Dr Ken Ledbetter University of Waterloo English professor speaks to the 92 participants in the twoday seminar on freshman illiteracy held at the University in June If high school teacher is going to do good job teaching writing skills the number of students he sees in day will have to be reduced Ledbetter says Professor Ledbetter blames large class sizes and their negative effects on high school writing programs on the ministry of educations High School Intermediate curriculum guidelines Freshman illiteracy in use examiner Wednesday Nov 1977 L1 universities has reached alarming proportions and Ledbetter says the causes for poor writing skills of students can be traced back to high school and elementary school English programs Writing cornerstone of communication By RUDLEIGH MacLEAN Examiner Staff Reporter Writing The word triggers off all kin ds of negative associations boredom anguish frustration disgust fear panic And yet writing clearly and coherently is essential in society for it is the cornerstone of human communication Then why do most people have such difficulty such an aversion to expressing theyr associate dean of arts and thoughts and feelings in English teacher at the Univer writing Why is writing such sity of Waterloo Also he was gruelling painstaking task for one of the designers of the And the proficiency test was designed so any high school student of English who knew his grammer and how to write an essay could have passed it The major portion of the test was 40minute essay in which the students had to write 300500 word essay coverin wide range of topics The so wrote 40minute tiple choice sentence structure test said Dr Ken Ledbetter people especially among English proficiency test students ALARMGIG PROPORTIONS The answers to these Freshmen illiteracy has qilestions are complex and reached alarming proportions numerous they include all and Ledbetter says the causes areas within the contium of the for the poor writin skills of humanconditionrangingfrom students bent bac to the intellectual redisposition to students high school and parental uences to peer elementary school English group pressures to teacher in programs fluences The universities of Guel Recently Canadian univer sities released the results of freshmen English proficienCy tests these results paint bleak picture of the literacy level of Canadian students In Ontario the university of Waterloo administered fresh men English proficiency test in September 42 per cent of the 1259 freshmen tested failed Carleton and Queens are ot Ontario postsecondary in stitutions trying to seek solutions to the problem of student illiteracy In an effort to tackle and find solutions to the poor writing skills of high school graduates the University of Waterloo hosted twoday intensive research seminar in June of Jodean Barry 17 Grade 12 student at Eastview Secondary who is enroled in an upgrading writing program like this course because its improving my writing skills and is making me better writer she says Wayne Cole 17 Grade 12 student at Eastvlew Secondary who Is taking writing upgrading course If you cant write good youre going to have trouble fining job when you graduate he says Learning to write well is difficult Learning to write well is timeconsuming and difficult It involves careful and exact thinking formulating and mar shalling forth of coherent ideas Joff re McCleary head of the English department of Barrie Central Collegiate says writing Isthe most difficult discipline to teach As result weve increased the time spent in studying writing courses But we dont like teaching grammar from memory standpoint instead we actively involve our students In the learning of writing skill says McCleary Wayne Cole and Jodean Barry both 17 and both In the same writing course at Eastview Secondary School feel Im proved writing skills have helped Cole says his writing improvement Is earning him higher marks Miss Barry says her Improved wnung is showing positive results in other subjects this year in which 92 educators from across Ontario par ticipated including Joffre Mc Cleary head of the English department at Barrie Central Collegiate The participants in the University of Waterloo writing skills seminar listed several reasons for the poor writing skills of high school gradutes including the following the larger number of studen ts secondary school English teachers are required to teach the increased class sizes and decreased time for English teaching in the secondary schools have created an impossible position as far as constant writing practices by students are concerned the reduction from seven to five in the number of periods per week allowed for secondary school English courses and the inadequate preparation and training of teachers to teach writing skills These reasons for poor writing skills by students were met with various reactions by teachers and administrators in Simcoe County Ron Beltz head of the English department at Barrie Eastview Secondary believes the teacherstudent ratio works against the effective teaching of writing skills RATIO WAS LOWER The number of the teacher student ratio was far lower in the old days than it is now and this makes it almost impossible for teachers to do good job of marking especially since each English teacher sees 180 students day The onetoone teacherstudent relationship so important for the teaching of writing skills is almost im ible Beltz says But Beltz feels the University of Waterloo seminar left out an important reason for the poor writing skills level of high school students the students home enviromnent Students arent encouraged to read outside the classroom The habit of reading and developing communication skills develops in the home en vironment Parents mist help develop and encoura their childrens reading writing habits Gunther Wellnhofer head of the English de rtment at Barrie North Co legiate con curs with Beltzs opinion regar ding the negative influence on the teaching of writing skills by large classes The English teacher sees an average of 30 students in each of