Our kids are not learning how to read, teacher says

A young deputy principal from Sydney’s west has hit out at the inadequacy of teacher training and literacy instruction.

Troy Verey with prep students at Marsden Road Public School in Liverpool, western Sydney. Picture: James Croucher

A young deputy principal from Sydney’s west has hit out at the inadequacy of teacher training and literacy instruction that ignores the importance of phonics, using a high-profile public debate to implore colleagues to cease leaving teaching reading to chance.

Before an audience of more than 400 people, including NSW Education Minister Rob Stokes, Marsden Road Public School’s Troy Verey revealed that in four years of teacher training, a mere three out of 32 subjects touched on reading.

“I was taught very little about the science of reading and a vast amount about the philosophical beliefs of reading,” Mr Verey said.

“As of today, seven out of 10 ­15-year-olds are unable to read at an age-appropriate level. How can we continue to teach using whole-language programs that are meant to improve reading and ­believe that it is best?”

Mr Verey, who taught for several years in Britain where he learned how to teach systematic phonics, was joined by Macquarie University reading and language expert Anne Castles and Centre for Independent Studies senior research fellow Jennifer Buckingham in arguing the case that teaching phonics in context was not enough, and that novice readers should be taught explicitly and systematically by the sounding out of letters and sounds, often out of context. On the other side of the polarising debate was University of Sydney academic Robyn Ewing, who has recently taken on the NSW Education ­Department over its promotion of phonics as an effective teaching tool, claiming its advice is “incorrect and outdated”.

Professor Ewing was joined by Kathy Rushton, also of the University of Sydney, and Lansvale Primary School principal Mark Diamond.

The trio argued for phonics to be taught in context, often called the “whole-language approach”, where children are encouraged to rely on clues such as pictures and word placement within a text.

The debate, organised by the Australian College of Educators with the Centre for Independent Studies, comes amid a push by the federal government to have state education departments introduce mandatory phonics checks for Year 1 students.

While the debate was to focus on the most effective ­evidence-based method for teaching phonics — rather than teaching reading — Professor Ewing and Dr Rushton argued that teaching reading began at birth, espousing the importance of parents reading to children from infancy.

Mr Diamond said phonics alone was not enough to meet the needs of each child, accusing phonics proponents of having a vested interest in pushing commercial products.

Dr Buckingham, who heads up the CIS Five From Five program, a free literacy initiative, said it was a “ridiculous and spurious” ­accusation.

“None of the people on my side of the debate have any commercial interest in any phonics program, whatsoever,” she said.

Education Minister Rob Stokes described the debate as “robust and stimulating”.