Alvin Irby I'm sorry you haven't had any replies so far, but I loved it. I am white (if that matters, although I am in the UK in an area where blacks are an extreme minority, having only five coloured - not a single fully black - students in the 90+ students in my year), in my mid teens and an avid reader. I don't have a phone to use so on the bus I read, and that gives me a good 45 minutes to and then again back from school, meaning I get through books at an insane pace. At ten, I was tested and got a literally off the charts mark for my reading age, at 19 years and 11 months+. Now, I don't mean to sound like I'm sucking myself off. The reason I read so avidly is likely because when my dad was angry as a child - parents broke up when I was four - my mum would distract me by reading. This was depressingly often. I also lived near my grandmother - peace to thy gently shade and endless rest (much better than "RIP" in my opinion) - who read a lot and had books of all sorts like Robin Hood and other classic kids books such as The Jungle Book. Of course, I also read Harry Potter - at an age where my teacher at the time didn't believe I was capable of doing so, but that is another story - and have re-read it several times since. I also have an aunt who lives in Australia, and whenever she comes over she geberally brings gifts of chocolate (always appreciated) and books. I have a total of 15 from her, I think, being the Percy Jacksons, The Belgariad and the The Mellorian. Just felt like talking about my love of reading, hope I didn't bore you. All in all, I consider myself pretty fortunate and wish that more people would read rather than obsess over getting likes on Instagram. I also *despise* text speak and improper grammar. Thank you for reading.
Thanks for your amazing thought on reading. Quick question: my siblings are in high school. When they read, they will read for 10 minutes and stop reading. Is there a way to keep them consistency reading? Like 30 minutes or more? Thanks
It breaks my heart when I talk to children who say that they hate reading or even when I speak with adults who proclaim that reading is “boring”. It’s all about finding what interests you. For many, that may be reading science fiction and for others, that may be memoirs. I have never picked up Harry Potter a day in my life and still, I love to read! The best way to find what works for you is to READ.
My book is merely an example and source inspiration for educators and parents looking to get reluctant or struggling readers excited about reading. If anything, I think it displays my commitment to addressing the lack of humorous children's books featuring black boys.
Yeah; motivation to learn the language is IMO the most important thing. Knowing someone who speaks it (and seeing them regularly) has always been motivational for me, although I imagine that I'm unusual in terms of wanting to learn a new language every time I meet someone who speaks a language that I haven't started learning yet.
What a great speech from Alvin Irby! As a passionate reader, I think reading is one of the greatest things it the world. Irby really focused on the problem and laid it out for all of us. I found it eyes opening to hear what the situation is in the USA and how different it is where I have grown up. I quote, “I would not no longer allow other people to dictate when and what I read”. I loved this because I think every reader is different and the personalities of individuals should be considered in classrooms. I found the mission of Barbershops Books really inspiring! I hope it will inspire more young boys to read!
Alvin, Thank you for sharing this message. The line "the more challenges to reading children face, the more culturally competent educators needs to be" really stood out to me. As a teacher of upper elementary students with a large population of ELLs and struggling readers, in my class, I will definitely be keeping this in mind. I also will take the idea of students be co-creators of knowledge with me and think about how I can help change my students' identity as readers.
Any parents or kids who are working hard to be better at reading I applaud you in my videos of book reviews i most of the time say readers are leaders and so are you so read you are the people proving that👏👏👏👌👍👍👍!!!
I agree, children should be allowed to choose what they want to read. Instead, we force children to read boring old books, a.k.a. The "classics", which were written for adults several decades (or even centuries) ago. The topics in these books are no longer relevant to kids so no wonder they never pick up a book on their own. I enjoy trying to pick topics that the kids will like to read... That is engaging, interesting, and with current topics. This seems to help the reluctant readers find value in what they read. Sometimes students don't have an idea what to read so if we as educators can find what they are interested in then that can be the building block for their reading experiences.
Letting children read books they enjoy is so important! My "British" school introduced a reading system where we would need to do tests on books we read- it proved if we actually read and understood the book. I was given a low level- I never knew why- suddenly I was forced to read books much simpler than the ones I read before. I couldn't bother to understand the book, I kept getting 6/10 and 7/10. I struck a deal with a teacher, "Let me read books on that level for the next 3 weeks. If my tests are 9/10 and 10/10 only- I get to move to this level." My scores were 10, 10, 9. She refused to acknowledge the deal at first- but I told the librarian, my friends and another teacher- she had to acknowledge my request. I never got a score below an 8/10 after that.
I could not agree more. Students should learn from all types of writers. We have excluded science, math, and many other contents from reading in school. I love your smart thinking and the action that you are taking. The misinformed comments below makes me realize how much work we really do have ahead of us in raising up the next generation of adults. We all need to see each other for who we are and want to be as Readers!
