Let’s Raise Our Voices

We hear so many voices when it comes to literacy instruction, particularly reading. We hear from departments of education, opinion writers in the newspapers, professional bodies, unions, governments, social commentators, ‘think tanks’ and people in universities. Some of these voices speak from a place of understanding about research and the importance of taking decisive action in schools.  Some of these voices complain about decodable texts and, as in the case of one recent interview, suggest that children should play their way to reading until they are 7.  It seems to me that we hear everyone else’s voices when it comes to what is, could and should be happening in literacy instruction, but we never get to hear our own.  Sure, we share comments in Facebook groups or have quiet conversations in our schools, sometimes hoping we won’t be overheard, but what we are missing is the collective voice of our profession.  

That’s why I started the Teacher Voice in Literacy Instruction survey in 2021.  I wanted to capture the experiences, frustrations, celebrations and hopes of those people who work in schools, both as classroom teachers and in other roles.  Last year, we learned that:  

• 46% of registered teachers paid for their professional learning about evidence informed reading instruction because their school leadership did not agree with it. 

• 67% of registered teachers reported that they felt overwhelmed when thinking about how to support the various needs of students

• And we found out that 30% of respondents had a sight word program taught through whole words. 

• If you’d like to download the full report, you can do so here. https://www.jocelynseamereducation.com/onthebus 

This year, we are hoping to have even more respondents and to be able to learn more about your experiences in schools.  As well as capturing your experiences, the 2022 Teacher Voice in Literacy Instruction survey gives you the chance to give your school a nice big shout-out for embracing structured literacy practices. While we appreciate that teaching can be tough, we also want to make sure that we are helping to celebrate the great things that are happening on the ground in schools. We’ll be publishing the name of every school mentioned, so don’t miss the chance to spread the word about the great work you are doing.

Last year, things got a bit messy in our attempt to capture the voice of classroom teachers and all of the other people involved in literacy instruction, so this year we have created two separate surveys.

If you are a registered teacher working in a school, you can find your survey here
If you are a supporter (classroom assistant, speechie, private tutor, or any other kind of stakeholder), you can complete your survey here

We look forward to hearing from you about your experiences and raising the voices of those people who work directly with children about what is important to you when it comes to literacy instruction.

Thank you in advance, 

Jocelyn