Is reading comprehension taught in American schools anymore?
608454
Not particularly well.\n\nWhen I was in school, we were taught phonics, sentence structure, etc.  The current way of teaching is called whole language learning.  They throw out the basics and try to teach kids by making them read then using what they read to teach them about the language.\n\nIt's not working.  You can't build a structure without a firm foundation and the schools are trying to hang diplomas on walls that are barely upright because they have no base.
802667
If 1/2 the schools in the US thinks yes, then teachers are not doing well in the history aspect of education. Now, these kids need to know their rights, and the rights of others. I thought schools get taught the Constitution and bill of rights. At least I would expect thee civil war to be mentioned before 6th grade, the rest would follow. Freedom of speech, FREEDOM OF PRESS, freedom of religion, and so on. With this knowledge one can understand why America is America and not new great Brittan or some British ruled country paying taxes on land we are not living and harvesting from. ( ha, nowadays, this country is doing all kinds of illegal activities. No wonder why 1/2 the youth is lost and confused)
1028960
There are probably less than 1000 teachers in the United States of America. Most schools have people that do not care one whit about teaching. Only drawing a teacher's salary. American education is in a deplorable state. When countries , such as India or China surpass the United States in quality of education, something is very wrong.\n We send our children to school for 16 years and they are marginally literate. I mean, look at the way your question is written.
437127
I don't mean to depress you even more, but it isn't just Science and math.  Go check your school district's scores and whether they met their AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) according to Pres. Bush's No Child Left Behind Act.  (You can generally do this on your state/district website).  American children are lagging behind in virtually all subjects. \n\nI am a teacher in a low-income urban school.  The majority of my students recieve free lunch, free transportation to school, with many of their parents are on welfare.  My students may not come to school with pens or paper, but their outfits look great and they all have cell phones or two-ways.  \n\nStatistics have shown that children who come from these areas come to school much less prepared then their middle and upper class counterparts.  Imagine a 6 year old coming to school with little prior communication with others, a 600 word vocabulary - compared to a child who went to nursery school, preschool, whose parents teach and talk to them, with a 6000 word vocabulary.  The class disconnect and general deterioration of our society has caused these issues. \n\nNo one can agree on how to fix them, which only delays improvement.  Then we can't find good moral people who teach well.  \n\nWe don't value education in American society.  We want material items and we want them immediately.  A book doesn't blink, play the latest Mp3 or text message you back.  Kids cannot start off with that type of stimulation and be taught to love a good quiet book, then discuss it intellectually. \n\nblah, blah blah... No Child Left Behind takes a stab at these issues - but in the wrong way (much like most of what Bush does).  If you haven't read it.. please do.  If you don't know what AYP or the new standards are - then become familiar with them.  Anyone in America who will be affected by the product of our schools should be outraged at what our kids cannot do!
275104
No, I don't think so..I am not from India..I heard on the news yesterday, that Indian children, in the "sixth" grade, are tutoring american children, in math, over the internet, in the "eighth" grade..I think there school systems, are teaching there children math, and other subjects, earlier than we do in the United States, which I think, is a good idea..
1016135
Sure- a friend of mine taught at the American School in GDL for seven years and loved it!   Check the internet for "American School"...I'm sure it must be listed.
323042
None of the above. The problem that confronts American Education is the lack of people who are running our Education system at the top level.  I am an educator but refuse to go into the school system of today because of the hyprocracy that it represents. Our American Education system has started slipping about 30 years ago and is, maybe to your surprise, behind that of China, India and elsewhere. American schools have gotten away from the basics of the three Rs.
495508
I believe all those saying "too long to read" are victims of the #11 where the "No Child Left Behind" Act completely gutted our educational system as well as #6 where you don't need to think for yourself, overpaid corporate puppet pop stars can do all the thinking for you.  No need to read, like, words and stuff...buy Nike shoes and drink Coke!\n\nTurbo, my man, you don't get out much do you?  Its ok, watch your Fox News blurbs during American Idol and I'll see you in Sunday school...if someone can't see the paralells in how our great and unique expirement in a lasting constitutional Republic has devolved into just the latest Empire to come down the pike, they have no grasp of history.