Cultural competency...the ability to translate what you want someone else to know or to be able to do into communication or experiences that they define as relevant and engaging.
this is so true. because rn i am 'forced' to study in science major in highschool. while i have ZERO interest in it. i wanted to do social major and learn sociology. but now im stuck in this all math-science, psychic, chem materials EVERYDAY. as someone who doesn't have any interest in these subjects. my grades are getting down and down, while i keep having less and lesser interest on learning in school. because what i WANT to learn, is not there. now im here on youtube watching learning videos of sociology, psychology, arts, music and other things i actually have interest in and love.
Indeed, children should be allowed to choose what they want to read. Instead, school systems all over the world force children to read boring old books, a.k.a. the "classics", which were, for the most part, written for adults several decades (or even centuries) ago. No wonder they never pick up a book afterwards.
I'm an Italian teacher of English.... in a school I was criticised for using TH-cam videos about gaming for young male students... at the end of the year my students had really improved their English.... no word lists can work as much as feeling interested in something and part of a community.... in another class we watched the bbc coverage of the world cup... same result. Boys and girls learn in a different way but somehow female teachers like me only provide effective teaching material only for the female student population...I am trying to think outside the box to reach out to our male students who for the most part come from underpriviledged families who know very limited English but reinventing our job listening to our students isn't that easy... especially for white middle-class women from educated families ... but believe me a lot of us are trying their best given that we cannot change gender, colour or our social background
Child Reader: 1. Boosters and rewards after reading 2. Encouragement and motivation and setting a distinctive goal in life such as a doctor or scientist etc .. 3.Fun and entertaining while reading 4. Encouraging the writing of daily newspaper pieces 5. Interested and proficient private teacher or mother and father distinguished in daily education My son Mohammed began reading the Koran, although it is difficult to recite at the age of six and a half and began to read small English words In your clip I focused on blacks in teaching reading perhaps because they are the hardest hit. I think mothers are more busy working than educating their children. Thank you
As a teacher who teach reading and phonics, the struggle is real especially with learners younger than 5 years old. But, I let my students choose what they want to do with the passage. As they have purpose to read, their comprehensive skills is getting much better.
Alvin, Thank you for this important message about the connection between identity and learning. I liked the connection you made to reading and laughter. I would really appreciate it if you would be willing to share a link to a reading list that has a good dose of humor for various reading levels. As a follow up question, how do you achieve the balance between the humorous and the serious?
In this actual society teachers have to learn new interactive and fun ways to teach and students have to be more curious about everything. Both of them have to think outside the box
Hey, great talk man. Learnt something important in this, which i already know! but needed someone to tell it to me. Children read books that makes them laugh.
Teacher at an inner-city school in Canada, here. Many of my students have never seen ANY adult read. Therefore, anytime we have time for silent reading, I am sure to have a novel with me that I can read as well. Help to normalize it for them.
"institutionalized racism". actually, it's a matter of culture and parenting. both whites and asians are more likely to get into advanced classes (and want to do so). sounds like this guy had a good parent who made sure he could read, thus making him interested in the advanced class (versus his friends always playing outside). many black and hispanic parents are not like that. it's not goddamn "institutionalized racism"...
The cognitive dissonance is amazing how he grasps that he personally had to demonstrate that he could handle the advanced english classes, which he admits still gave him trouble, and fails to connect that it was merit not racism.
So in your opinion why aren’t many black and Hispanic parents “like that” or “good”? Is it genetic? You say it’s cultural as if black and Hispanic cultures haven’t been shaped to a large extent by racism. As if the roles were reversed you’d still see the same trends.
Emmanuel D. When you put it like that, maybe it's true. But I admit that when I first heard the words "institutionalised racism" in this context, I thought that he was claiming that it's the school as an institution that's hindering black boys from learning. But the roots are deeper than that. It's the racism inflicted on the previous generation that is resonating in the newer generation. :( sad
Emmanuel D: Good question. I don't think it's genetic at all. There are plenty of exceptions among black and hispanic parents. I think that the victim mentality in black and hispanic cultures has been pushed by left-wing media and academia, leading them to believe that putting in hard work to succeed is fairly pointless. It's an easy position to take, because hard work isn't generally enjoyable. Yet it is of course demonstrably wrong.
Proverbial Potato: spot on. couldn't have said it better myself. i was stunned when he uttered that paragraph or so and mentioned "institutionalized racism".
