A letter to the editor of the Times Educational Supplement. Donnelly makes a point in the debate about ‘real books’ and ‘phonics’ in a dramatic way.

There are a small number of children who can sound out every word and make it all sound sensible, but who understand very little of what they have ‘read’. Theoretical conclusions and help for teachers.

Some titles have colons in them, some don’t. Is there something in this? Do colons point to better articles? Better research? Is this a subject worth studying? Shock! Horror! Pomposity probes pomposity! 

Some textbooks are dreadfully dull. Researchers tried out the same facts written by different authors and discovered that the way in which the facts are written makes a big difference to how much is remembered.

Television nowadays often blends the ingredients of different genres into one programme, notably documentary (fact) and drama (fiction). Research in Britain confirms that children have difficulty in separating ‘fact’ from ‘opinion’ in such programmes. Faction cannot be dis-invented, so teachers have a job on their hands. 

Quite small children recognise the problem some schools have in keeping staff. What makes for a satisfied, stable, teaching force? What can principals and administrators do?

New subjects and courses to interest and benefit senior secondary students who do not plan to go on to higher education have been introduced. This research studied two different courses which provide diversity, involvement and success.

Transition from school to work is pretty haphazard in Australia and New Zealand; in Japan it is highly organised. We have young people unemployed, exams of doubtful educational worth, and a system of entry into tertiary study that is hardly fair to minorities. So it is worthwhile examining a very different system.

Careful analysis of where school leavers go reveals that many who have the ability to benefit from a university education do not get one. They are mainly children from lower-class backgrounds. Recent government policies are likely to make the situation worse.

Children from homes with little money do not always fail, but it is usual! This careful study of three groups of high school pupils and their families compares and contrasts incomes, circumstances, lives, aspirations, and successes; and the ways poverty and performance are linked become much clearer.