of things..got involved at the schools. However, I felt it in their best interest to homeschool them and it was one of the best decisions I’d ever made regarding their education. The education system hasn’t been updated since the 1950’s!! Going forward all of my kids went onto university and have high paying jobs and positions in government. Parents need to be involved in their kids education.
@@AmyThrash I'm glad you have this self awareness, it is a good thing, because then you can change things up. Like Akeeba says try just for 10 minutes a day. Observe yourself, what can you do in that 10 minutes. Maybe not do any correcting to start, or just correct once, gently, then leave it. Maybe, if your children can, let them self learn something easy for you, like spelling for instance then test them (and reward them). Baby steps hun, build on the baby steps. You're helping the future of your children and learning about yourself too! Keep on watching Akeeba!! 😊🧡👏💯 Wishing you all the best 😊
I grew up really poor and went to twenty schools due to the lifestyle of my single parent. I couldn't read when I was 10, and I remember being in highschool avoiding much of my work because I didn't want them to know how bad i was at reading. The system affects all children. It no longer matters what you look like. The only thing we have control over is what happens at home. Read read read. Read alllllll the books, have them all over the house. I have zero memory of being read a book before bed. All I can do is reverse that by reading. Even single parents can put in twenty minutes a day to read to their child. We all know we spend more than enough time on our phones,put it down and read a book. I love how you are honest about this issue in a gentle yet firm way. Your videos have helped me to look past my "lack of education/low self esteem" that I got from the public school, made me believe I was not capable of teaching my children. I'm so glad I was able to learn early on into parenting that I am their first (and most important) teacher. We are the parents. We pave the path. Thank you, Akeeba!
Thank you for sharing your story! I’ve seen many 4th graders not reading at grade level and realized I couldn’t make a difference as a substitute so I volunteer in a reading program. It’s up to the parents to start PARENTING!!! ✌🏾
I'm not a parent, but I know as a child my mom bought books for me to read and made me write book reports at home. When I was in fourth grade, I was reading at a twelfth grade reading level. I do not want to fully blame the school system; I went to public school, but there needs to be some accountability from the parents as well. I'm grateful for my mom for taking the time to provide books and other learning materials for me at home, so I wasn't fully reliant on school because my mom provided academic work at home for me also, besides video games.
Even if the school has some fault in this, I don't like how the mom is essentially teaching her child how to blame others for his problems, which teaches him a victim mentality. He can be a victor on all things! Its a mind set. I can't stand the negativity I have heard from many high school kids who feel hopeless and give up because "so and so did this to me". Mom, teach him to he strong and victorious! (Edit to add: this is very close to home for me, as my nephew has learning struggles, but was taught to blame everyone else, and now has been to jail 3 times by the age of 16. It has absolutely broken my heart.)
Well as a rsp student some kids do need to be held back since some kids develop slower it can literally be a genetic issue no fault to anyone this is why some people now wait a year more to put there in kids today unlike before just for that reason alone
The fact he can not read is ultimately her responsibility and her fault. He is almost out of elementary school and cannot read. I’m curious if he has a console. How much time does he spend doing homework with his mother or parents? This a disservice to him by both by his parents and the school for passing him.
Exactly he had multiple summers home from school in the care of parents in which reading could of been a focus. When my daughter was learning to read we instilled in her how much reading is an experience. Took her to libraries, thrift stores and book stores regularly to pick new reading material. Read to her as a baby and toddler so she always has a natural curiosity about reading. Everyday when she came home from school she was required to read a book and as she got older 20 mins or a chapter or two from one each day. We also read to her and every night at bedtime. Some parents do not make education a priority at all. Because ain’t no way a kid shouldn’t be able to read in 4 grade unless it wasn’t made important. School can only do so much but as a parent you have to reinforce at home. Too many parents in todays age put tablets and screens in front of their children to keep them occupied. Plus send their kids to school with the expectation that they don’t have to expand on concepts at home. Even if the kid has a learning disability he would need extra intervention regardless, and that couldn’t be the main focus of everyone’s instruction. At some point parent would have to step in and provide assistance or hire assistance. But this isn’t an issue of the school system. The mom seems checked out imo. He’s been in school 5 years thus far so if she hasn’t intervened and checked off several things to help make him more literate I really don’t want to hear it’s the schools fault. I could see if she tried a few things and they failed but to ring the alarm after all this time is ridiculous. Hell in kindergarten they start the basics of reading and you build on that each year going forward.
Like everything else, it begins at home. Shame on his mother first and foremost and secondly the school for passiing him from one grade to the next. No excuse from either is acceptable.
Great video! The mom is doing the best she can. She is showing up asking for help which means she cares. I truly wish her the best on figuring out how to teach her son the best way she can. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
Thank you!!! Thank you for having empathy. Not listing what you do as a parent, or the resources you had, or how she should have done this or that. We don't know this mother's story. We don't know her plight. All we know about her is that she is asking for help. The statistics show she's not the only one. The data shows something is wrong. It all starts with empathy not blame.
I don’t have the time either but I HAD to take matters into my own hands. I found the time. I started with my niece about a month ago. It’s hard!! Really hard but I couldn’t phantom seeing my niece not progressing, seeing her report and being told by her teachers that she is falling behind. I know she has the potential and every child does, it just takes someone to help them reach it. It really shows because we are so far ahead than I could’ve ever imagined and I’m so proud of her! I took 10 steps backwards, started from the basics! Every evening I made sure that we worked on our reading skills. We did letter sounds to then blending those sounds etc and eventually progressing to long vowels and more. Too, she couldn’t comprehend a number +1 and now she’s making tens which is a big step! I was able to build her confidence. She went from HATING reading to ensuring that we do not go a day without reading. Her confidence boosted and she now picks up books on her free will. It’s only a month in but it just show what can be done. For anyone out there who’s wondering what to do, just do it! I know you may not be extremely knowledgeable but the best thing to do is to start somewhere!! Educate yourself and do what needs to be done because no one else will.
Good for you!! It's rewarding, isn't it? I took my grand-niece in when she left her parents' home at 18. She was homeschooled & dyslexic, and her parents were pretty lax about pushing her to learn (if she didn't want to do the tests then they took them for her). Her dad even complained that she couldn't read, and I told him that was his fault b/c he set her up for failure. She lived with me about 3 months and we started reading together, and after a while if I was too tired she put a book in my face & said "let's do it!" We often stayed up past midnight working on her reading. She's 23 now, married with a baby, and can now read to her little one. It pays to persevere & make time when you don't feel like it. 😀
It starts at home. My children were taught their alphabets and how to read, identify also sound them out before they started school. They also knew how to write their names. My parents instilled in us the importance of an education that’s why we are the same with ours also nieces, nephews , grandchildren, etc. I remind them that our ancestors fought for the right to have an education. We prepare them for the next grade during the summer months ( yes they do have fun times). We address any issues or concerns that may come up with him/her at school. You must or should let the teacher/school that you are active in their ability to learn and/or any issues that may impact their learning ability/process.
OMG! You are so right. Parents can’t surrender their children to the school system. It is a joint effort. Parents are the first teachers. Teachers are not the parents, parents have to, have to be more involved in the schools and their child’s education. THEY are ones who will have to take care of them beyond school it they don’t. Stop being their friends and be the parent! Teachers have their own family and children to worry about. We are not miracle workers, especially when mostly using our own money. Kids come to school unprepared. No supplies but dressed to kill. In Tims but no pencil. We call no answer. Parent Teacher conferences NO SHOWS! IEP meetings, crickets! It’s not all on teachers.
Omg I have never been a teacher in Baltimore City or any where else outside of New York City but you are literally speaking about what’s going on in my school. I cannot not take it anymore. I am currently working on a plan to escape this career. If parents only knew what really went on.
I’m going to keep my comments to a minimum. I live here in Wayne County NC where 1:10 adults cannot read. I worked for Americorps here in this town to help adult learners specifically because they are the neglected population. I had 18 year old students that could not read. This is for sure a nationwide problem and I wish more parents felt empowered to homeschool. I homeschool and work full-time outside the home and I commute to my office. It is a sacrifice but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Here we have issues with not enough teachers in rural towns so substitutes are there the entire year. Parents be encouraged, you can do it. If you’re a struggling parent that can’t read, (I hope someone can read this for them), look and see if there is an adult literacy program near you and you teach your children what you learn.
This right here. I think people tend to forget a parent can't help if they lack literacy skills themselves! And it's more prevalent than people realize . Worked as a CHW for a number of years, realized really quickly that the same groups I'm working with could not understand medical literacy as well as comprehension skills . It's a dangerous cycle.
My grandmother worked with me in workbooks when I was too little to attend summer camp like my older brothers. It gave me a love for reading and school, and I was reading before I entered school. Home is important!
I work for DC Public Schools and they rival Baltimore in poor outcomes. I love your insight and you are spot on! “They” know how to teach and implement systems to be successful, so failure is also by design. I would love for you to address the school-to-prison pipeline. Keep up the great work!
I went to a event at Dunbar HS about educating Black students where useless Councilman Kenyon McDuffie was one of the speakers. That was a waste of my time. I could tell that they weren’t interested in real results and providing skills to students. I could tell it was something to support the status quo and keep the funding flowing. DCPS is majority minority and you’d think Black politicians and administrators would want to improve outcomes for Black students. No. Just like the Africans who sold weaker tribes into slavery or the African elites who undermine programs that would make the regular people independent and prosperous, students are being sold out. Students’ shortcomings are not a problem to be fixed but a problem to be exploited. Because they know that there are too many parents that don’t care and there is no amount of money that can compensate for a messed up home life. So let’s demand more money and pretend they can fix it. It’s not like anyone is going to make them accountable. They being the administrators and the politicians.
@@MMMaxwell-DC I've learned a long time ago that systemic racism is so engrained that it doesn't matter who occupies the job, it produces the same outcome (failure for the poor). I can barely tolerate listening to Councilmembers, Chancellor and the Mayor talk about these issues.