his classes this means he has time enough to devote just over one minute to the writing skills development of each of his students As well large class sizes make it very dif ficult for teachers to get their writing assignments marked Wellnhofer says But McCleary of Central Collegiate takes different position Ive no complaints with the number of students Im teaching Ten years ago was teaching more students than am now think our teachers are doing very satisfactory job with the present class sizesMcClea says While the acherstudent ratio which is proximately 301 weakens effective teaching of writing skills the current financial restraints placed on the county boards of education necessitate large class sizes It is totally unfeasible to reduce the teachers load of students says Dr Robert Thomas superintendent of planning and curriculum for the Simcoe County board of education its very costly thing to do reducing the class Size Because of the system of education in Ontario large class sizes are not soon to change Therefore solutions to the poor writing skills of students must be found within the existing school conditions INTERESTING SOLUTION Professor Gerald Rubin English teacher at the Univer sity of Guelph offers one in teresting solution to the problem of class sizes Maybe the school boards could hire university students on parttime basis as tutors and markers This would help both students and teachers it would give the students more opportunities to write and to receive the results of their writ ten work faster and it would allow the teachers to better prepare their writing skills program and to engage in one toone counselling with their students Dr Ledbetter of the Univer sity of Waterloo blames large class sizes and their negative effects on high school writing programs on the Ministry of Educations HSI curriculum guidelines When the H51 set up the credit system it reduced the number of periods of English courses from seven to five As well it drastically increased the teacherstudent ratio Ledbetter says Professors Ledbetter and Rubio believe teachers are per forming as well as they can considering their existing teaching conditions Never theless because of increased class sizes and decreased teaching periods per week the secondary School writing skills pro ram is dangerously er ing SERIOUSCONCERN The reduction of English teaching periods per week is serious concern for Barrie secondary school teachers One of our main problems at North Collegiate in teaching writing skills to our students has been with the decrease in the number of English periods per week from eight to six says Wellnhofer McCleary concurs with Wellnhofers criticism This reduction in English periods has hurt us The fact is we simplly require more time especia in teaching writing skills With more time in this area we can guarantee the im rovement the public is looking or in students writing abilities There were differing opinions among the Barrie teachers in terviewed with the University of Waterloo seminar statement that inadequately prepared teachers work against the teaching of effective writing skills The difficulty in the writing skills issue isnt because of lack of ex rtise and training by high sc 001 teachers says McCleary of Central Collegiate The truth is high school English teachers should be able to teach any writing skills ef fectively Beltz of Eastview Secondary agrees with Me Cleary but he goes one ste further Where stress has to be placed is in the other school subject areas that is the teachers of the school courses must emphasize the im portance of correct writing to their students Beltz says SOME TRUTH Wellnhofer however suggests there may be some truth to teachers not being prepared to teach writing skills program it appears there are new teachers who havent been prepared to teach grammar course But because of the teacher surplus situation we are in the position to choose qualified teachers from large number of teaching ap plications Ab Carr board of education superintendent for Area One says whilc teachers take the skills of teaching English writing in their teachers college courses many still en ter the profession not com pletely prepared to teach writing skills Most of these skills teacher learned at teachers college were based on classroom theory not on prac tical classroom teaching Carr says And there is big dif ference between theory and practice Learning to write well is timeconsuming and difficult It involves careful and exact thinking formulating and mar shalling forth of coherent ideas intellectual synthesizing and grammatical and syntactical structure and arrangement Writing is the most difficult discipline to teach says Mc Cleary As result weve in creased the time spent in studying writing courses But we dont like teaching gram mar from memory stand point instead we actively in volve our students in the lear ning of writing skills Currently English as sub ject of study is only compulsory at the Grade level Within three years however English will be compulsory from Grades through 12 OPTIONAL COURSES in an effort to improve the writing skills of students several Simcoe County schools are offering optional or volun tary creative writing and upgrading courses on credit basis We realized students need to be exposed to more writing courses says McClcary So we made our Grade 10 and Grade 13 creative writing cour ses available to them These opv tional courses have been very well received Beltz feels the optional upgrading English program at his school has greatly helped his students Given the restrictions of student teacher ratios and fun ding lm impressed that our English writing programs are doing as well as they are For sure upgrading English writing courses improve students writing ability Two of Beltzs upgrading writing program students at test to the courses success like this course because its improving my writing skills and is making me better writer My improved writing is also showing positive results in my other subjects says Jodean Barry 17 Grade 12 student Wayne Cole 17 