Why Should All Teachers Understand the Science of Reading?

“Teaching: the profession that creates all other professions.” -Unknown
It is key for teachers to understand how the science of reading really works. Teachers
must be advocates for their students. After all, they are educating our next generation of
leaders.

A properly-trained teacher will observe the literacy abilities of each student to
understand how effectively they are reading, writing and grasping onto literacy as a
whole. If a teacher notices that a child is falling behind or unable to process the
curriculum, it’s their duty and obligation to bring this to the attention of the parents and
administrators in order to create the right educational plan for that student to succeed.
If a teacher is not properly trained to look for the accurate signs of reading or learning
disorders, they will not be able to properly advocate for a student struggling with one.

The science of reading is based on research in developmental and educational
psychology, along with cognitive science and neuroscience. These studies have found
that teaching phonics systematically and cumulatively is the key to effective reading
instruction.

A teacher who understands the science of reading can give effective instruction to
students of any age or reading level. These teachers don’t have to specialize in dyslexia
to understand when a child needs further accommodations because these teachers
have a true calling to help children.

If children are not well-acquainted with reading, literature, creative writing and language
skills from an early age, this achievement gap in literacy will continue to expand.

The banning of books has become a topic of controversy over the last several years, yet
regardless of political views, children need to be exposed to literature. We see how test
scores continue to drop throughout these years and can’t help but wonder if there is a
correlation between the time teachers are required to spend previewing books rather
than reading with their students…

“Any book worth banning is a book worth reading.” – Isaac Isimov
If a teacher doesn’t understand their student’s learning needs, who will?