Grew up in East Africa and all 10 of us learned how to read before going to school...we had a room with tons of books and my parents cultivated a culture of reading...to this day this is one of my favorite things to do. I never saw my Dad who had a very busy job without a book by his side till he passed away 24 years ago.
So many parents do not take their child’s education seriously. They don’t help them. They don’t take teachers recommendations. That is not the schools fault.
I haven't watched the video at all, I just read the title and came to say- YOU, PARENT! YOUUUU are your child's first (and most important) teacher!! You need to be teaching them at home. You waited until the 4th grade to say something??? You read with them!!!
When my husband and I had our first baby at 2017... we decided we would homeschool. I started educating myself on the laws and curriculum and such. And now I'm in it and love it. And seeing all these stories and even people in my family being teachers, tell me how the system isn't working. And I just thank the lord for giving me the wisdom early on to take action with my own kids. I won't be sending my kids to school any time soon, but I still hope these school systems get it together for the sake of these babies.
My Aunt who is a teacher told me to teach my kids how to read and write because the schools don’t do that. So I taught them and they knew how to read, write and do math by the time they were 2. And I taught them separate lessons, always above grade level, after school thru 5th grade. Doing that definitely paid off.
One of my friend does that she printed math work online and make her daughter do them for an hour every day. She also make her read for an hour. There are many ways a parent can help without waiting for the school to step up
My 3 year old has been reading since before he turned two. Thanks to your Videos they are inspirational. Please continue to encourage parents especially to teach our own because it starts at home.
I worked as a hospice nurse in the inner city and many, many, many children didn't have functioning plumbing, a decent bed, or a full fridge. How are they supposed to be bright-eyed for school the next day???
Exactly. And how r teachers supposed to reach a population that is dealing constant trauma on a constant basis including some who have given in to the trauma?
there is a Problem in the schools but Also a problem with the Parenting this sounds like she has NEVER read a book with her child like how is this real? But even if you are not a teacher if you know how to read you can teach a person to read? what is happening here?
Reading a book with someone does not teach them how to read and the number one fear of homeschooling parents is not being able to teach their child how to read, even I as a very proficient reader. So I can imagine she didn't feel she could even though she can, it is constantly impressed on parents that they need this or that or need teachers to teach. But I do agree, if that was important to her then I am not sure why she didn't notice much sooner and left it at just reaching out and then doing nothing. Too many free resources. But at the same time if they are getting paid to do these things then they should be doing their job but maybe their job isn't for every child to master the basics and not passing them on.
@@ASmith-jn7kf reading a book to a child on consistent basis has been proven to increase reading performance. Hence why there is such a push for parents to read to their kids. My mom had a high school diploma but knew I needed to know how to read before kindergarten; therefore we read everyday the summer before kindergarten. I walked in knowing how to read and received many comments from teachers. Parents have to make it a priority in order to see results.
When i was in school I had a lot of learning problems and one of the biggest slow downs of the class was kids who just wanted to act out and slow the class down. One of the worst kids teacher came in after school and yelled at the teach for her child not doing better but admitted she didnt do anything for him at home. As a child it opened my mind that not all parents are smart enough or care enough to raise children. Parents dont teach kids to respect teachers any more and when you only have 1 person for sometimes 36 students at one time it makes it almost impossible for all the students who needs help is almost impossible. I know a lot of teachers who are trying very hard to work even with heavy burn out, no extra money to do their jobs and increasing numbers of students with basic problems like no respect for adults.
why is she not held accountable?.. years ago a mother told me she switching schools because her daughter wasn't reading... i was like well do you read with her? she didn't
“I don’t want a nation of thinkers. I want a nation of workers.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt, founder of US Public School System Parents take your power back.💫
I used to teach in Baltimore City. I was stressed so badly and left. I didn’t spend a lot of time teaching, just managing behavior. Also Baltimore employs a lot of TFA teachers who are just there who don’t know what they’re doing. I also taught in MCPS and it was a much better experience! I loved teaching there!
I had great teachers. I remember my parents were told I was struggling with reading, due to my ADHD/ behavior my father who learned English in the US would sit with me and help me read, he worked double shifts and when he had the time he would encourage me to read aloud. My then neighbors ,God Bless them, spoke perfect English and would also tutor me and read with me. It takes a village and it starts at home.
I started homeschooling my 6 yrs. old this year. The school informed me that he may need to be placed in sp. ed. I worked with him over the summer. He can read beginner books on his own now. I refused to allow the school to have him just taking up room and not teaching him. He takes longer to learn but he does. He is working on the 2nd-grade word list now. I have taught him phonics, silent-e, two vowels, and the bossy-r. Just learning these few rules allowed him to read confidently.
Breaks my heart for that mother and her son. I know how it feels to see your child struggle and feel like you have no options to help them. Thank you for speaking on this.
My daughter was in kindergarten and couldn't read. I researched and scoured RUclips and I bought a few books and really focused on reading with my daughter and she started reading. That's something I can take personal pride in.
Do you think this has to do with not putting special needs kids in the classroom together. My biggest issue is I I'm trying to teach kids who can't read or talk or make it to the bathroom on time in 4th grade alongside kids who could be skipped up to 6th grade. We throw all the kids in rooms together regardless of their needs. Teachers have to hold back the advanced and even the average students, because you've got a 4th grader urinating in the corner, and if you say ANYTHING about them needing to be in SPECIAL EDUCATION ALL DAY you're discriminating.
Oh my gosh please do not kill me. I am so late but in South Africa we r so encouraged by our schools to take 50% of the responsibility to teach our kids to read and write. They r given so much of homework and it is so intense. To hire tutors is basically out of the question for most of us due to high costs. I really feel it for this mom. But a little a day can really boost our kids knowledge. I love...love your content. 😉
As a retired 4th grade Teacher from Baltimore, learning to read starts at home first. If you as a parent can't read, you ask a relative or friend to help. Blaming the Teachers for everything is an excuse, when you're the parent. No one is babysitting students for 8 hours it's called...implementing a detail lesson for teaching that day. The students have to be able to read to comprehend any given lesson for that entire day.
agree 100%. These parents need to take some responsibility. My folks & big bro had me picking out words and letters on street signs when we were out. Theres no excuse
Parents must take accountability for the foundational education of our children. School is where our children go to enhance the knowledge that they've gathered through their parents guidance at home. Unless a child has a form of exceptional learning curve, and has not had the core assessments and an IEP individual educational plan & developmental testing to assist in their learning process, no "normal" adjusted fourth grader shouldn't know how to read. Television should be a luxury in the home. No child under the age of 12, exhibiting an inability to self/group learn without difficulties should have access to television or technology to play games on and watch social media on a daily basis. I would like to know what is going on in that child's environment both at home & school. If that child did not show age appropriate reading by third grade there's no way, a meeting should not have been called with the parents to determine if he should be tested for possible learning or psychological difficulties.
Hey alum. I wish I could use what you teach here on your channel to help him. I'm right here in B'more. I homeschooled my son who is now attending Columbia Univ (not all of that was my homeschooling techniques since I was a working homeschool mom; he was serious about his schooling). And I homeschooled him from the 4th grade when I realized the system did not expect much from him. I've tutored a number of children in reading. But I am not a teacher. I'm just a mom who understands and a human who loves to help. And would do my part (with some guidance) to help him to succeed and ease his mom's despair. Just a thouight.
Really appreciate you keebah....you're an inspiration, the mom needs support so she can help him herself....we've all been taught to put our kids in others hands weather its school or medical...you're a fresh air sis....keep up the great work.
My parents had four kids. I was the third child out of four. We lived in Highland Park which wasn’t the greatest. My parents send us to schools that help our needs. I was in special education so I needed extra help. My parents would stay up late to help me. They got me these educational games. They helped with my reading and math. We moved once my older sister got to high school. My parents didn't want us to go to the public schools there and there wasn’t great a place for me to attend school. They moved to an area that ranked high in my state and the special education program was top-notch. My point is that parents should step up. If you knew that your kid can’t read then you should have done something. You do what you have to do for your kids to have the best education possible.
Also, if your child begins kindergarten without knowing the alphabet, most letter sounds, how to count to 20, and how to recognize numbers and colors, they begin at a disadvantage.
I bet he knows how to navigate social media, video games, a cell phone and any other electronics that you allow him to entertain himself with.. Mom take majority of the blame even though he's in school 8 hours a day. Utilize the resources the school has to offer. I was teaching my daughter to read at 4 years old not expecting her teacher do it 100%.
Going from 1st to 2nd grade in the mid 80's, I was having trouble with phonetics and reading in general. My mom moved me from a private school to a ghetto public school with a reading program, hired a private tutor and did the work with me everyday to get me back on track. I was reading at an 8th grade level going into 3rd grade. I am thankful we had those resources and my mom was on top of it like this lady is trying to be for her son.
not just teachers held accountable but parents too. dont let ur kids get influenced bad environment, dont take their side when they do things wrong. who want to teach ur kids if u always think ur kids is right when they r wrong
I heard this lady once talk about how her daughter made good grades throughout school and was taking honor course in high school. One day she was getting ready to go grocery shopping and she asked her teenage daughter to make a list of what they needed as she called out the items to her, the daughter was unable to do it, the lady was freaked out ! We can’t rely on the school system to educate our kids.
How is the school responsible? Parents are their children first teachers. So the mother should teach her child her to read or get her child the help he needs. Parents these days will blame everyone but themselves
I have 4 kids, I read to my kids from the time I was pregnant till they were reading to me. My youngest are twin boys, they were so difficult because they didn’t want to learn. Both of them would cover my mouth when I would read to them. And sight words always ended in meltdowns. Sometimes children are just difficult.
The moral breakdown of my community (Native American from the reservation), high rate of single parents and grandparents raising grandchildren, and even older children raising their siblings bc parents have to find work off the reservation. I was shocked at how many of my little brothers friends had no parents at home bc they worked off the reservation. No good can come out of being abandoned by your parents.
