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<DIV><SPAN class=355074213-09082008><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>
<H1><FONT face=Arial size=2>A note from Anthea....</FONT></H1>
<H1><FONT face=Arial size=2>The crucial bit in the report below is that from
September 2008, children ENTERING school in the UK will be expected
to "use phonic knowledge to write simple words and make phonetically
plausible attempts at more complex words". In the UK children start school
in the September before their 5th birthday. That's right, folks -- they're
supposed to be able to read at 4, before they start compulsory
schooling.</FONT></H1>
<DIV><SPAN class=355074213-09082008><FONT face=Arial>As the report indicates,
many people have commented on the negative results of this approach to
literacy. I wish linguists could be heard on it
too....</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=355074213-09082008><FONT face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=355074213-09082008><FONT face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=355074213-09082008><FONT face=Arial>Anthea</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<H1><FONT face=Arial>-------------------------</FONT></H1>
<H1><FONT face=Arial>School robots divide experts over teaching of
phonics</FONT></H1>
<H2 id=stand-first><FONT face=Arial>Whether it's a gimmick or a useful classroom
aid, children love speaking toy</FONT></H2><!-- end article-header -->
<DIV id=content>
<UL class=article-attributes>
<LI class=byline><A href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/pollycurtis"
name="&lid={contentTypeByline}{Polly Curtis}&lpos={contentTypeByline}{1}"><STRONG><FONT
face=Arial color=#005689>Polly Curtis</FONT></STRONG></A><FONT face=Arial>,
education editor </FONT>
<LI class=publication><A href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian"
name="&lid={contentTypeByline}{The Guardian}&lpos={contentTypeByline}{2}"><FONT
face=Arial color=#005689>The Guardian</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial>, </FONT>
<LI class=date><FONT face=Arial>Saturday August 9 2008 </FONT></LI>
<LI class=history><A class=sendbyline id=historylink-byline
style="CURSOR: pointer"><FONT face=Arial color=#005689>Article
history</FONT></A></LI></UL>
<DIV id=article-wrapper>
<DIV class=image><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#005689><IMG height=276
alt="Red the Robot a toy designed to teach children to read"
src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2008/08/08/Red-the-robot-460x276.jpg"
width=460></FONT> </FONT>
<P class=caption><FONT face=Arial>Charlie, five, plays with Red the Robot, a toy
designed to teach children to read. Photograph: Teri Pengilley</FONT></P></DIV>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Four-year-olds love a cuddly toy - especially one that can
speak, has flashing lights and is allowed in class. Red the Robot is all those
things, but he won't play Power Rangers. Instead, he wants to sit down to some
good, old-fashioned phonics.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>An army of Red the Robots is being deployed in schools and
nurseries to help pupils as young as three learn to read. The 40cm-high toy can
read stories and quiz pupils on their ABCs. Its manufacturer says it captures
the imagination of children put off by traditional classes at a time when the
government is desperately worried about children's literacy skills. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>But it has been labelled a gimmick by opponents of phonics,
the well-established but sometimes controversial method of teaching reading
whereby children learn each sound then go on to decipher whole words. Red -
rapid educational development - costs £130, inclusive of reading material. About
200 have been bought by schools and three local authorities have signed up to
distribute them through primaries. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Academics at the Institute of Education who undertook an
evaluation in three schools concluded that the robot "makes learning fun" where
used appropriately. Children seemed to love it but teachers were "less inclined"
to allow the robot to take the whole class. Dylan Wiliam, acting head of the
institute, says: "The research on the use of such technology shows that when it
is well-designed it can actually be better than teaching even by the best
teachers."</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Its manufacturer, Headstart, the educational wing of the toy
company Impact International, says it could become an important aid to improving
reading and writing. Representatives have had meetings with the Qualification
and Curriculum Authority in an attempt to win the government's backing.
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>But some child experts expressed concern. Sue Palmer, author
of Toxic Childhood, said: "Robots can't teach. The only effective teaching is by
breathing, living teachers who can look a pupil in the eye and respond to
them."</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>It comes amid a battle over the inclusion of phonics in new
targets for nurseries and childminders. From September all early years providers
will have to show that children are reaching 69 separate goals by the time they
start school at the age of four or five. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>One says they must be able to "use phonic knowledge to write
simple words and make phonetically plausible attempts at more complex words".
The children's authors Philip Pullman and Michael Morpurgo have joined dozens of
academics to oppose the reforms.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Margaret Edgington, of the OpenEye campaign, set up to
oppose the government's proposals, said: "Of course children might take to it
but that does not necessarily mean it's good for them. Three-year-olds should
not be doing phonics. They should do what's normal in nurseries: singing,
rhyming and playing."</FONT></P>
<H2><FONT face=Arial>Schoolchildren choose between Red and the teacher
</FONT></H2>
<P><FONT face=Arial>"Wow," says Charlie, five, when he first sees Red the Robot.
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>"He doesn't look like a robot," says his best friend, Roxy,
also five. "Robots aren't usually that ugly."</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>The two children from London's East End are learning to read
using phonics at school. They sound out the letters using perfect phonetic
pronunciation and seem confident using Red's scanner on the pages of the book to
identify the right letters and short words. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>But Red is having a bad day. Sometimes he forgets which book
he's reading. Sometimes his mind drifts and he goes quiet in the middle of one
of the exercises, which are designed to be perfectly in tune with what Charlie
and Roxy are learning at school. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Usually there would be a teacher or assistant to sort the
problems out but we all look at the robot a bit disappointedly. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>"I'm bored," declares Charlie.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>What's good about Red? "He's red," says Roxy. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>What's bad about Red? "He doesn't work," says
Charlie.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Who's better, the robot or your teacher? "The robot," says
Charlie.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Charlie and Roxy settle in to playing "teachers" with the
robot and an assortment of cuddly toys. Ten minutes later Red the Robot is
happily teaching penguins to cross a road
safely</FONT></P></DIV></DIV></FONT></SPAN></DIV></BODY></HTML>