The right to read

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/02/2024 (604 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

February is ‘I love to read’ month in schools. As a university professor, I don’t think there are many people who love reading more than me, and I genuinely hope to instil in my students a love of learning through reading.

But as a mother, ‘I love to read’ month has come to fill me with dread, frustration, and pain. One of my kids has dyslexia, or what is referred to in clinical circles as a specific reading disability.

In 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada made the decision that learning to read was not a privilege, but a basic human right. The Manitoba Human Rights Commission is in the process of a special project investigating the ‘Right to Read’ in Manitoba and the experiences of students with dyslexia in Manitoba schools.

Like 700 other Manitobans who participated thus far, I took the time to document how the education system has failed my child, the profound negative implications of that failure, and the extensive time and financial resources our family has expended to ensure our child receives the support they need — something I recognize we are privileged to be able to do and which is fundamentally unfair.

Unfortunately, the Manitoba ‘Right to Read’ report has been significantly delayed, which continues to harm children with dyslexia and their families.

This project follows similar reports from the Ontario Human Rights Commission in 2022 and Saskatchewan Human Right Commission in 2023, which found discrimination in their respective education systems towards children with dyslexia and outlined numerous recommendations in response.

The good news is that we already know enough that we don’t need to wait for the delayed report from the Manitoba Human Rights Commission to already start making changes here in Manitoba.

First, we can implement universal screening in schools for reading disabilities. Louis Riel School Division already does this, so there is a model. Waiting years until a child falls so far behind before we identify reading disabilities results in shattered self-esteem and mental well-being that many don’t recover from, in addition to greater challenges to achieving literacy.

Second, we need to adopt an evidenced-informed approach to teaching reading in schools, sometimes referred to as the structured approach to literacy. The current approach is ineffective for students with dyslexia. Worse yet, we use this approach in one-on-one remedial instruction through the ‘Reading Recovery’ program — the most widely used education program in our system.

We know students with dyslexia can and do learn to read, with the proper instruction. We would never accept young children being told repeatedly they are ‘stupid’ by adults, but continuing with a set of instruction we know is ineffective is the equivalent of making a child feel they are ‘stupid.’ This needs to stop immediately.

Third, we need to ensure teachers are taught how to teach students to read using evidence-informed approaches. This involves faculties of education at universities. As someone who works at a university and teaches in externally accredited programs, I know the struggle for curriculum space — but what can be more important than teaching reading? Especially knowing that reading disabilities are by far the most common learning disability. I have great respect for the teachers in our schools and I know they care deeply for their students, and if they knew evidenced-based instruction, most would adopt it.

The societal impacts of illiteracy are far-reaching, impacting health, justice, and economic systems. For example, adults with learning disabilities (of which dyslexia is by far the most common) have 46 per cent higher odds of lifetime suicide attempts, and are more likely to experience depression and anxiety. The connection between low literacy and crime is also well-established.

It’s not surprising that literacy leads to better employment, which is in and of itself associated with many beneficial health outcomes.

I hope universities and education systems can already start to make progress on these initiatives so that when the Manitoba Human Rights Commission report finally comes out, we are on our way.

We also need the provincial government to financially support these initiatives.

Maybe then we can actually get to a place where everyone loves to read — what a February that would be!

Natalie Riediger is a professor at the University of Manitoba.