I was born in Baltimore. My heart goes out to the students who need interventions. You nailed the problems. My last four years of teaching were at an at risk residential and day student facility. Paraprofessionals were key to behavioral and academic services.
There’s a recent study on NPR talking about the “new” way to teach reading across the country and they are discovering kids can’t read using these methods. They need phonics training.
I was a single mother low income. My daughter started getting books from dollar tree and cards from dollar tree and she was reading by the time she was 4 you have to work with your kids outside the school. It’s not all on the schools and teachers. It’s on you as the parent as well. I taught my daughter cursive in middle school you have to educate your kids on what you want them to learn.
My daughters at age 2 already knew how to read and write, one of them was 4 when she wrote the script for the pilot episode for a tv series, back when people could submit their own screenplays to Amazon Studios. As everyone in my family they all were homeschooled, and thanks to this we all have completed secondary and tertiary education at a young age.
I can't speak for Baltimore schools but as a teacher, I can speak from my own experience. I have taught children in 3rd-5th grade who are struggling readers. There are many reasons this happens and the blame doesn't always or ONLY belong to the teacher. I will focus on my current 3rd grade class. I have students who can't read, who can barely read, who can somewhat read and who can read fluently but don't comprehend what they read. I place them in small reading groups made up of students with similar skills and work with them several times a week. I assign homework specific to their needs. We have an on-site intervention reading program where students can receive 1/1 tutoring twice a week for 45 minutes each session. These are the issues I have encountered this year. 1) Several of my lowest readers have the worst attendance, including 1 who comes 90 minutes late EVERYDAY, therefore misses the entire reading block. 2) Many do not return the homework designed to help them(I make sure it is practice for what they worked on in small group so they can do it independently). 3)I referred 12 of my struggling readers to the intervention program and only TWO parents signed their child up(one told her mother she didn't want to do it so mom said she didn't have to). 4) When the teacher notices a learning discrepancy and asks the parent if they want to have the child tested, many times the parent says no because they don't want their child to be "labeled". 5) Every year during the 2nd parent/teacher conference(IF they come) I recommend repeating the grade for my lowest students but if the parent doesn't agree, I can't hold a student back. The excuse from parents is usually they don't want their child to feel bad. Excuse me, you don't think they'll feel bad as they move up but still can't read? Ok. 6) It's even harder to retain a student who has an IEP. Saying all this does not mean in some instances, your child may have had a bad teacher (yes, I admit there are some bad teachers, just like there are bad workers in EVERY profession. But I seriously doubt that the reason this 4th grader can't read is because he has had a bad teacher from kindergarten through 4th grade. Parents are the children's biggest advocate and must not wait until 4th grade to speak up. If you notice that your child is not able to read simple books by the middle of 1st grade meet with your child's teacher to find out what interventions are taking place at school and get advice on how you can help at home. If your child needs to be tested, don't look at it as a label. It could be just the intervention/support they need. Many students eventually test out of those services as they get older.
The ultimate responsibility is on the parent for the education of your children! I read to my sons from birth & used other education materials/videos before they even started school.
I also could not read in 4th grade. Turns out I was dyslexic. When my mother realized just how bad it was (I was the youngest of 4) she started buying me comic books and read them with me every day. In two years I caught up with reading but had missed out on a lot.
My son was in early intervention at 2- Publix special Ed preschool at 3 - Now is 10 diagnosed with dyslexia- apraxia- dyspraxia- dysgraphia- ADHD- SPD etc. He has had private tutors and therapists. He still cannot read. I am a first grade teacher. I had to fight for my child- nothing was just handed to me.
Classroom behavior is the biggest problem, coddling and enabling children to act in ways that would not be acceptable in any environment and then expecting teachers to be able to teach them things that they are not able to do.
The “blame” is systemic on multi levels. We have single parent households who live in poverty, drug infested communities with high crimes, children who go to school with extreme behavioral and emotional issues that make it impossible for teachers to teach, education that lacks opportunities for hands on learning, tired teachers etc. these kids come to school with poor nutrition and a lack of outside play. Their communities are not safe, the list goes on and on.
Long story but I started at a Sub. I have two masters and one is in education. A lot of schools had me and wanted long term because I was creative and thought outside of the box (some teachers did not like that but...) I was at one school in the city, and I was there for four years and will be talking about it on my podcast but. One thing that I can never get over and why I keep debating on getting my certification is because students would record the teachers and overhear teachers (because they showed me the videos) saying "Why is Ms. M trying to teach you this? You're not smart enough to learn this" ,"Why are you trying this hard? You're not going to anything with it" "Why is she trying this hard with you guys? She acts like you are going to Harvard when you are just going to work drive thru." etc.... etc..... I loved it and now I am creating my own educational products, but it was so sad and depressing with the videos the students were able to take and then I realized why they gave up or why they don't think much of themselves. I tried to do some lessons for the middle school (I was at k-8), and the teachers and parents brainwashed them so much they would tell me "That's white people stuff" "You trying to turn me white Ms. M?". I learned so much from it and why I need to work harder to encourage education and now I have started a business to do so. Sorry if too much or long but ... I relate to this so much. I was getting kids scores up and other teachers were mad and hating on me literally telling the principal to tell me to stop with the indoor garden, letter sleuths, reading to snails (long story but they loved it and tons of parents came because the kids were so ecstatic about it and other classes were jealous). Any way This video brought back memories.
You answered your own question. Why are inexperienced teachers put in the neediest classes? Because the experienced ones leave because the job is damn near impossible. As a teacher with 10 years in a large urban district I propose starting with one easy fix: STOP FEEDING THE KIDS SUGAR DONUTS IN SCHOOL “BREAKFASTS”! Most of them have ADHD! Its total insanity!
I dunno. I just know I grew up in poverty, my mother was not a stay at home mom... and for all intents and purposes was pretty awful.. but she still taught me how to read when I was 4-5 years old.
Mom worked fulltime as a nurse and she didn't accept the I can't do this or that when I was starting to write and read. I'm a Gen X...I grew up when there weren't cellphones or Internet, Mom bought every enciclopedia she could find, dictionaries, school supplies on her meager salary so...
We spent about $28000 in private specialized reading OG for son . He goes to a great school district too. So sad that the mom can’t afford tutoring. Some children need special education and special way of teaching.
As a parent you have to take the power into your own hands. I taught my children to read before they went to school.
Facts. If that’s not your strong point…it’s time to learn or establish a strong support system
This right here...I didn't wait for the school to teach my son. If I can read, I'm teaching him to read, and reading books with him. If she doesn't know how, PBS and RUclips are her friends.
Exactly!
That’s great but I am a chemist with 3 kids and couldn’t teach them to read on my own. Teaching is a gift.
@LJ I watch RUclips and there are educational things on RUclips, but friend...
Teaching your child to read starts way before school even starts. You can’t depend solely on any school to teach your child, especially with the large amount of students in these classrooms. Teachers simply don’t have the time to cater to each student individually.
Our kindergarten teacher at my private school had us each get a victory drill book and we had to log hours with our parents of practicing so she instilled parents getting involved early on. I remember dreading the drilling because you not only had to read but it is was also timed and my mom is competitive. It worked but not the most fun way to teach a kid to read in my opinion.
Exactly, reading, spelling an math should always start at home at least the basics
@@Imissnormal I agree! I’m glad it worked out for you, but that seems tough. I try to make reading fun with my girls. We even started making up our own stories.
@@softersideofc.c.5655 I agree! My mom was a math teacher my whole school life, so she did not play about our education. She turned everything into a lesson.
My baby boomer elementary school classes were crowded to the max. Overflowing. We id just fine. Our teachers spent 100% of their time teaching reading & math. Not pronouns and Racism.
We need to hold the parents accountable for making sure their child is behaved and respectful and wants to work hard to learn. The schools need to be held accountable for teaching and offering extra help to students having difficulties learning. Both the parents and schools need to work together for the betterment of the student. If that many teachers are quitting, you need to ask the question why are they leaving???
Facts!!!💯
Exactly! Some parents refuse to hold to their kids accountable when it comes to bad behavior and makes it very difficult for teachers and other students. I literally left my job at an elementary school yesterday because of it. I was over it.
@@sarebear7777 Sorry to hear you left your teaching job because of this. Hoping you find a more fulfilling position. Less people are entering the teaching field and more are leaving....our country is in big trouble educating future generations if these issues are not addressed.
Piss poor leadership from administration. Petty teachers and highly disrespectful students. That's why.
@@Taneisha-fp5qtreally it’s the petty teachers, is it? Not undisciplined children, piss poor parenting, administration that dosent want to get sued for racism?
Was a teacher for 3 years and I taught at a Title 1 school, 98% black. It broke my heart that I had to walk away from the school system. As a black man, they wanted me to be every child's FATHER and not just a teacher smh.
These parents put these kids in horrible situations to begin with ( like being homeless) and so learning is the last thing on the child's mind when they are facing adult issues as children. The parents don't want to be parents and the school doesn't want the smoke so they just push the kids through even though they aren't on grade level smh. Couldn't deal with it.
Have you taught at an 70-90% White or Asian school? If so what was it like in comparison. Seems leaders would need to hear what you’ve experienced first hand!
@@pinchebruha405 This is the thing too that a lot of people don't want to mention. You kind of get what you put into it. If you have a large base of people sending their kids to school, needing resources, you need money for that. If you have parents sending multiple kids and they're on welfare and/or not working, they're not paying taxes. If they're not paying taxes, schools aren't getting resources. This teacher is expecting schools to get resources out of nowhere.
Former teacher, and your entire breakdown was on point. I started homeschooling because of my experience in the classroom, with great results! Parents really are their child’s first teacher.
Really When every school is Baltimore is failing every kid it's NOT on the parents it's on local school the teachers unions and the teachers. Time for teachers union to be held accountable the Democratic party DEI bullshit .
