After lesson 1, by skype, from Linton, Cambridgeshire, to Falkirk, Stirlingshire.
I wanted to extend my thanks for what can only be described as a life-changing breakthrough for both my daughters.
Your ability to break down spelling into understandable chunks, in an historical context, has made all the difference. S. now understands she is not an idiot. She is walking on air today and is even enjoying maths - all because she now knows that she is not inadequate in any way. The psychological knot in her mind is being loosened. She feels that she IS able to learn.
You are the first person who has been able to explain why our language and spelling system operates the way it does, in a simple (but not simplistic) way that and 11 year old can understand. Most important was your teaching about word groupings and how groups of letters can sound quite different to their individual parts and even make similar sounds, such as 'sh' as in 'ship' and then 'ti' as in 'patient'. No one had told S. that before.
Don't get me wrong: I can see the utility of phonics and it helped my children in the basics of reading but alas, beyond a certain level of complexity, it a bit like trying to complete a jigsaw with one third of the pieces missing. It's possible to formulate a reasonable guess as to what the finished puzzle will look like but much of the detail will be lost.
John, you have shown me that's it time to stop blaming the pupils and even the teachers (who can teach what they do not know?) and to put a system in place that is simple in its delivery but comprehensive in its scope. I hope that those in positions of power start to listen to you.
After lesson 3.
Wow! The children were ecstatic after their seesion with you yesterday and I wanted to let you know what a difference you are making to them (and me).
Firstly, their comments:
"I feel as though I'm making a massive improvement."
"I have a much clearer view of grammar. "What really made the difference was the combination of simple, clear explanations combined with a greater degree of depth that we have been taught before. Understanding why things were this way."
"It was really helpful to get the historical backstory. It satisfied my curiosity and made things make more sense because they were put in context."
"My maths confidence is through the roof. I feel now that I CAN do it. It was just that my teachers at school didn't really teach me a system that is quick and gets right results. John helped me to see patterns in numbers that I'd never noticed and this has made arithmetic a lot easier."
And finally:
"The biggest change is that we feel we can do it. That we are capable of understanding. It's like a whole world is being decoded for us. John is better than any teacher we've ever had - we are light years ahead of where we previously were." "... and it's nice to be made to feel intelligent, to be praised. I'm starting to believe..."
Not much needs to be added to these statements about the effectiveness of your teaching methods. My children both INSISTED that they dictate their comments to me - I can assure you it wasn't my idea. That shows how happy they are, how confident they feel about moving forward. It is clear that what works is a clear focus, simple and clear instruction whilst elucidating a logical pattern of events so that the children can see how, for example, grammar naturally works that way, or that sentences flow better this way etc. Understanding the provenance of words (in the absence of Latin and Greek) really opened up a whole world of interest. My daughter commented that she felt ignorant to believe a 'Utopia' was a paradisical, imaginary world after you'd talked to them about Thomas More. This has made them want to read 'Utopia' out of sheer interest. And so the intellect is developed quite naturally without being forced. I have noticed how interested my children become when you talk to them as if they were intellectually capable as opposed to spoon-feeding snippets of data to be regurgitated in an exam or test. Now they are willing learners. What more could parent ask for?
You have drawn out the joy of learning which is particularly impressive in S. who was told she was probably dyslexic, engaged in over a year of Reading Recovery to little effect and who disliked school so intensely (apart from the social side) that I had to remove her little over a year ago. Now, she studies for nine hours per day, much of that self-taught, and voluntarily uses a dictionary, writes stories and volunteers to work maths problems at the board. Most importantly, her growing confidence is allowing her to 'self-correct'. She will stop herself, notice that an error has been made and happily fix it.
All in all, wonderful results. I really feel there is an argument for this style of teaching in the classroom. It may seem like more work but when the time has been taken to explain concepts in depth - the why of things - children make the connections which grow exponentially, across subject areas.
We're all over the moon and looking forward to experiencing these same principles applied to French grammar!
PS. The first French lesson is here.