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THE HERALD Wednesday Septembers PageS Educators must build fires inkids Student used to disguise English school teacher says spelling with handwriting ByBENDUMMETT llerald Staff Students ability to read will be lost forever if the school system fails to cultivate their desire to read the Halton Board of lion Coordinator of English Language Arts and Drama says We educators have to build fires in the kids Micki Clemens says Todays educators are teaching reading in the context of their stu dents experience The reading learning process becomes mean to the students when this happens she said Teachers used phonetic drills and exercise books to teach reading or 15 years ago making the experience boring for most students Ms Clemens said Harrison Public School Kindergarten teacher Catherine MacGillivary says teachers no longer use the go see Dick and Jane method of teaching Now they use a meaningful subject like Halloween to excite children about The whole language approach is the term teachers use to describe the method used to teach children today All facets of language are taught In relation to one another The idea is that reading cannot be divorced from the related activities of writing listening speaking presenting and viewing Carole the principal of George Kennedy Public School says children learn a books mean by reading it acting it out talk fag to other students about it mak ing a presentation based on it listening to it being read watching a related film and writing writing and writing High school teachers also en courage their students to actively participate in the learning process Anthony Buzzelli the Bishop Reding High School English Department head says His goal Is to create independent learners Mr Buzzelli sets the class goals and asks students for their input on how they should be achieved Teachers can no longer expect results if they stand in front of the class and just spew out Teachers no long use go see Dick and Jane method of teaching Public school teacher Catherine MacGillivary However teachers arent restricted to one way of teach ing They are expected to adapt their teaching methods to fit the needs of each student While some students react positively to the whole language approach others react better to the more traditional phonetic style Ms McGillivary said And if the regular classroom teacher cannot help a student a special education teacher is called in The special education teacher at St Francis of Assist School in Georgetown Theresa Demytnig says her role is to identify the stu dents problem and set up a suitable program Teachers agree they alone are not responsible for a students reading capabilities Parents also play a vital role Parents should start reading to their children as soon as they re able to sit up and listen the principal of Glen Williams Public School Doug Magwood said They also agreed that students reading level is higher today than it was when they were in school However they acknowledged like all systems theirs is imperfect and some students leave not as prepared as they might be But teachers say there are fewer of these students today The principal of Burlingtons Rolling Meadows Public School Rob Collard who completed a report on dropouts in January wouldnt speculate on whether the increased reading level over the years will translate into a lower dropout rate Mr Collard found that of the students who were expected to graduate with a Grade 12 diploma in and 1967 but who dropped out early all experienced ty reading throughout their tion careers Just over nine per cent of the 275 students surveyed In each year dropped out he said Although he couldn t make a direct link between the students reading problems and their dropp ing out of school he said it was a significant factor It would be appropriate to con duct a similar study in five years time to see if the dropout rates have gone down given the provements made in teaching language arts he said The students making up the pie would have started school sometime during the transition from the old style of teaching to the new one he explained ByBENDUMMETT Herald Staff Mary not her real name decid ed to improve her spelling reading and writing because she was em when her nieces and nephews asked to spell a word and she couldn t do it 1 1 didnt feel good and I had no selfesteem at all is the way Mary summed up her feelings towards those dreaded meetings The 21 yearold Acton resident is one of thousands of Canadians who are functionally illiterate So meone with less than a Grade education reading level is recognized as functionally literate the president of the North Literacy Guild Betsy Corn well says I didnt feel good and I had no self esteem at all adult learner One In five Canadians cant read she says However the ratio is bet ter in Halton Hills The guilds most recent statistics show ap proximately one in 10 living In the area can t read The threeyearold guild teaches adults both young and old and from different socio economic backgrounds how to read Its tutors focus on teaching adults language used among family members and in the work place Ms Comwellsaid Before acknowledging her pro blem and seeking help Mary leam to avoid situations that would test her reading and writing abili I used to disguise my spelling errors with messy handwriting Or SWSft Id play deaf ears when so meone asked me to read something I knew I couldnt It got where I did it so often I didn t even notice it she said But Mary realized the problem had to be dealt with if she was to achieve her goals She and her husband eventually wanted to nave children but she also wanted to be able to read to them Increased job opportunities is another reason Mary sought help I wasnt going to get a decent job with my reading and spelling The most difficult aspect of Marys problems hasnt been the learning process but rather admit ting there was a problem Shes enjoying the teaming but its frustrating at tunes Since signing up with the guild in May Mary meets weekly with her tutor Gina Mandni Together they decided on what should be worked on and how to go about doing it Each lesson starts off with a review of what Mary did during the previous week She is required to keep a daily Journal and read nightly They also spend con siderable time on Marys spelling This includes working on the nounciatlon of words To spell cor rectly you first have to be able to sound out the word Ms Mancini said Mary blames no one but herself for her reading difficulties My teachers were great I just t give them enough of a chance she said Mary hopes to improve her literacy level so she can complete her Grade 12 diploma She quit school in Grade 10 Beyond that shes thinking about college but shew ill take it one step at a time Halton Hills Mayor Rass Miller second the right helped members of the Georgetown branch of the Arthritis Society kick off the beginning of month- last Thursday outside he Civic Centre Those present at the flagraising ceremony were from left the Campaign Pat Lepage G Artie a a Audrey Hoekstra the campaigns cochairman for Georgetown and District Doug Tucker Downtown Georgetown co- chairman Bob Beaton and Cochairman for Georgetown and District Jor Johnson Herald photo Steaming along at the CNE Halton Hills resident Jack was on hand at the Canadian Na tional Exhibition last week to display his steam engines Mr Layman seen here showing some of his wares has displayed his steam engines at Georgetown Pioneer Das since the inception of the downtown celebration Clog with the 50 pluses SHOP LOCALLY WIN You can clog with the 50 plus Clogging Club starting the week of Sept 10 The only requirement is that you are at least SO years old All clogging sessions take place at the Nerval Community Centre For further information telephone or LUCKY LICENCE NUMBER WESTERN CARPET VINYL BR0ADL00M VINYL TILE AREA RUGS FULL INSTALLATION HERES HOW TO WIN Each week The Herald will select a licence number from the parking lot of a different Halton Hills retailer and publish that num ber In this feature the owner of that vehicle then has seven 7 days to claim hisher prize of a FREE Lube Lube Oil and Filter PLAY THE GAME WIN A LUBE OIL FILTER FROM AND COMPLETE CAA CLE AN I NO THIS WEEKS NUMBER VZA795 Aw the HERALD LITRES OF10W30OIL Oil FILTER LUBEflffteqd