@@ruthsturgeon4979 What qualifies you to make this call? I hate to break it to you, but there are whole swaths of our country where parental/community support is subpar and the educational outcomes show, not just in Baltimore, affecting a variety of ethnicities. As a teacher, I saw time after time, when parents homeschool or send their child to school reading or mostly ready to read, there’s a marked difference compared to children that get none of that.
The way education works, a child is presumed to be able to do certain things at a certain age, and to know certain things. I’m afraid this parent was not aware that sending her child to school is not enough.
I homeschool also. I feel my daughter learns more than she will ever be taught in public schools. It made me feel good I got her through her first year of school and graduation kindergarten as a result. On my second year teaching. I feel that there isn't enough one on one that children need to learn. Not all kids keep up the same pace. If her son didn't know how to read she should of addressed it years prior. But the issue needs to be addressed to the media if they are not learning anything in school. The child's loss more than anything!
We know that there is a shortage of teachers. Why? Is it because teachers are not paid enough and they don’t want school loans and a low salary to pay the loans off. We expect teachers to take care of people’s children and the parents do not engage with their own children.
I for sure plan to home school because of how school was when I was a teen.
My first statement to my wife when I saw this was, "so the mother can't read?" . The parents are the first teachers.
But...maybe she can't read. Really. You would be surprised how many adults are technically illiterate. You can read, but not know how to apply what you have read (the def of adult illiteracy) and certainly not enough to teach someone else. I'm a teacher, I know educated teachers who can't teach children how to read. We go to school for years to learn how to teach. Think of the anxiety this poor baby must have about reading at this point. This would be no easy task. Listen to the frustration and sadness in her voice, she is asking for help, she is literally asking for help knowing she will be judged and ridiculed. That should mean something.
How can a parent “teach” if she can’t read? I mean really think about this question and think critically before you answer…HOW?
This mom needs help. She apparently has asked for it and no one helped her. She’s not one in a million. Her child is one of MANY kids being robbed educationally by this school system. Look at those schools… and those testing scores. Her baby is lost in a sea of failure and she can’t do a thing. She needs help. They need help 🥺
Gotta blame someone, anyone but the woman
@@stud6414 what can the mom do if she can’t read? She asked for help as she stated and was ignored. No one did anything.
@@nope_n0pe I'm sure that woman gets at least 11K per year in earned income tax credit, so it was her responsibility to go find a tutor with the free money she gets from the taxpayers. Worst, if she's blessed and privileged to be a homemaker via public housing, food stamps, cash assistance then she definitely should take the 'L' for not teaching her kid to read.
I'm tired of these women, ALWAYS black women, cussing out the "system" for not rescuing them from their own bad behavior.
Why didn’t she sound the alarm a couple years ago? If your child is in elementary school, you should be reading with them regularly.
I think they said she had been saying something for a while.
@Misty Tarlton @Tori Leira I can attest to this before I pulled my son last year. I'd been yelling since he was in kindergarten and of course the pandemic happened so it was a slow moving train unfortunately. The system is overwhelmed. It's a sad reality and because my son doesn't fit the mold he was gonna fall through the cracks. So I pulled him . And I've been reading and practicing with him the entire time . At least I thought I did until I realized sight word memorization doesn't work. Sometimes unless you do some digging you don't know and unfortunately parents have a lot on their plates too with the rising costs of everything. It's a horrid circle.
She Did!!! No one headed her cries!!!
That's not how you learn to read though. Phonemic awareness, rhyming, blending, etc. is a science. It's not inherent like language can be, reading must be taught to children for them to learn it. Not to say reading to your child isn't great for other reasons!
@@pinkqueenscookie I know there’s a lot of misinformation about how to teach reading. I’m just saying that parents should know what their kids are learning and review/read with them regularly. I’m not saying the mom didn’t do this but how did it go unnoticed for so long. I’ve seen kids in high school that can’t read. Usually their parents are too busy working or are illiterate and neglect to properly look after their child’s academic progress.
I’m a teacher and their is enough blame to go around. One of my biggest hurdles are the behavior problems. I have to stop teaching several times a day just to address that. And when you bring the concerns to parents some of them are incomplete denial.
OMG!!!! WE CAN CLEARLY SEE PART OF THE PROBLEM RIGHT HERE. Teacher, your comment is full of grammatical errors. WOW!!!!!
@Winsome very few people go into RUclips comments with 100% correct grammar. It can be argued that you used incorrect grammar in your comment. What Cathy said is 100% true in the modern classroom. I’m a music teacher and math tutor and the obscene behavior problems educators have to face make learning almost impossible, yet society places all the blame on teachers.
@@MrJessietyson You're both right. Winsome is right in that teachers lacking the necessary skills to teach are flooding our classrooms. That's a fact. University students in the Education College are generally the least desirable students in their student body class. There are different reasons for this, but there it is. And you cannot teach what you don't know and/or never learned.
Also, sometimes it's a simple autocorrect error. It's happened/will happen to all of us at one time or another.
You are also very right about the behavioral problems in the classrooms and much of this issue appears to have a subcomponent of The Parent(s).
Home training is disappearing along with the traditional foundations of family. This is shown to be a fast growing problem with the entire generation of school aged children.
Therefore, if teachers can't ally with parents because the parents see the teachers as enemies or devalue them as "glorified babysitters," this is a tremendous problem.
If amusement parks are changing their entrance policies and pricing because they don't want parents just dropping off their kids and teens there, treating them as babysitting centers, we must admit that this is a problem.
Raising children Must Start and Continue in the Home. In Asian, South Asian, African, Caribbean, White, and Jewish society, culture, and communities, there are strong childrearing rules that play out in greater society that makes it easier to teach and interact with those children.
Namely, the parents make discipline and education a priority and fixture for their outlook on life. They know it doesn't matter what the parents Say. It's what they Do that's looked at and copied by the children.
So, bad/violent/uncaring behavior in the classroom is a direct reflection of what kids are learning from home.
There are additional strings in this tangled web. But, the clock is ticking and, to paraphrase Benjamin Franklin, if we don't hang together on this entire educational system issue, every single one of us will hang separately
Some of them are incomplete. Absolutely.
True. Teaching is hardly possible anymore. The teacher's job is to try and keep them safe during the lessons while kids behaving and speaking vile. And arrogant parents teach their kids that a teacher is not allowed to discipline. No way these kids will politely listen while the teacher is talking about the alphabet.
I started watching this video,but it broke my heart. I searched for his mom and offer to help tutor him ,but she said that he's already in a reading program. However I told her that I'm willing to help another child . .. we are working on that .
Wow that’s so nice of you. God bless🙏🏾
you are a good person..
Very nice of you .
God bless you 🙏🏾
🙏🏽
I hope she takes you up on the offer, because as you know not all 'reading programs' are created equal! Best of luck to them!
I taught my kids to read by age 4. I was a full time working registered nurse and my husband is a full time engineer. Our kids were our priority, my son graduated from ASU, my daughter is now in U of A and my youngest is a straight A student in high school. You have to show them how and why education is important and even when I was beat at the end of the day, I would take 1 hour to read to them and use flash cards with alphabet and sight words. If it’s important, you MAKE the time for it.
Yep my mom did this and I was reading books with 600- 900 pages with full comprehension voluntarily by the 1st grade.
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽💯💯💯♥️♥️♥️
💯 It starts from the inside of the house !!!!! Not outside of the house !!!! The house without books is like a room without windows. HENRY W BEECHER
That's because you and your husband are educated and you understand the value of education.
❤
I told a mom to cut back on doing her nails and use that to pay for a tutor. She told me I’m messing with her hygiene. 😂
Chile
She's raising a coddled pookie
💀hygiene is washing your hands all that extra shit isn’t
Because the amount of money she was spending on her nails would pay for what 10 seconds of tutoring
Good grief… no she didn’t 😩
reading begins at home. The boy does not enter school until he is 5. That is five years of being read to and sharing books together at home. My kids were voracious readers because I made sure we always had a lot of story books. Then, when they got a little older, I subscribed them to bookclubs like The Babysitters Club and American Girls Club. Also, magazines like Cricket and Highlights. I was a poor single mother in Detroit but my kids were reading.
You were a poor single mom but you had books at home and literature subscriptions. There are levels of poverty where a child never owns a book (I didn't). Many in the comment section are suggesting that because they were able to do something, other parents should be able to do it as well. That's not how anything works (I did it so everyone can do it). What about the parents that have nothing, parents that don't speak English, parents that are illiterate, parents from the same broken system and don't know how to learn themselves, parents with addictions, grandparents raising children with the above problems, children in the foster system with no stability, children with undiagnosed learning disabilities. I'm not trying to target you, I'm just saying you had resources other parents may not have. The first step is empathy. This woman may not know how to read herself. If no one read to her, how would she know to read to her child? I'm a teacher, I have parents with money who don't know how to help their struggling babies, but they have the money and access to help. Helping a struggling child to learn how to read requires skill, time, and resources. Again, not saying this to you, just to the comments in general really.
@@charlirogers6235 what about the library? My kids loved a trip to the library. I don't think you could be much poorer than I was but whatever extra I had I tried to better my children's lives. Poverty is not static but dynamic, For instance I could not buy both my children new shoes so I bought one pair for one, then the following month I bought a pair for the other. I cleaned houses while putting myself thru school. Sometimes there would be money left in my student loan or I would get a income tax return.
In some cities there are no libraries. A library recently closed in a nearby city from where I live. I believe that anything other than a multi prong analysis to this situation is wrong. I did it so you can too attitude is short-sightedness. Clearly there are some issues going on at home as well as likely environmental factors.
@@bluestsea those probabilities would probably affect a fraction of the illiterate but there are millions of illiterate out there. You cannot let every parent off the hook for their child's illiteracy. Too many parents leave it up to the department of education to raise their kids and the dept of education does not care about your kids. They care about their jobs and doing as little as possible, especially in large cities.
@@kathleenmacdonald5511 No offense, Kathleen, but did you fully read Charli's comment???
Please re-read the comment. It requires comprehension skills and empathy. You have to be able to visualize each of those variety of families' realities and once you do you will see how extremely lacking your comment is.
