Tag: reading

The State of Affairs

The state of affairs at our school lately have been uneasy to say the least. Perhaps there’s been something in the water, or even in the air. This week alone has been rife with strife, periods of panic and the overwhelming sense that “the kids are not alright”. 

More than a few 5th formers have been candid about their feelings of stress and anxiety due to the looming spectre of CXC. 4th formers have been mixing like oil and water, whilst 3rd formers have either found themselves in the sweet spot or stuck in a rut. Our 2nd form students have begun to assert that they are no longer the babies of the school and in 1st form, the actual babies seem to think that they are bigger than the rest of us. 

Such are the state of affairs at Princess Margaret that the past ten weeks have passed in a blur and yet felt like a boulder. And though the finish line is in sight, perseverance is necessary to keep on going. The missing assignments need to be found, the crowds in the corridors need to make their way into the classrooms and the students need to rally like the West Indies chasing runs. 

There’s a lot to look forward to with our house rivalries talent exhibition and the Karaoke competition where even the Principal tends to showcase his vocals. Here’s hoping the kids will be just fine in time to engage in such festivities. With a fairer state of mind, a better, brighter outcome is always possible. 

VIOLENCE

The question was asked, “A wha happen dey a PM yesaday?” “Two pickanega dey a fight and one get tab up!” The conversation overheard in the checkout line at a popular supermarket. The follow-up question, “Lawd fada a wumek them tap so?” After hearing the news about school violence, it is very natural for students, parents and teachers to worry. What if something like this happens again? What if it were my closest friend? What if it were my son or daughter? And what if it resulted in a fatality? The most important question, why does school violence happen?

Violence is behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something. It is the strength of emotion or of a destructive force. When something like this happens, it is normal to have feelings of sadness and anxiousness and it is normal to want to figure out why the situation ended in this way.

Violence isn’t readily easy to understand and figure out. There is no one reason as to why students become violent at school or in general. Reasons may include repeating behaviors that are seen and frequently done at home, maybe something seen on the streets, in a popular movie, T.V. show or videogame. It may be the result of someone who is suffering from a mental health problem and it may also be the result of bullying. The bullied trying to reassert his/her value and worth by doing to someone what was done to them. It might be that someone was feeling isolated and rejected by their fellow students and it might be that someone was just having a bad day, week, month or year and that was their breaking point. These are just a few reasons why someone might be violent at school and there are still many, many more. There is however one thing we can say about school violence, weapons make it easier for someone to lash out against the things or people they don’t like and because of this school violence is scarier than we expect.

What can we do to help prevent school violence? We can look for the warning signs. Whether it be seeing someone with a weapon in their backpack, noticing the violent games and movies they seem to always talk about. Sometimes it’s as easy as overhearing a conversation about possibly committing a violent act on another student like bullying or making threats in simple non-conflict situations. Cruelty to animals is also a good indicator of a violent person as well. When someone seems to be showing these signs, it’s a good idea to get an adult involved like a teacher, parent, the school’s counselor and or the principal. Students who are violent need the extra help and support and reporting someone like this could be the best thing for them.

Remember, school safety and support is everyone’s responsibility and priority.

Why READ? Pt 2 – Comprehension

by

Faye Henry-David ~ Teacher of Literacy

“Reading is an active, imaginative act; it takes work.” – Khaled Hosseini

In last week’s issue, we talked about the benefits of reading. We also shared that reading involves

  • identify the words we see (word recognition);
  • understand what they mean (comprehension);
  • connect words and their meaning so that reading is automatic and accurate (fluency). (twinkl.com)

Most people believe that once you have accurately pronounced the words in the text that you have read successfully.  However, comprehension plays a significant role in reading. After all, we read to gain meaning and comprehension is “the ability to make meaning” (LiteracyHow.org).

For example, which sentence is easier for you to understand

  1. The school had a food fair yesterday.
  • The Gayzorniplatz was moving his tonk.             (Cooper, Robinson, Slanksy & Kiger, 2015)

Naturally, Sentence A is easily understood. Not only could the words be called but you could associate meaning with the words; maybe from your own past experiences.

Sentence B, on the other hand, presented a challenge. The words the, was, and  his were recognized. You probably thought that the word Gayzorniplatz was a proper noun because it is capitalized. You may have also used familiar word patterns to help give some semblance of pronunciation. Nevertheless, because the word is unfamiliar and you are unsure of its pronunciation, you could not construct meaning properly (Cooper et al., 2015).

Joel Warrican (2012) stated that for an engine to run it needs certain components, the same applies to reading. One must know the words and be aware of the context to construct meaning. Both identifying the words and understanding them are two big jobs in the reading process and they are always a part of the process (Copper et al., 2015).

Although comprehension is important, it is often the part that gives us the most trouble. Sometimes when reading, we may find it difficult to understand the message that the author is trying to convey. This can be so FRUSTRATING.

Here are six strategies that you can employ to aid in comprehension.

What about reading material or text for school? Watch the video below.

Remember:

“Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.” Jim Rohn

So, Rise Above the Ordinary and READ!

#LiteracyMatters

References

Cooper, J. D., Robinson, M. D., Slansky, J., & Kigerm N. D. (2015).                           

Literacy: Helping students construct meaning. Cengage Learning.    

Literacy How. (n.d.). Text comprehension.                     

National Library of New Zealand. (n.d.). Reading for pleasure: A door to success.

Twinkl Teaching Wiki. (n.d.). What is reading?

Warrican, S. J. (2012). The complete Caribbean Teacher: Literacy. Pearson