358849
Many schools do not have in place the best methods for teaching reading. Also, I learned in class the other day that if a child has made it to high school without learning how to read, then it takes 2-4 hours of intensive reading instruction for them to learn. What high school in this country devotes 2-4 hours a day to help kids learn to read? \n\nI read in another answer that students aren't allowed past 1st grade without learning how to read. Well how many times are you going to hold a student back? If the teacher's instruction does not match the learning needs of the student, it can be difficult for that student to learn the necessary skills. Many teachers teach one way, and one way only. Students have a variety of learning needs and not all will benefit from the chosen teaching methods. I highly doubt that a child who hasn't learned to read by first grade would be held back until he/she learns to read- that would cause a lot of social and emotional damage.\n\nI am sad for the mother and her son in this situation and know that they are not alone. A good suggestion was made to seek out an adult literacy program to help your son. It will not erase the pain of knowing that he should have learned to read in school, but it will help for the future. Good luck.
748156
The McGuffey readers are stilll available and I think are still used in some home-schooling curriculums.... \n\ngod bless
406722
Yes i have lost faith in the American education system by reading some of these questions. When i went to school during the mid 70s Thur the 80s they taught you how to spell and proper grammar.I do not know how some of these young kids make it through college, because they must write reports with proper spelling and grammar. Sigh, they are going to be our future leaders.
43986
In the American system, there is no fixed curriculum for all schools.  It's pretty much up to each state to set standards, and each school has a lot of freedom.  To find out more information, do a web search on "11th grade curriculum English" or "11th grade curriculum history" or any other subject that could be taught in high school
427974
i asked that same question back in high school concerning american literature. I skipped out because it was boring and didn't mean anything to me except to stay away from american lit. I told the Dean I don't need it. As I look back in retrospect, I wish I had a better teacher, one not so boring. A good teacher can make anything seem worthwhile to study.
413970
It is because(as I stated long ago and many times), the education system in the U.S. has desenagrated tremendously in the past 20 plus years. This due to very poorly trained individuials who have headed up our Government Educational offices in Washington and on down to the lowest levels. There is no turning around.. I also (Am an American) have difficulty understanding the language (very very poor language) AND even the writing of yanks.
1140186
You are correct!  Sorry to say.  Teachers in this country do not want to educate... they want to pass the time and offer knowledge and if it is taken, it makes them seem successful.  And the "No child left behind" is the worst thing that could happen to our country's children. \n\nAccording to the statistics of the world's young people, the children of the USA are down in the lower 1/3 level of educated children.  For some reason in this country, educators are under the assumption that knowledge should be FUN and not WORK.  If it becomes work... it is not presented properly... and memorization is a thing of the past.  Vocabulary is not taught, phonics is not taught, penmanship is not taught, grammar is covered lightly... in the public schools.  If a parent wants their child to get a better education, they must send their child to a expensive private school.  \n\nAre the public schools in the USA lacking... YOU BET!!!  Check out the language and the spelling on this site... Even with the use of computer shorthand language... syntax and grammar, spelling and punctuation is appalling.  \n\nLatin is no longer taught... and it is the basis of most of our words in the English language.  It is also the language of all sciences.  If you know just a little bit of Latin, you have a large advantage in any profession.  \n\nWe need a major overhaul in our public education... but it needs to begin with the concepts of teachers requirement and qualifications.  You posed a good question!
1013767
According to educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom, comprehension is ﻿understanding what is being communicated and making use of the material by translating, putting in one’s own words, rephrasing, or restating.\n\nVerbs used to describe this function are: \nclassify, describe, discuss, explain, express, identify, indicate, locate, recognize, report, restate, review, select, translate
186475
For the most part it is due to the fact that the American education system fails miserably in its attempt to teach children basic reading and comprehension skills. The system insists on teaching children math skills when they haven't even learned to read.  If the system was restructured to concentrate on reading and comprehension in the first few years, later in schooling the child could easily learn skills for the profession he or she is interested in. I am so thankful that my second and third grade teacher forced me into learning how to read. She kept me after school many a night and drilled reading skills into my cranium gray matter. Her name was Mrs. Wesson of Lincoln school in a town called Freeport Illinois. God rest her wonderful soul!