Kids are starting school not even knowing how to hold a pencil... not being able to sit down... not being able to pay attention... no one reads them books at home.... the teachers cant do much
Classes are also overcrowded
@@supernova7848 Are you making excuses for the school teachers failing students
Those things are true. How would you function in a situation like that? Go and observe what goes on in school before you criticize.
@@ruthsturgeon4979 students are failing themselves. Nobody can say anything to them or do anything with them. They bully other kids and the teachers
@@nikicarrie4071 Bullshit .
I knew how to read, write my name in cursive, everything before I even started kindergarten. Thank you, mom and dad for teaching me how to read while you were reading to me
Wow aren't you special.
@@GGSBTBOFTL throw in ‘education’ and you got me pinged baby!
Uppity and shelf righteous are we. Not all parents are educated. If teachers aren't for teaching and schools aren't for learning, then what is their purpose! Sayonara!!!
@@GGSBTBOFTL hush and go read to your child.
@@charde9739 Bye Felicia!
Yes hold the school accountable but please please pleaseeeee hold yourself accountable as well as a parent!! I worked in a school and it’s astonishing how many parents do not participate in their child’s learning or their life for that matter !
Lol they think school is supposed to teach the child everything...even how to manage their money. They don't want to take any responsibility. Oh well, let them suffer and find out the hard way.
I was shocked to know that alot of parents didn't know their child's teachers name
BOOKS! BOOKS! IT STARTS AT HOME! ACCOUNTABILITY PARENTS.
How is it the schools fault? There's kids who came over the border not too long ago and they can read just fine matter of fact they can read Spanish and English perfectly well they do math as well how is it possible that kids who are migrants scoring better grades then black kids from America?
A parent can always take his or her child to the library.
My son in high school was reading a novel for english. After a couple of weeks it became obvious something wasn't right. I called the teacher who assured me that my son was doing well and holding his own with a tough class. Turned out that my son was the only one who seemed able to understand the book (which he finished reading in less than a week) that the teacher was reading out loud to the class. As for the rest of it my son was small no athletic and a red head perfect bullying material but was managing to get along with some very unmotivated kids in that class. This class was not analyzing literature, exploring ideas or learning how to present them in written a paper. I told this teacher my child was going to college and he needed these things. Do you know what this teacher said? " I knew he was a mistake. " My child was out of that class and into AP English by the weekend. And yes my boy went to college and was on the deans list.
I was an English teacher. They are now discouraging reading novels in on-level classes. It is for the reason you described. When I taught 12th grade, in the on-level class (I also taught AP) even if we read an article I’d often have to read it out loud to the class to ensure anything got done.
Having the teacher read out loud in class has been an expectation for years. Any teacher who refused to do this would be out of a job.
I’m currently a Baltimore City public school teacher. I want people to understand that there are some misconceptions about how learning occurs.
I TEACH EVERY DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Through a bunch of dysfunction! If you look at all the commentary around this issue it’s mostly this expectation that all it takes is for the students to be dropped off to school every day & voila they are able!
There is so many issues outside of the teacher and that teacher’s abilities that impact academic achievement.
No one wants to have a real conversation about what needs to happen.
PARENTS, CHILDREN, ADMINISTRATORS, the DISTRICT have to be a TEAM!!!!!
We are not! I and my colleagues across not just this city but the country are working ourselves ragged because this population is ALOT! The mother is on TV emotional about her FOURTH grade student not reading. Trust what I’m saying now, it’s partially on HER! And her CHILD!
Akeeba you are correct in saying that many of us have to spend and inordinate amount of time DEALING with issues that impact academics, but not academics! Students with mental health, psychological, intellectual, social emotional issues!
I’m one person in the classroom that should have at least student and parental support!
I work from 7 am - 4 pm Monday -Thursday. Because I teach extended learning early in the mornings and I teach Gifted and Advanced learners Tuesday- Thursday afternoons. FREE of charge to our students!
I only have 1-5 students each session out of a total of 51 kids!
Did I say it was FREE!?!!!!??!!!
Another big issue to help contextualize the data is absenteeism!
I have students whom have missed over 50 days of school so far this year! One in particular has missed over 60! Another student I have not seen in 5 consecutive weeks! We have contacted parents because we are mandated to per our professional responsibilities! Parents have cussed me out when I called to offer assistance with attendance!
Students do not want to do school work, or cannot so they do a myriad of disruptive behaviors in one class. I would implore all of you that think you know what goes on in a school to actually come sit in, volunteer to see what we are up against.
Perception cannot replace
the reality. The scores are the proof that the issues are deeper than a teacher not supposedly teaching.
Parents and students get a pass on their personal responsibility for their educational achievement.
Btw I became a teacher via Baltimore Teaching Residency an alternative certification program.
I agree that the students here are high needs and benefit greatly from having an experienced teacher.
I’m still here 15 years In because I know that!
I also know that as long as teachers are under valued, threatened with violence, assaulted, stressed out by the mountain of expectations and constantly vilified by people on the outside judging in? Vets like myself will continue to leave, & newbies will continue to stay only long enough to fulfill their obligations to TFA etc.
We are working hard for free most of the time and it’s old being blamed for things that are mostly out of our locust of control!
We need full support not constant criticism and disrespect.
Teaching is not a one man band it’s truly a symphony.
Well said! I see all you said every single day!
You are heard! I hear you!
You guys make copies give them to students 😂 thas not teaching
@@sarairivera4006 Are you insane? Copies of what? I do not know whose classroom you went into, because the only time I see copies is for morning work or for homework. Insane that you think that teachers get into a classroom and start handing out copies....you must be joking....parents need to spend time teaching their children how to read, stop condoning bad behaviors, latest Jordans, and technology and the child don't know ABC or how the count.... research has shown there is a correlation between home and school....dropping little Sammy off at school and think he is going to learn everything between 4 walls....take responsibility on homefront too.... ridiculous mindset in first world country.
I agree with you
There is no Substitute for Good parenting! The parent failed him, not the school system.
My stay-at-home mom read to me every night, triggering my love of books. The many single mothers who work 2-3 jobs to keep their children housed & fed frequently do not have the ability to spend the time augmenting the teacher's efforts. If all U.S. workers were paid a realistic living wage, parents would have the time to parent their children the way we'd all prefer.
The lack of accountability we have as a group whilst also claiming to be "magic" is absolutely terrifying. Waiting on the schools to educate your child out of the hundreds of thousands that are there simply makes no sense. You have to care enough. It's one 1-2 teachers per classroom to 20+ children. The odds that every single one will have a superior education doesn't even make sense numbers wise. Why rely only on schools? I feel if you can make grownup choices to have babies you can make grownup choices to educate your children. Your job doesn't stop after birth. My goodness. The complacency is horrendous. What other group feels proud of this?
1-2 Teachers per class of 20 students? I’ve never seen a ratio that good.
Lol that school has1:15 ratio. Also white and Asian kids are in public schools reading. Even brown non white hispanics are doing better than black students. Accountability? Our community has none, especially men. Some black families at my school have a 2nd grade reading level. You're telling them to homeschool...
@@pinkqueenscookie I agree. Homeschooling is not a viable option for many, if not most,of our families due to their own academic deficits. I used to work for DSS in the Employment and Training unit. Whenever a client came through, we had to do an intake assessment. This included administering a test to determine their MATH and READING levels in order to steer them towards appropriate training or education.
The highest obtainable score in each area was a 12.9 which indicated that one had, at minimum, the skills and competencies of someone who had successfully completed 12 years and 9 months of school.
I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that hordes of "our" people consistently earned scores in the 3.5- 5.5 range. I couldn't place them in degree focused programs and had to direct them to soft skills classes and low level service oriented employment.
Agree to an extent (I'm a homeschool mom myself), but our tax dollars go to the government supposedly to teach kids to read and give them a basic education.
Superior??? Ha. I suggest u sit in some of these classrooms to see what is truly going on. Don’t let ppl guide u, just sit and observe. There is no need for public schools atp except for daycare centers. If we want change we need to take the whole matter into our own hands. Only then will we see change and positive results! I’ve watched teachers suppress education based on who they think is worthy and that worth is determined by how cute or wealthy the child is! Bias in humans is the problem all around. We should be arming parents to be educators and remember that the miseducation has been going on for a while so not everyone has the same level of sense.
I was a teacher for 8 years! Mainly kinder and first grade. I worked in title 1 schools (poverty areas) and had to work really hard to try to get my students reading at their level. The problem I faced most was lack of support from the school and some parents. It’s so hard when it’s 1 adult and 30 kids. Parents would hardly have the kids do their hw, the school only cares about attendance, test scores and to make sure us teacher are using whatever ridiculous curriculum they purchase. I was burnt out and left last year. I would not send my child to public schools. all that money NEVER trickles down to the classrooms! One of our districts had $15 million dollars DISAPPEAR! Like how?!?!!
Administrators dipping and sipping in those funds.
I taught my three kids how to read during preschool and before entering kindergarten. It seems like education fifty years ago had better schools in all black schools back then. There was discipline and teachers was a noble profession. My mom was a teacher.
I was actually going to comment this which is similar…when black people were segregated they were better educated. This is a planned system. Mom should’ve paid more attention to her child.
It was better and teachers were respected and dressed like they worked at an office. I remember it was rare to almost of unheard of to have a 5 year who could read. Being taught how to read started about the middle of the 1st grade, after learning the alphabet in the first half. By the end of the 1st year most students could read.
I am the mom of a toddler with spee h delay, people would make comments to me and I would beat myself up, then I stood up one day and I had a flashback to when I was in school struggling to read bc I was dyslexic , I took matters into my own hands. As moms it's our duty to push our children. No one will have there backs like we do
Because you came from a country that valve education.
