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As in previous years there were some outstanding successes, and all
the remedial teachers have now had the pleasure of at least one pupil who has
suddenly grasped the whole idea of reading and forged ahead from failure
to success in a matter of a few months. Again the head teachers spontaneously
report on the striking improvement in general behaviour and
attitude of these successful ones and the same can be said of the great majority,
though perhaps to a lesser degree.
Co-operation with the School.
The value of the work done in the remedial reading class is certainly
appreciated in the schools and in some instances more use is being made of the
special class as a source of inspiration and reference. One class teacher
reported that a 10 year-old boy had now become so absorbed in learning
to read that he could be seen at all times of the day poring over a book and
calling on his neighbours for assistance in reading a " hard word This
had inspired the rest of the class with equal enthusiasm and now everyone
had begun to copy him—to the great benefit of their reading ability. There
are still teachers who feel that the special reading class should take all the
worst "reading failures" regardless of intellectual ability, but the policy of
restricting this special help to children of average or above average still
seems to be the best one. It must be remembered that these special lessons
are long ones (1 ½ to 1 hour in duration) and only occur twice in the school
week. Children of duller mentality need shorter and more frequent lessons
if they are to make progress.
Selection of Children.
Satisfactory ways of selecting the children who may be expected to
benefit the most from this special help have not yet been found with certainty.
The best way seems to be for the educational psychologist to select by means
of individual tests from a list of possible candidates prepared by the school.
However, this becomes a formidable task when it is remembered that perhaps
20 tests will have to be given in order to select 12 children, and each test
takes from 40 minutes to 1 hour to give.
At the meeting of Head Teachers held during the Spring Term,
alternative methods of selection were discussed and certain schools are now
making their own selections on the basis of group tests. The remedial
teachers will be asked to report on any child they feel to be a " misfit"
in the group, and the estimate of the success of the school's selection will
have to await the end of the year results.
Remedial Teachers.
As before, the success or otherwise of the scheme depends very largely
on the remedial teachers themselves, and Leyton is fortunate in finding five
teachers (four of them retired after many years' service in the schools) who
have proved themselves to have the necessary talents for this interesting but
arduous work. It can truthfully be said that not one child of the 109 did not
look forward eagerly to the next lesson with " the reading teacher ", and the
impatient queue waiting at the door, books and pencils in hand, is the best
testimony that can be found for the value of the scheme to the children.
It is to be hoped that other teachers, as they approach retiring age, will begin
to think of this special work as something to look forward to. More volunteers
are needed.