Grade 12 student in the same writing program says his writing im rovemcnt is earning him gher grades in other subjects As well he says his writing skills will help him in the future If you cant write any good youre going to have trouble fin ding job when you graduate If you hand an employer an ap plication form filled with gram matical mistakes you wont stand chance of getting hired Ron Beltz head of the English department at Barrie Eastview Secondary School explains diction point In his upgrading writing class Given the restrictions of studentteacher RECOMMENDATIONS MADE At the twoday University of Waterloo writing seminar number of recommendations were made on the ways and means of finding solutions to the illiteracy problem Among those put forward are the following require seven English credits in cluding Grade 13 for ad mission to all university programs high schools must limit the number of students each English teacher us ex pected to teach to maximum of 120 require more training in the teaching of language skills for elemen tary and secondary teachers initiate more ef fective liaison programs among teachers at all school levels Under the existing credit system in education which is based on small core of com pulsory subjects and wide Selection of optional or volun teer subjects the recom mendation of increasing the number of English credits from five to seven is un feasible according to the teachers interviewed First if English courses are increased it will require other optional courses to be discontinued which in turn would affect the teaching status of nonltEnglish subject teachers For students to take extra English courses it would mean other optional courses would be discontinued and this would create animosity by the teachers affected says Beltz As well change in the educational curricula to facilitate increased English periods would necessitate change in the educational philosophy at the ministry of education level FORMULATES POLICY The ministry formulatts the provinces educational policies school ad ministrators implement them and teachers carry them out The recommendation to reduce teaching classes from 130 to 120 per week is un feasible because of the sub sequent disruptions that would occur in the other teaching subjects in school and because of the enormous increased costs that would be incurred But Prof Ledbetter per sists in his argument If high school teacher is going to do good job teaching writing skills the number of students he sees in day will have to be reduced Its shame teacher has to be expected to teach writing skills to 180 students per week There is just no way he can be ex pected to do reasonable job with so many students Futhermore with the phenomenon of declining enrolments due to hit the high schools next year many teachers will be threatened with being declared surplus Therefore teacher additions in high schools will not be required if anything teacher deletions will be cc curing Amid the confusion and ob stacles regarding the solutions to students poor writing skills measures are being taken to remedy the illiteracy problem Dr Ledbetter sa workshops and clinics will offered to elementary and high school teachers who wish to upgrade and improve upon their teaching of writinlz skills ADVISORY COMMITTEE Also University of Waterloo has set up an ad visory committee to help us in our efforts to offer the needed types of courses We have set up five committees comprising people in all areas of education to go to work on the literacy ratios and funding Im Impressed that our English writing pro grams are doing as well as they are Beltz says Examiner Photo problem Theyll report to us in the spring Ledbetter says As for recommendation to establish effective liaison programs among teachers at all school levels McCleary says action is underway in the Barrie schools fee we have good liaison with the Barrie schools as well as with Georgian College Mc Cleary says Furthermore educators and teachers in Simcoe Coun ty are undertaking an English curriculum develop ment program on team work basis which will cover kindergarten to Grade 13 believe good part of the illiteracy answer can be found in this curriculum development program our board and teachers are working on says Dr Thomas of the board of education There is one common opinion held by all educators teachers and university professors regarding the poor writing skills of univer sity freshmen Its this There are more high school students than ever before en tering postsecondary in stitutions think the illiteracy ac cusation of freshmen is un just says Beltz In the fir st place there are many more Grade 13 students going to university And Grade 13 student doesnt have to take English in order to get accepted into several university courses McCleary is more specific Of the Grade students taking English 15 years ago under the old system 10 per cent would have gone on to university But today over 35 per cent of them are going on to postsecondary in stitutions Therefore univer sities are getting average and mediocre students whose communications skills are much less in quality NEW REGULATION To promote the develop ment and use of good writing habits the University of Guelph has established new academic regulation for all its academic programs students submitting anything in writing for any course in the University are to have their grades lowered by their respective teachers if their writing is inadequate But illiteracy by university freshmen is not recent phenomenon it was com plained about by professors ack in the early 1950s The problem is receiving publicity now because the in crease in university enrolments is accentuating the problem Simcoe County schools are actively engaged in trying to find workable solutions to the illiteracy problem On their professional development day Thursda elementary and secon ary school English teachers are holding core curriculum develop ment seminar at Barrie Cen tral Collegiate The topic of illiteracy and writing skills will be on the seminar agen da te conquered can be