@@marilynr409
1. Every country should value education.
2. No sentence should ever start with “because”.
3. You spelled “value” wrong but I’ll let it slide since auto correct does this to me too.
Akeeba,
I want to thank you! I am a RN and never had confidence that I could homeschool my children and work. I recently transferred my children to homeschool. I watched all your reading videos and I can honestly say we’re doing so good. I purchased 100 reading lessons and Phonics to reading books. I enjoy your channel and your making a difference out in the world.
Praise the Lord! Yes, I love watching her channel as well. I work full-time from home by God’s grace and although my daughters are on two different grade levels, I have managed to teach. It is a little overwhelming sometimes. 🥴🥴 We can do it!!! 🙏🏼🙏🏼❤️
Wow thats amazing. I wanted to homeschool my kids, but when COVID hit, I realized it’s too hard for me. I don’t have the patience and end up yelling at my kids for not getting it the first time or for getting distracted.
I wish I had the grace to slow down and teach, but it’s challenging to me personally.
I did the same with my 4 kids when they were young because I felt they weren’t getting quality education. I loved homeschooling and one on one schooling brought out their individuality as of course…no one learns in the same way. Even when they were in school..each summer I would have them signed up for a reading club. During the school year I would read to them and have them read back to me. I and my husband were very invested in their education and stayed on top of things..got involved at the schools.
However, I felt it in their best interest to homeschool them and it was one of the best decisions I’d ever made regarding their education. The education system hasn’t been updated since the 1950’s!! Going forward all of my kids went onto university and have high paying jobs and positions in government. Parents need to be involved in their kids education.
@@AmyThrash I'm glad you have this self awareness, it is a good thing, because then you can change things up. Like Akeeba says try just for 10 minutes a day. Observe yourself, what can you do in that 10 minutes. Maybe not do any correcting to start, or just correct once, gently, then leave it. Maybe, if your children can, let them self learn something easy for you, like spelling for instance then test them (and reward them). Baby steps hun, build on the baby steps. You're helping the future of your children and learning about yourself too! Keep on watching Akeeba!! 😊🧡👏💯 Wishing you all the best 😊
Learning to read STARTS AT HOME WITH MOM AND DAD.
I grew up really poor and went to twenty schools due to the lifestyle of my single parent. I couldn't read when I was 10, and I remember being in highschool avoiding much of my work because I didn't want them to know how bad i was at reading. The system affects all children. It no longer matters what you look like. The only thing we have control over is what happens at home. Read read read. Read alllllll the books, have them all over the house. I have zero memory of being read a book before bed. All I can do is reverse that by reading. Even single parents can put in twenty minutes a day to read to their child. We all know we spend more than enough time on our phones,put it down and read a book. I love how you are honest about this issue in a gentle yet firm way. Your videos have helped me to look past my "lack of education/low self esteem" that I got from the public school, made me believe I was not capable of teaching my children. I'm so glad I was able to learn early on into parenting that I am their first (and most important) teacher. We are the parents. We pave the path. Thank you, Akeeba!
Thank you for sharing your story! I’ve seen many 4th graders not reading at grade level and realized I couldn’t make a difference as a substitute so I volunteer in a reading program. It’s up to the parents to start PARENTING!!! ✌🏾
I'm not a parent, but I know as a child my mom bought books for me to read and made me write book reports at home. When I was in fourth grade, I was reading at a twelfth grade reading level. I do not want to fully blame the school system; I went to public school, but there needs to be some accountability from the parents as well. I'm grateful for my mom for taking the time to provide books and other learning materials for me at home, so I wasn't fully reliant on school because my mom provided academic work at home for me also, besides video games.
Even if the school has some fault in this, I don't like how the mom is essentially teaching her child how to blame others for his problems, which teaches him a victim mentality. He can be a victor on all things! Its a mind set. I can't stand the negativity I have heard from many high school kids who feel hopeless and give up because "so and so did this to me". Mom, teach him to he strong and victorious! (Edit to add: this is very close to home for me, as my nephew has learning struggles, but was taught to blame everyone else, and now has been to jail 3 times by the age of 16. It has absolutely broken my heart.)
Underrated comment! This is dangerous thinking and he already thinks he has no control over his destiny.
The adults in the child’s life failed him
Thank you.
Well as a rsp student some kids do need to be held back since some kids develop slower it can literally be a genetic issue no fault to anyone this is why some people now wait a year more to put there in kids today unlike before just for that reason alone
You don’t need an expensive tutor, the library is free!
I agree with you but if you don't have a car and you work 24/7 that can be hard.
I went to the library they don’t teach anyone to read. Well not in CA
The fact he can not read is ultimately her responsibility and her fault. He is almost out of elementary school and cannot read. I’m curious if he has a console. How much time does he spend doing homework with his mother or parents? This a disservice to him by both by his parents and the school for passing him.
Exactly he had multiple summers home from school in the care of parents in which reading could of been a focus. When my daughter was learning to read we instilled in her how much reading is an experience. Took her to libraries, thrift stores and book stores regularly to pick new reading material. Read to her as a baby and toddler so she always has a natural curiosity about reading. Everyday when she came home from school she was required to read a book and as she got older 20 mins or a chapter or two from one each day. We also read to her and every night at bedtime. Some parents do not make education a priority at all. Because ain’t no way a kid shouldn’t be able to read in 4 grade unless it wasn’t made important. School can only do so much but as a parent you have to reinforce at home. Too many parents in todays age put tablets and screens in front of their children to keep them occupied. Plus send their kids to school with the expectation that they don’t have to expand on concepts at home. Even if the kid has a learning disability he would need extra intervention regardless, and that couldn’t be the main focus of everyone’s instruction. At some point parent would have to step in and provide assistance or hire assistance. But this isn’t an issue of the school system. The mom seems checked out imo. He’s been in school 5 years thus far so if she hasn’t intervened and checked off several things to help make him more literate I really don’t want to hear it’s the schools fault. I could see if she tried a few things and they failed but to ring the alarm after all this time is ridiculous. Hell in kindergarten they start the basics of reading and you build on that each year going forward.
Like everything else, it begins at home. Shame on his mother first and foremost and secondly the school for passiing him from one grade to the next. No excuse from either is acceptable.
Right. She just now finding this out? She didn't ask for his grades or ever read with him while he's at home?
There is a good chance she also struggles with reading and writing. She may not know how to teach her child.
Great video! The mom is doing the best she can. She is showing up asking for help which means she cares. I truly wish her the best on figuring out how to teach her son the best way she can. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
Thank you!!! Thank you for having empathy. Not listing what you do as a parent, or the resources you had, or how she should have done this or that. We don't know this mother's story. We don't know her plight. All we know about her is that she is asking for help. The statistics show she's not the only one. The data shows something is wrong. It all starts with empathy not blame.
I don’t have the time either but I HAD to take matters into my own hands. I found the time. I started with my niece about a month ago. It’s hard!! Really hard but I couldn’t phantom seeing my niece not progressing, seeing her report and being told by her teachers that she is falling behind.
I know she has the potential and every child does, it just takes someone to help them reach it. It really shows because we are so far ahead than I could’ve ever imagined and I’m so proud of her!
I took 10 steps backwards, started from the basics! Every evening I made sure that we worked on our reading skills. We did letter sounds to then blending those sounds etc and eventually progressing to long vowels and more. Too, she couldn’t comprehend a number +1 and now she’s making tens which is a big step!
I was able to build her confidence. She went from HATING reading to ensuring that we do not go a day without reading. Her confidence boosted and she now picks up books on her free will. It’s only a month in but it just show what can be done.
For anyone out there who’s wondering what to do, just do it!
I know you may not be extremely knowledgeable but the best thing to do is to start somewhere!!
Educate yourself and do what needs to be done because no one else will.
I love this. So encouraging. ❤
Way to go! Keep on encouraging her to learn. You are setting her up for a bright future, a better outcome in school, a career, and life.
Are you getting a refund from the school system?
Good for you!! It's rewarding, isn't it? I took my grand-niece in when she left her parents' home at 18. She was homeschooled & dyslexic, and her parents were pretty lax about pushing her to learn (if she didn't want to do the tests then they took them for her). Her dad even complained that she couldn't read, and I told him that was his fault b/c he set her up for failure. She lived with me about 3 months and we started reading together, and after a while if I was too tired she put a book in my face & said "let's do it!" We often stayed up past midnight working on her reading. She's 23 now, married with a baby, and can now read to her little one. It pays to persevere & make time when you don't feel like it. 😀
@@AJ_SouthernGal👍🏾
It starts at home. My children were taught their alphabets and how to read, identify also sound them out before they started school. They also knew how to write their names.
My parents instilled in us the importance of an education that’s why we are the same with ours also nieces, nephews , grandchildren, etc.
I remind them that our ancestors fought for the right to have an education.
We prepare them for the next grade during the summer months ( yes they do have fun times).
We address any issues or concerns that may come up with him/her at school.
You must or should let the teacher/school that you are active in their ability to learn and/or any issues that may impact their learning ability/process.
OMG! You are so right. Parents can’t surrender their children to the school system. It is a joint effort. Parents are the first teachers. Teachers are not the parents, parents have to, have to be more involved in the schools and their child’s education.
THEY are ones who will have to take care of them beyond school it they don’t. Stop being their friends and be the parent! Teachers have their own family and children to worry about. We are not miracle workers, especially when mostly using our own money. Kids come to school unprepared. No supplies but dressed to kill. In Tims but no pencil. We call no answer. Parent Teacher conferences NO SHOWS! IEP meetings, crickets! It’s not all on teachers.
Omg I have never been a teacher in Baltimore City or any where else outside of New York City but you are literally speaking about what’s going on in my school. I cannot not take it anymore. I am currently working on a plan to escape this career. If parents only knew what really went on.
Me too! I can not take another year. 😭
I’m going to keep my comments to a minimum. I live here in Wayne County NC where 1:10 adults cannot read. I worked for Americorps here in this town to help adult learners specifically because they are the neglected population. I had 18 year old students that could not read. This is for sure a nationwide problem and I wish more parents felt empowered to homeschool. I homeschool and work full-time outside the home and I commute to my office. It is a sacrifice but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Here we have issues with not enough teachers in rural towns so substitutes are there the entire year. Parents be encouraged, you can do it. If you’re a struggling parent that can’t read, (I hope someone can read this for them), look and see if there is an adult literacy program near you and you teach your children what you learn.
