The Fluent Readers Who Cannot Read

It isn’t that “explicit training in phonemic awareness” can’t be helpful to some beginning readers, it’s that phonics and phonemes aren’t about the purpose (or the facts) of reading.

If a one-year-old knows what this sign means, are they reading?

“[T-ball is] not about [baseball] skill development. Kids don’t have full coordination or visual acuity yet, and they can only absorb 10-to-15-second bites of instruction, Ginsburg says. When a sport is working, kids are moving — check mark for the balls into the outfield — and becoming comfortable with their bodies. They might get knocked down, but they get back up and laugh. They’re starting to connect with teammates and learning to build relationships, and if they’re more excited about the post-game jungle gym, the league fees were worth it. Mostly, really, ultimately, it’s about fun. They should want to go.” — Steve Calechman — Harvard Health Review

T-ball, baseball for 4 to 6-year-olds involving a stand instead of a pitched ball, can be a lot of fun, and for many kids it can begin some sport specific skill development. It gets kids outside. It gets them playing. It gets them running. But here are a few things it doesn’t do: It doesn’t teach them to track a baseball as it moves unpredictably from a pitcher’s hand to the plate. It doesn’t teach how to adjust the swing of the bat to where the ball is, and when the ball will be there. Obviously, these are a couple of…