| One of the biggest difficulties for teachers is | | | | taught the unteachable to become excellent students; |
| encouraging children to think. It is one thing to have | | | | showing students how to progress five grades in a |
| children in a class doing lessons and appearing to | | | | year. She believes that a teacher needs to read the |
| complete the lessons satisfactorily by writing in the | | | | material that is being taught to the students and every |
| answers taught as fact. This method of regurgitation is | | | | new word should be discussed and taught for |
| not thinking. | | | | pronunciation, usage and spelling before the students |
| One of the saddest things today that is missing in | | | | actually read the lesson for themselves. Her approach |
| schools is learning some of the basics by rote. For | | | | is basically common sense. |
| instance, basic arithmetic and English needs to be | | | | Marva Collins is often quoted: "I have discovered few |
| learned by rote so children can be given some | | | | learning disabled students in my three decades of |
| intellectual tools with which to think. This may seem | | | | teaching. I have, however, discovered many, many |
| boring, but every child gets a kick out of knowing that | | | | victims of teaching inabilities." |
| they can recite their times tables. Every child also gets | | | | One of the things that impressed me when I first read |
| a thrill from being able to pronounce the words they | | | | of Marva Collins, back in Ronald Regan's Presidency, |
| can see on the page of a book, because they have | | | | was that she encouraged the more advanced |
| learnt the key syllables of the language. | | | | students to teach what they have learnt to those who |
| New teaching methods introduced in the sixties tried to | | | | have yet to learn the lesson. |
| do away with the idea that it was necessary to learn | | | | When someone, who has learnt something, has to |
| the basics by rote. Yet at the same time it was | | | | teach what they have learnt to another, the need to |
| expected that students learn to memorize. The | | | | understand what was taught suddenly becomes |
| students that succeeded within the education system | | | | greater, because the student is now the teacher. This |
| were mostly taught these key concepts at home and | | | | reinforces the learning experience and provides a form |
| consequently schooling was easy for them. Those | | | | of self-discipline for the student, who is now the |
| who didn't learn the basics outside of school had no | | | | teacher. |
| hope of learning them in school, and thus they fell | | | | If all teachers took the Marva Collins approach to |
| behind those who did have the good fortune of getting | | | | teaching, every child would hardly need to be |
| the additional home tuition. | | | | encouraged to think. It would just be like a lightning bolt |
| The idea was that people didn't need to learn syllables | | | | starting a forest fire. |
| to understand the meaning of words. While it is true a | | | | Understanding the learning process is not that difficult. |
| person does not need to learn syllables to understand | | | | Even adults can be transformed by the renewal of |
| the meaning of a word, what has become evident is | | | | their own minds, to once more have a refreshed |
| spelling standards have dropped as a result of not | | | | outlook to life and be shown how they can overcome |
| learning syllables. Learning syllables enables children to | | | | many of the perceived difficulties that plague them; |
| have more confidence pronouncing words and more | | | | even those that prevent them from obtaining the |
| confidence in reading and using more learned words. | | | | treasures life has for them. |
| Marva Collins is a renown educationalist who has | | | | |