Black teachers: How to recruit them and make them stay
Lessons in higher education: What California can learn
Keeping California public university options open
Superintendents: Well-paid and walking away
The debt to degree connection
College in prison: How earning a degree can lead to a new life
The K-12 “reading wars” discussions have been missing a critical point: No matter the curriculum used, too often, teachers are being asked to stick to a script and execute equal teaching, not equitable teaching. And equal teaching is illegal.
In the panicked quest to improve literacy outcomes, it’s tempting for schools and teachers to fall back on a “one-size-fits-all” scripted curriculum despite our knowledge that teaching all students the same thing, in the same way, at the same pace, can be ineffective for students with language or learning differences. Students have individual strengths and needs, and teachers should differentiate their approaches in response to the individuals in their class.
If it’s the same for everyone, it’s not targeted toward anyone.
Equal, non-differentiated instruction is illegal for our students who are classified as English learners or who require special education services. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990 ensures that students with special needs are appropriately served by schools. Modifications and accommodations are required based on students’ strengths and needs to meet their individual education plans. Equal teaching — everyone getting the same thing — is not appropriate.
Similarly, in the 1974 Lau v. Nichols case, the Supreme Court determined that San Francisco’s school district was required to provide equal access — not equal instruction, but equal access — to all students. For students classified as English learners, English language development support was needed to provide students access to the core curriculum. The court based its decision on Section 601 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
If we were to expand the intention behind the court’s decision, we would ensure that all students — regardless of home language, ZIP code, or cultural background — get equitable access to education. This means doing whatever it takes to support individual students, not giving every student the same instruction. In particular, research has shown that scripted curricula don’t work for multilingual students. So, what does? Recently, science of reading advocates and multilingual advocates — including researchers — published a joint statement identifying literacy practices that are effective for multilingual students.
How can all students be successful? While a complete solution would extend beyond the education system, here are two important and realistic steps that could move us forward:
Improved and ongoing professional learning for teachers. The better teachers get at observing, assessing, diagnosing and intervening at points of difficulty, the better they will get at modifying and differentiating instruction based on students’ needs and strengths. Identifying students’ needs before they fall behind is key. The further behind they fall, the harder it is for students to catch up. By identifying and meeting individual needs, teachers can help all students succeed. Doing so requires equitable — not equal — teaching. Ongoing professional learning is required to help teachers continually practice and improve their skills.
Culturally and linguistically responsive instruction. It’s important for students to see themselves in the curriculum to develop a sense of belonging and to increase engagement. Traditionally, students who are different in any way — whether by language, (dis)ability, culture, religion, race, ethnicity, immigration status, etc. — do not see themselves represented in the curriculum. Students from historically marginalized communities may not see themselves in the characters or content they study and can feel like outsiders, as if school is intended for others, not them. Teachers who learn from and about their students and who authentically integrate students’ lived experiences into the curriculum can engage and motivate students in their classroom. When teachers use culturally and linguistically responsive instruction, it is inclusive and not generic, not scripted and not the same for all. It is equitable, not equal.
These research-based solutions are not complex, but they require districts’ focus and state funding for teachers to have access to high-quality professional learning.
The most significant factor that impacts student learning is the teacher. So, the next time someone says that students should all receive the same instruction, share with them what works for individual students. Remind them that teachers have a legal obligation to provide all students access to content, and differentiated, culturally responsive approaches are needed to achieve that.
●●●
Allison Briceño is an associate professor at San José State University and an OpEd Project Public Voices Fellow.
Claudia Rodriguez-Mojica is an associate professor of teaching at the University of California, Davis.
The opinions in this commentary are those of the authors. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.
Panelists discussed dual admission as a solution for easing the longstanding challenges in California’s transfer system.
A grassroots campaign recalled two members of the Orange Unified School District in an election that cost more than half a million dollars.
Legislation that would remove one of the last tests teachers are required to take to earn a credential in California passed the Senate Education Committee.
Part-time instructors, many who work for decades off the tenure track and at a lower pay rate, have been called “apprentices to nowhere.”
Comments (7)
Comments Policy
We welcome your comments. All comments are moderated for civility, relevance and other considerations. Click here for EdSource's Comments Policy.
Megan Thiele Strong 3 months ago3 months ago
Thank you for this piece! Teachers need time, resource and support to justly teach the students in front of them.