This right here. I think people tend to forget a parent can't help if they lack literacy skills themselves! And it's more prevalent than people realize . Worked as a CHW for a number of years, realized really quickly that the same groups I'm working with could not understand medical literacy as well as comprehension skills . It's a dangerous cycle.
Everyone has the entire knowledge of the word on their cell phone. There is no excuse to be ignorant.
My grandmother worked with me in workbooks when I was too little to attend summer camp like my older brothers. It gave me a love for reading and school, and I was reading before I entered school. Home is important!
I work for DC Public Schools and they rival Baltimore in poor outcomes. I love your insight and you are spot on! “They” know how to teach and implement systems to be successful, so failure is also by design. I would love for you to address the school-to-prison pipeline. Keep up the great work!
I went to a event at Dunbar HS about educating Black students where useless Councilman Kenyon McDuffie was one of the speakers. That was a waste of my time. I could tell that they weren’t interested in real results and providing skills to students. I could tell it was something to support the status quo and keep the funding flowing. DCPS is majority minority and you’d think Black politicians and administrators would want to improve outcomes for Black students. No.
Just like the Africans who sold weaker tribes into slavery or the African elites who undermine programs that would make the regular people independent and prosperous, students are being sold out. Students’ shortcomings are not a problem to be fixed but a problem to be exploited. Because they know that there are too many parents that don’t care and there is no amount of money that can compensate for a messed up home life. So let’s demand more money and pretend they can fix it. It’s not like anyone is going to make them accountable. They being the administrators and the politicians.
@@MMMaxwell-DC I've learned a long time ago that systemic racism is so engrained that it doesn't matter who occupies the job, it produces the same outcome (failure for the poor). I can barely tolerate listening to Councilmembers, Chancellor and the Mayor talk about these issues.
Thank you so much for this video!
Parents are the first teachers.
So you didn't teach your child until he/she was old enough to go to school?
Accountability is priceless.
Grew up in East Africa and all 10 of us learned how to read before going to school...we had a room with tons of books and my parents cultivated a culture of reading...to this day this is one of my favorite things to do. I never saw my Dad who had a very busy job without a book by his side till he passed away 24 years ago.
So many parents do not take their child’s education seriously. They don’t help them. They don’t take teachers recommendations. That is not the schools fault.
I haven't watched the video at all, I just read the title and came to say- YOU, PARENT! YOUUUU are your child's first (and most important) teacher!! You need to be teaching them at home. You waited until the 4th grade to say something??? You read with them!!!
Ya'll parents raised some beautiful and brilliant daughters. Respect to you and your sister.
When my husband and I had our first baby at 2017... we decided we would homeschool. I started educating myself on the laws and curriculum and such. And now I'm in it and love it. And seeing all these stories and even people in my family being teachers, tell me how the system isn't working. And I just thank the lord for giving me the wisdom early on to take action with my own kids. I won't be sending my kids to school any time soon, but I still hope these school systems get it together for the sake of these babies.
You nailed it! Keep the great educational content coming! ❤
My Aunt who is a teacher told me to teach my kids how to read and write because the schools don’t do that. So I taught them and they knew how to read, write and do math by the time they were 2. And I taught them separate lessons, always above grade level, after school thru 5th grade. Doing that definitely paid off.
One of my friend does that she printed math work online and make her daughter do them for an hour every day. She also make her read for an hour. There are many ways a parent can help without waiting for the school to step up
BS
My 3 year old has been reading since before he turned two. Thanks to your Videos they are inspirational. Please continue to encourage parents especially to teach our own because it starts at home.
This is happening everywhere not just there.
I worked as a hospice nurse in the inner city and many, many, many children didn't have functioning plumbing, a decent bed, or a full fridge. How are they supposed to be bright-eyed for school the next day???
Exactly. And how r teachers supposed to reach a population that is dealing constant trauma on a constant basis including some who have given in to the trauma?
@@keivajones1865 Agree!!
there is a Problem in the schools but Also a problem with the Parenting this sounds like she has NEVER read a book with her child like how is this real? But even if you are not a teacher if you know how to read you can teach a person to read? what is happening here?
Reading a book with someone does not teach them how to read and the number one fear of homeschooling parents is not being able to teach their child how to read, even I as a very proficient reader. So I can imagine she didn't feel she could even though she can, it is constantly impressed on parents that they need this or that or need teachers to teach. But I do agree, if that was important to her then I am not sure why she didn't notice much sooner and left it at just reaching out and then doing nothing. Too many free resources. But at the same time if they are getting paid to do these things then they should be doing their job but maybe their job isn't for every child to master the basics and not passing them on.
@@ASmith-jn7kf reading a book to a child on consistent basis has been proven to increase reading performance. Hence why there is such a push for parents to read to their kids. My mom had a high school diploma but knew I needed to know how to read before kindergarten; therefore we read everyday the summer before kindergarten. I walked in knowing how to read and received many comments from teachers. Parents have to make it a priority in order to see results.
When i was in school I had a lot of learning problems and one of the biggest slow downs of the class was kids who just wanted to act out and slow the class down. One of the worst kids teacher came in after school and yelled at the teach for her child not doing better but admitted she didnt do anything for him at home. As a child it opened my mind that not all parents are smart enough or care enough to raise children. Parents dont teach kids to respect teachers any more and when you only have 1 person for sometimes 36 students at one time it makes it almost impossible for all the students who needs help is almost impossible. I know a lot of teachers who are trying very hard to work even with heavy burn out, no extra money to do their jobs and increasing numbers of students with basic problems like no respect for adults.
why is she not held accountable?.. years ago a mother told me she switching schools because her daughter wasn't reading... i was like well do you read with her? she didn't
“I don’t want a nation of thinkers. I want a nation of workers.”
- Franklin D. Roosevelt, founder of US Public School System
Parents take your power back.💫
Why hire first year teachers? They cost less to employ🧐
The US public schools were around a long time before FDR.
I used to teach in Baltimore City. I was stressed so badly and left. I didn’t spend a lot of time teaching, just managing behavior. Also Baltimore employs a lot of TFA teachers who are just there who don’t know what they’re doing. I also taught in MCPS and it was a much better experience! I loved teaching there!
Thank for being a teacher, I appreciate u.
I had great teachers. I remember my parents were told I was struggling with reading, due to my ADHD/ behavior my father who learned English in the US would sit with me and help me read, he worked double shifts and when he had the time he would encourage me to read aloud. My then neighbors ,God Bless them, spoke perfect English and would also tutor me and read with me. It takes a village and it starts at home.
I started homeschooling my 6 yrs. old this year. The school informed me that he may need to be placed in sp. ed. I worked with him over the summer. He can read beginner books on his own now. I refused to allow the school to have him just taking up room and not teaching him. He takes longer to learn but he does. He is working on the 2nd-grade word list now. I have taught him phonics, silent-e, two vowels, and the bossy-r. Just learning these few rules allowed him to read confidently.
Breaks my heart for that mother and her son. I know how it feels to see your child struggle and feel like you have no options to help them.
Thank you for speaking on this.
My daughter was in kindergarten and couldn't read. I researched and scoured RUclips and I bought a few books and really focused on reading with my daughter and she started reading.
That's something I can take personal pride in.
Do you think this has to do with not putting special needs kids in the classroom together. My biggest issue is I I'm trying to teach kids who can't read or talk or make it to the bathroom on time in 4th grade alongside kids who could be skipped up to 6th grade. We throw all the kids in rooms together regardless of their needs. Teachers have to hold back the advanced and even the average students, because you've got a 4th grader urinating in the corner, and if you say ANYTHING about them needing to be in SPECIAL EDUCATION ALL DAY you're discriminating.
I quite agree with you
@@Brooksenvelope1234 So do I.
Oh my gosh please do not kill me. I am so late but in South Africa we r so encouraged by our schools to take 50% of the responsibility to teach our kids to read and write. They r given so much of homework and it is so intense. To hire tutors is basically out of the question for most of us due to high costs. I really feel it for this mom. But a little a day can really boost our kids knowledge. I love...love your content. 😉
As a retired 4th grade Teacher from Baltimore, learning to read starts at home first. If you as a parent can't read, you ask a relative or friend to help. Blaming the Teachers for everything is an excuse, when you're the parent. No one is babysitting students for 8 hours it's called...implementing a detail lesson for teaching that day. The students have to be able to read to comprehend any given lesson for that entire day.
agree 100%. These parents need to take some responsibility. My folks & big bro had me picking out words and letters on street signs when we were out. Theres no excuse
Thanks for explaining this❤
Parents must take accountability for the foundational education of our children.
School is where our children go to enhance the knowledge that they've gathered through their parents guidance at home.
Unless a child has a form of exceptional learning curve, and has not had the core assessments and an IEP individual educational plan & developmental testing to assist in their learning process, no "normal" adjusted fourth grader shouldn't know how to read.
Television should be a luxury in the home. No child under the age of 12, exhibiting an inability to self/group learn without difficulties should have access to television or technology to play games on and watch social media on a daily basis.
I would like to know what is going on in that child's environment both at home & school. If that child did not show age appropriate reading by third grade there's no way, a meeting should not have been called with the parents to determine if he should be tested for possible learning or psychological difficulties.
You addressed everything equally 😊
Hey alum. I wish I could use what you teach here on your channel to help him. I'm right here in B'more. I homeschooled my son who is now attending Columbia Univ (not all of that was my homeschooling techniques since I was a working homeschool mom; he was serious about his schooling). And I homeschooled him from the 4th grade when I realized the system did not expect much from him. I've tutored a number of children in reading. But I am not a teacher. I'm just a mom who understands and a human who loves to help. And would do my part (with some guidance) to help him to succeed and ease his mom's despair. Just a thouight.
