You can learn without reading or writing!

It is the core job of all teachers to teach students to read and write.  Without doubt these are useful skills in todays world.  However, in my opinion they are not deal breakers.  The deal breaker for me is a love of learning.  The want to learn.  The deep urge to inquire.

As teachers we often miss this urge.   Focusing on academic subjects, we miss student's deeper thinking.  Likened to being short sighted, we can't see the long view. Learning treasures like perseverance, logical thinking, curiosity.  Drivers of inquiry.

I'm concerned.  Deeply concerned.  For students who don't learn to read and write within New Zealand's current guidelines.   These students are extremely vulnerable to loosing a love for learning. The can become 'the naughty ones'  'the dumb' ' the disengaged'  'the uninspired' 'the unfocused'.

 A love of learning needs to be protected at all costs.  For me this is authentic learning.

Take Jamie.

Shortsighted view:  Struggles to read.  Finds it difficult to read words.  Won't come to reading time with teacher.  Hides under the desk. Give him a pencil and he draws a picture. At a deeper unspoken level, he is letting the school down, labeled as 'the tail' of education, the result of bad teaching.

Longsighted view:  A student asks to build a model.  The teacher pulls out the hammers, nails, wood shapes, bits and pieces of sparkles, paint and glue.  Jamie's face lights up.  Teacher says, draw a plan of what you want to make.  Jamie draws a car.  He chooses a square piece of wood, 4 circles, 1 rectangle, nails and  hammer.  Very deliberate.  He starts from the bottom up.  Nails on two wheels then switches sides and nails on two more.  His skill with hammer and nail is exceptional.  His focus complete.  The teacher notices the way he works shows evidence of a plan.  Logical and thoughtful.   The plan comes to life.  He knows exactly what he is doing.  Next the rectangle piece of wood becomes the flames.  Then he draws a shape at the top.  He directs the teacher to cut this shape out.  As this happens, the car appears.  Jamie has clearly displayed the ability to think and learn.  Namely his ability to take a concept in his imagination and create it in real life.  He is able to do this step by step.  He does it with ease.
Is he a failure now?  Does he let the school down?  Is this the result of bad teaching?

If we only focus on the academic skills which are part of lifelong learning we might miss students deeper thinking.  I have heard teachers say, if they just learn to read and write now, they can go on and do whatever they want.  This works fine for some students, but what if you are one that takes longer to learn the skills?  What happens to your will to learn when everyday you are forced to sit and learn the same letter, the same word over and over again.  What if you never had books to read in your home.  What if you haven't had writing modelled to you and were not aware of the purpose of writing.  What if you are 5 years old?  What then do reading and writing become?

What we need to do as teachers is use full sight.  Do I expect this student to read and write? Absolutely, but it will look different to other students.  It may take longer.  But learning to read and write later on doesn't mean you have to stop learning in the meantime.  The risk of loosing motivation is very real.  The risk of thinking that learning to read and write are in fact the definition of 'learning' is common.

That is why education needs to change.  That is why I use learning through play as the main vehicle to educate students in my learning community.  I protect at all costs the child's will to learn. Engagement in learning is the most important teaching point. Allowing children to play, is not a weak option.  Play supports learning.  In my learning community we have clay, paper and pens.  Lego and blocks.  Dress ups and carpentry.  Children are trusted, listened to.  We dance together.

Ways to support students who struggle to read and write continue to learn with passion.
1.  Allow learning through their strengths.  Let them play!
2.  Allow them to use technology to record ideas and listen to books.
3.  Allow them to set the pace - trust the learner, they are not being lazy.
4.  Invite them to take part in a 'group lesson' further along.  They will be exposed to the new learning.  We learn in waves not in a linear line.  Often learners who don't make expected progress are held back and only given the same old lessons but what they need are the next steps.  That way, they can learn these and then circle back. Often when this happens, the old knowledge makes sense.
5.  Acknowledge strengths and skills in the same way you would acknowledge some one who can read and write at standard.