I really want to talk about what’s missing in many language arts/English classrooms.

There are multiple things, but right now, one of my greatest concerns is the lack of in-depth skills-based instruction in general education ELA classrooms.

The concept of skills-based instruction is simply focusing on developing transferable skills students will use outside of compulsory schooling. It doesn’t mean other things can’t also be taught. How educators decide to teach (or not) the skill is often the issue.

What skills am I talking about?
• Rhetoric & general analysis
• Interpreting informational/expository text
• Media literacy
• Written communication
• Verbal communication
• Reevaluating credibility (of sources, assertions, etc.)
• Synthesis of informaron
• Research

In the way of written communication, some MAJOR areas of deficiency are students being able to:
• explain the purpose of a sentence (in a piece)
• evaluate the effectiveness of the sentence (in meeting its purpose)
• identify author’s tone & style
• assessing word choice

When students are unable to explain why a writer used a particular sentence or word, they are also unable to identify what makes something effective or convincing. That inability becomes most noticeable in adulthood when they’re easily swayed by logical fallacies.

Though some of these skills can be taught through novel-based instruction, evidence suggests that it’s not being done effectively in most general education classrooms.

In fact, students graduate being sorely unable to analyze non-fiction text bc so much emphasis was on fiction.

We know that expository/non-fiction reading is genre adults are mostly engaging with (for many reasons), yet the emphasis is generally fiction texts in middle and high school w/a unit or some supplemental non-fiction pieces thrown in haphazardly.

Sidebar: Vocabulary development is horrid in a typical ELA classroom because there is almost no focus on learning Greek/Latin affixes despite a large percentage of the English language (both conversational and academic) consisting of words created from both.

TEACH VOCABULARY.

Anyway, I don’t want this thread to be that long, so I’ll end here. Still, educators must rethink how they’re teaching and cultivating the skills I mentioned above.

These skills should also be taught in all other content areas because they use them too.

Also, I was VERY specific in my word choice. I said “general education classrooms” because these things are almost always taught in honors/PreAP/AP classes.

That inequality creates a hierarchy of sorts when it comes to skills development, and that’s trash. All kids need it.