I homeschool! You are a teacher 😃 Homeschool school mom and dad are teachers!
@@loveforall1 🥰🥰🥰
thank you
Really appreciate you keebah....you're an inspiration, the mom needs support so she can help him herself....we've all been taught to put our kids in others hands weather its school or medical...you're a fresh air sis....keep up the great work.
My parents had four kids. I was the third child out of four. We lived in Highland Park which wasn’t the greatest. My parents send us to schools that help our needs. I was in special education so I needed extra help. My parents would stay up late to help me. They got me these educational games. They helped with my reading and math. We moved once my older sister got to high school. My parents didn't want us to go to the public schools there and there wasn’t great a place for me to attend school. They moved to an area that ranked high in my state and the special education program was top-notch. My point is that parents should step up. If you knew that your kid can’t read then you should have done something. You do what you have to do for your kids to have the best education possible.
Also, if your child begins kindergarten without knowing the alphabet, most letter sounds, how to count to 20, and how to recognize numbers and colors, they begin at a disadvantage.
I bet he knows how to navigate social media, video games, a cell phone and any other electronics that you allow him to entertain himself with..
Mom take majority of the blame even though he's in school 8 hours a day. Utilize the resources the school has to offer.
I was teaching my daughter to read at 4 years old not expecting her teacher do it 100%.
Going from 1st to 2nd grade in the mid 80's, I was having trouble with phonetics and reading in general. My mom moved me from a private school to a ghetto public school with a reading program, hired a private tutor and did the work with me everyday to get me back on track. I was reading at an 8th grade level going into 3rd grade. I am thankful we had those resources and my mom was on top of it like this lady is trying to be for her son.
not just teachers held accountable but parents too. dont let ur kids get influenced bad environment, dont take their side when they do things wrong. who want to teach ur kids if u always think ur kids is right when they r wrong
I heard this lady once talk about
how her daughter made good grades throughout school and was taking honor course in high school. One day she was getting ready to go grocery shopping and she asked her teenage daughter to make a list of what they needed as she called out the items to her, the daughter was unable to do it, the lady was freaked out ! We can’t rely on the school system to educate our kids.
If she didn't know her child was dumb she's a horrible parent.
How is the school responsible? Parents are their children first teachers. So the mother should teach her child her to read or get her child the help he needs. Parents these days will blame everyone but themselves
I have 4 kids, I read to my kids from the time I was pregnant till they were reading to me. My youngest are twin boys, they were so difficult because they didn’t want to learn. Both of them would cover my mouth when I would read to them. And sight words always ended in meltdowns. Sometimes children are just difficult.
The moral breakdown of my community (Native American from the reservation), high rate of single parents and grandparents raising grandchildren, and even older children raising their siblings bc parents have to find work off the reservation. I was shocked at how many of my little brothers friends had no parents at home bc they worked off the reservation. No good can come out of being abandoned by your parents.
I was born in Baltimore. My heart goes out to the students who need interventions. You nailed the problems. My last four years of teaching were at an at risk residential and day student facility. Paraprofessionals were key to behavioral and academic services.
There’s a recent study on NPR talking about the “new” way to teach reading across the country and they are discovering kids can’t read using these methods. They need phonics training.
Yes hold the school accountable...right after she holds herself accountable 🙄🙄🤔🤔
The parents are most accountable. By the end of first grade, the parents should have taken measures to remediate and improve their son’s education.
I was a single mother low income. My daughter started getting books from dollar tree and cards from dollar tree and she was reading by the time she was 4 you have to work with your kids outside the school. It’s not all on the schools and teachers. It’s on you as the parent as well. I taught my daughter cursive in middle school you have to educate your kids on what you want them to learn.
My daughters at age 2 already knew how to read and write, one of them was 4 when she wrote the script for the pilot episode for a tv series, back when people could submit their own screenplays to Amazon Studios. As everyone in my family they all were homeschooled, and thanks to this we all have completed secondary and tertiary education at a young age.
The schools have responsibility to teach and the parents have the responsibility to enforce and to check.
I can't speak for Baltimore schools but as a teacher, I can speak from my own experience. I have taught children in 3rd-5th grade who are struggling readers. There are many reasons this happens and the blame doesn't always or ONLY belong to the teacher. I will focus on my current 3rd grade class. I have students who can't read, who can barely read, who can somewhat read and who can read fluently but don't comprehend what they read. I place them in small reading groups made up of students with similar skills and work with them several times a week. I assign homework specific to their needs. We have an on-site intervention reading program where students can receive 1/1 tutoring twice a week for 45 minutes each session. These are the issues I have encountered this year. 1) Several of my lowest readers have the worst attendance, including 1 who comes 90 minutes late EVERYDAY, therefore misses the entire reading block. 2) Many do not return the homework designed to help them(I make sure it is practice for what they worked on in small group so they can do it independently). 3)I referred 12 of my struggling readers to the intervention program and only TWO parents signed their child up(one told her mother she didn't want to do it so mom said she didn't have to). 4) When the teacher notices a learning discrepancy and asks the parent if they want to have the child tested, many times the parent says no because they don't want their child to be "labeled". 5) Every year during the 2nd parent/teacher conference(IF they come) I recommend repeating the grade for my lowest students but if the parent doesn't agree, I can't hold a student back. The excuse from parents is usually they don't want their child to feel bad. Excuse me, you don't think they'll feel bad as they move up but still can't read? Ok. 6) It's even harder to retain a student who has an IEP. Saying all this does not mean in some instances, your child may have had a bad teacher (yes, I admit there are some bad teachers, just like there are bad workers in EVERY profession. But I seriously doubt that the reason this 4th grader can't read is because he has had a bad teacher from kindergarten through 4th grade. Parents are the children's biggest advocate and must not wait until 4th grade to speak up. If you notice that your child is not able to read simple books by the middle of 1st grade meet with your child's teacher to find out what interventions are taking place at school and get advice on how you can help at home. If your child needs to be tested, don't look at it as a label. It could be just the intervention/support they need. Many students eventually test out of those services as they get older.
Exactly. Thank you!
This issue is not just in Baltimore. It's everywhere!!!
The ultimate responsibility is on the parent for the education of your children! I read to my sons from birth & used other education materials/videos before they even started school.
Schools are NOT responsible for YOUR child’s education. YOU ARE. I cannot understand why people can’t see that. It’s YOUR child.
Thank you!
I also could not read in 4th grade. Turns out I was dyslexic. When my mother realized just how bad it was (I was the youngest of 4) she started buying me comic books and read them with me every day. In two years I caught up with reading but had missed out on a lot.
My son was in early intervention at 2- Publix special Ed preschool at 3 - Now is 10 diagnosed with dyslexia- apraxia- dyspraxia- dysgraphia- ADHD- SPD etc. He has had private tutors and therapists. He still cannot read. I am a first grade teacher. I had to fight for my child- nothing was just handed to me.
The school system failed these kids but the parents also failed. I would never put my child’s education in the hands of a stranger.
Classroom behavior is the biggest problem, coddling and enabling children to act in ways that would not be acceptable in any environment and then expecting teachers to be able to teach them things that they are not able to do.
Do parents not realize it’s their job as well to get THEIR child the extra help and tutoring they need? I’m confused
The “blame” is systemic on multi levels. We have single parent households who live in poverty, drug infested communities with high crimes, children who go to school with extreme behavioral and emotional issues that make it impossible for teachers to teach, education that lacks opportunities for hands on learning, tired teachers etc. these kids come to school with poor nutrition and a lack of outside play. Their communities are not safe, the list goes on and on.
Long story but I started at a Sub. I have two masters and one is in education. A lot of schools had me and wanted long term because I was creative and thought outside of the box (some teachers did not like that but...) I was at one school in the city, and I was there for four years and will be talking about it on my podcast but. One thing that I can never get over and why I keep debating on getting my certification is because students would record the teachers and overhear teachers (because they showed me the videos) saying "Why is Ms. M trying to teach you this? You're not smart enough to learn this" ,"Why are you trying this hard? You're not going to anything with it" "Why is she trying this hard with you guys? She acts like you are going to Harvard when you are just going to work drive thru." etc.... etc..... I loved it and now I am creating my own educational products, but it was so sad and depressing with the videos the students were able to take and then I realized why they gave up or why they don't think much of themselves. I tried to do some lessons for the middle school (I was at k-8), and the teachers and parents brainwashed them so much they would tell me "That's white people stuff" "You trying to turn me white Ms. M?". I learned so much from it and why I need to work harder to encourage education and now I have started a business to do so. Sorry if too much or long but ... I relate to this so much. I was getting kids scores up and other teachers were mad and hating on me literally telling the principal to tell me to stop with the indoor garden, letter sleuths, reading to snails (long story but they loved it and tons of parents came because the kids were so ecstatic about it and other classes were jealous). Any way This video brought back memories.
You answered your own question. Why are inexperienced teachers put in the neediest classes? Because the experienced ones leave because the job is damn near impossible. As a teacher with 10 years in a large urban district I propose starting with one easy fix: STOP FEEDING THE KIDS SUGAR DONUTS IN SCHOOL “BREAKFASTS”! Most of them have ADHD! Its total insanity!
I dunno. I just know I grew up in poverty, my mother was not a stay at home mom... and for all intents and purposes was pretty awful.. but she still taught me how to read when I was 4-5 years old.
Mom worked fulltime as a nurse and she didn't accept the I can't do this or that when I was starting to write and read.
I'm a Gen X...I grew up when there weren't cellphones or Internet, Mom bought every enciclopedia she could find, dictionaries, school supplies on her meager salary so...
We spent about $28000 in private specialized reading OG for son . He goes to a great school district too. So sad that the mom can’t afford tutoring. Some children need special education and special way of teaching.
My father was a Superintendent , both me and my siblings attended private schools .What does that tell you !
You are exactly right about this American educational system!
Hi. Can you please drop a link to the 100 easy lessons? I see something on Amazon, but I'm not sure it's the right one. Thank you so much!