Thank you Tim Smith! You took the time to listen to our request and understand why decodable books need targeted funding. Good on you for acknowledging all children deserve to learn to read at school.
All Victorian State Government prep children need access to decodable books and all prep teachers need accompanying teacher training. It’s vital that our early reading teachers are trained in teaching reading skills that cater to all children.
If our teachers have a repertoire of teaching approaches, they are able to teach to individual needs.
Here’s a reality check for our Victorian Education Minister, James Merlino –
“My son in year 9 has friends who struggle every day to be at school due to their learning disabilities. They are likely to drop out of school all together and one is now in juvenile detention. Please let’s fix this at early intervention stage.”
The situation in Victoria right now is dismal. Our children are being failed.
Your DET Summary Statistics for Victorian Schools 2018 includes an alarming statistic. Number 26: Victorian data – student cohort groups: percent achieving national minimum standard, 2017 indicates that 1 in every 10 Year 9 males is not reading at a national minimum standard.
What do you think is the prognosis for these individuals?
Qualified speech pathologist, registered psychologist and La Trobe University Professor Pamela Snow’s research has found “around 50 per cent of young people in Victoria’s youth prisons have a previously undiagnosed language disorder.” We as a society have a responsibility ensure all our children are taught to read!
James, you have approximately 56,766 prep children in Victorian State Government schools in 2018. Figures from the Australian Early Development Census assert 22 percent of children in Australia are "developmentally vulnerable" in one or more area (including Language and cognitive skills (school-based) and Communication skills and general knowledge).
This represents over 12,000 prep children across Victoria who are in prep right now and need your leadership right now!
They are being further disadvantaged by your reluctance to target funding to books and teaching training.
It’s not fair!
WE MADE THE AGE…TWICE!!
29 Sept – ‘Dull, predictable: The problem with books for prep students’ by Henrietta Cook
10 Oct – ‘Coalition pledges to overhaul the 'repetitive' books given to preps’ by Henrietta Cook
DYSLEXIA AWARENESS DAY IS TOMORROW!
Saturday, Oct 13 is ‘Light it Red for Dyslexia’, which is a volunteer initiative to light significant monuments and landmarks across Australia in red for Dyslexia Awareness.
In Melbourne, the following landmarks are all lighting up in RED in support. –
AAMI Park
Melbourne Star
Flinders Street Station
Come and join us tomorrow at 5.30 pm for a family picnic in Gosch’s Paddock, where we can watch AAMI Park light up RED. We can then make our way to Flinders St Station.
REMEMBER...
The more supporters we get, the better our chance of success!
PLEASE work your networking magic by sharing our petition on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, email and SMS and watch our supporter numbers soar!
And, find out how Decodable Books help early and struggling readers by checking out our brand-new Say YES to Decodable Books in Victoria Facebook page.
HAPPY DYSLEXIA AWARENESS DAY!