Inga Haberl 4 months ago4 months ago
As the article states ,"The most significant factor that impacts student learning is the teacher," then why not fund 2 highly qualified teachers in each and every classroom from grades K-3rd in underserved areas. Had they spent money on this after COVID we might have seen a narrower gap in learning. No amount of program, materials, technology, and gadgets can take the place of qualified individuals delivering the curriculum in the classroom. I retired … Read More
As the article states ,”The most significant factor that impacts student learning is the teacher,” then why not fund 2 highly qualified teachers in each and every classroom from grades K-3rd in underserved areas. Had they spent money on this after COVID we might have seen a narrower gap in learning.
No amount of program, materials, technology, and gadgets can take the place of qualified individuals delivering the curriculum in the classroom. I retired in 2020 and have been a teacher in K-3 for over 38 years. I am subbing now and have extensive training and certification in the science of reading. No one in my county is hiring reading specialists or reading coaches specifically to hone in on reading instruction or strategies. That has been reserved for the very large school districts in CA.
I am patiently waiting for this to trickle down to all the counties in CA.
Michael H 4 months ago4 months ago
In California it is not part of the culture to teach your children to read at home before they go to school, so that is one problem. When I lived in New England, it was much more common for parents to have their kids already reading before entering school, whether by sending them to a more academic preschool or doing it at home. It was considered odd when an entering kindergartner could not at least … Read More
In California it is not part of the culture to teach your children to read at home before they go to school, so that is one problem. When I lived in New England, it was much more common for parents to have their kids already reading before entering school, whether by sending them to a more academic preschool or doing it at home. It was considered odd when an entering kindergartner could not at least sound out consonant-vowel-consonant words. In California I encounter kids who cannot do this even by the end of kindergarten. Yikes!
Reading books to your kids is only one aspect of fostering early literacy. Direct instruction in how to sound out words and recognize irregularly spelled words by sight is also necessary. If parents take charge of the process of learning to read before their kids enter school, their kids will be unaffected by the “reading wars.”
Dr. Bill Conrad 4 months ago4 months ago
I want to continue to congratulate the team at EdSource for their relentless focus on reading. Kudos to the team. There is nothing more important then making sure our schools teach our children to read. That being said, I must say that the reading wars are over. Teaching reading must be based on what the science says and what is evidence-based. It is purely a red herring to suggest that because we have jettisoned … Read More
I want to continue to congratulate the team at EdSource for their relentless focus on reading. Kudos to the team. There is nothing more important then making sure our schools teach our children to read.
That being said, I must say that the reading wars are over. Teaching reading must be based on what the science says and what is evidence-based. It is purely a red herring to suggest that because we have jettisoned the failed Balanced Reading Approach that we are now hamstringing our teachers in a science of reading approach that is scripted and fails to meet the needs of all children.
A strong early reading curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment system based on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and comprehension and vocabulary will meet the reading needs of most children. Strong monitoring assessments will help identify students who are not on track to be readers by 3rd grade. Students who need additional support will receive it using reading interventions that are evidence bases as well.
Teaching reading is not a raconteur endeavor where teachers are able to improvise teaching practices based on the illusion that kids are individuals and may respond better to ersatz teaching techniques. Those days are over.
It is time for a little more discipline and accountability in the teaching of reading to children. Our educational leaders better take up this mantle and set higher expectations for more science and evidence-based approaches to the teaching of reading.
Our children and families deserve no less!
Hannah MacLaren 4 months ago4 months ago
Having been an educator through many years of teaching elementary age children, I found that having an extensive collection of various instructional strategies and resources that engaged the children enabled them to successfully and enthusiastically read. It did not hinge on any particular mode or program, as what worked for one child was not optimal for another. In addition we surrounded them with all sorts of good books to read themselves, daily read books out-loud … Read More
Having been an educator through many years of teaching elementary age children, I found that having an extensive collection of various instructional strategies and resources that engaged the children enabled them to successfully and enthusiastically read. It did not hinge on any particular mode or program, as what worked for one child was not optimal for another.
In addition we surrounded them with all sorts of good books to read themselves, daily read books out-loud to the class, enabled then to always have a book of their choice in the daypacks to be read when they were waiting, talked about books recommended by peers, and, perhaps most importantly, the teachers were themselves avid readers. Cheers that the authors recognize that “one size doesn’t fit all in learning to read.”
Linda Diamond 4 months ago4 months ago
SoR is first not a curriculum and second advocates know it is not one size fits all. We know that in addition to foundational skills building language is essential along with vocabulary, background knowledge, writing and English language development.
Jim 4 months ago4 months ago
Without a constant approach we will never be able to understand what works and what doesn’t.