I loved reading since I was a kid but I didn’t know that I had a condition called convergence insufficiency(disorder where eyes don’t convergence usually causing double vision when doing up close tasks). My parents didn’t know about this and thought it could be solved with getting glasses. Educators and parents should be listening more to their kids and try to address anything that is hindering their learning process
How do you help a child if this is the problem? My 8 years old grandson loves going to library, because I take him there couple times a week and I have always read books to him, but he don't like to read. I got him glasses, didn't help. His teachers say he is behind in reading. I think he feels like it's a punishment, instead of fun. He loves math, but if they time him, he does so bad. Sorry about long message, I just want to find away to help him. They wanted to hold him backin school and I said no, I think he would really start thinking he was dumb. I would appreciate any advice. You can email me at runawaybluebird@ yahoo.com. Thanks Laurie
@1:10 What does institutionalized racism has to do with having too many white folks in the advanced reading class? It is not like black people aren't allowed to attend advanced reading class, right? If he wants to see more black kids in reading classes, isn't it better to just tell black parents to encourage reading, learning and education in general than to blame another race?
I think he meant that he saw it in all black kids being tossed into the basic reading class by default (along with himself) on the assumption of low reading skills.
Yes, educators can send home notes to parents telling them to encourage reading and education, and we do send those notes home - all the time. But it's not that simple. Take my school (elementary - roughly 60% black, 30% white, 10 % Hispanic/Asian): all of our black students - minus a few families - are very low income, many single moms, some parents in jail, many of our little kids being looked after by their older siblings, many parents working 2-4 jobs to make ends meet. Compare that to the great majority of our white families: many two parent homes or parents who responsibly share custody, predominantly middle and upper middle class, parents with one job that has good benefits, quite a few stay-at-home parents. (Obviously, this is one school only and I'm painting in broad strokes.) Students who have parents available at home to read to them, help with homework, attend PTA and school events...these students are going to be more successful. Our students are coming from different places and need different things in order to succeed. Simply telling kids "Hey! Value education and read more, y'all!" is not going to be effective for many of our most struggling students; there are too many other factors that are working against them.
The problem is dyslexia. Are there books of instruction (spelling) and (syllables) to learn to read long words well. For intermediate and advanced levels. So read classic novels and adjust the accent. Whether for people of the language or learning as a second language
Awesome!!! Thanks, for sharing! We read to the kiddos encouraging character building.. Our future leaders deserve our intentionality. Please follow us. Thanks, in advance! 🙏
With all due respect, your initiative should not be confined to Black boys only. You must understand that education, health and environment are something that every human being is entitled to. So I hope your mission covers every being irrespective of colour, religion and nationality. Good luck
A Barbershop Books reading space can be sponsored for any barbershop in the US regardless of the demographics of the children who frequent the barbershop and anyone who visits a participating barbershop is free to interact with the reading space. However, there are unique challenges and specific implicit biases that systematically inhibit the reading success of black boys and that's what Barbershop Books seeks to address. I encourage anyone who identifies a problem in their community to take action to make things better.
I'm a brown Asian from Pakistan. I have a sister that's 4 years old. I cannot find children in children's books that look like us. What's more disappointing is that even the few Urdu (Pakistan language) books we own have white animated children.
I wish I could find funny books for 9-11 year olds to read that are translated. Turkish kids seems to hate reading and I am struggling to inspire my step kids .
@Rachel Thomas If one cannot read, it's not his/her fault but social injustice. If one does drugs, it's not his/her fault but social injustice. If one commits murder, it's not his/her fault but social injustice. Sigh... no wonder these people can never stand on their own.
I was happy and alarmed (85...) to see this talk and initiative Misleading title however, I'm an aspiring elementary school teacher and in France this whole talk (apart from stating the obvious, engage and be humorous) is irrelevant to the classroom.
There is so much to learn, and my one humble life is just not enough to cover all those subjects. So, i would like to quote a thing on my deathbed..Which is, " R.I.B. ---. REST IN BOOKS"..
This guy actually makes sense. Ben Carson is a brain surgeon and an idiot at the same time. Grain in pyramids... Evolution being a global conspiracy...
There are lots of curious children who grow up to be adults that are functionally illiterate. Early access to books and positive reading experiences aren't mutually exclusive with cultivating a child's curiosity.
I thought that skin color doesn't matter. After watching this video I finally understood how awfully wrong I was. I found that black boys need special books for black boys. Black boys need black man as their role model. Who knows what else black boys need but it certainly has to be black.
And we all know it's impossible to learn a skill without first seeing someone that looks like you perform the skill you want to learn. this is sarcasm.
"Maybe it doesn't matter to you because you had it." I've had mostly white & black teachers, 1 Mexican and 1 Chinese teacher and never did I think learning the subject being taught would be easier if only my teacher were a white man. This is ludicrous.
Absolutely. I regularly deliver keynotes and facilitate workshops on a variety of topics including cultural competency, early literacy, and early childhood education in general. Please visit my website to learn more: alvinirby.com
i've bought a book for a friend ,Canadian. it tells how the Chinese characters improved，very interesting，and when you know that you will find the easy way to learn.
Why does everything have to be about racism? Its not racism, its a cultural issue. Maybe instead of blaming "the whites" you clean your room and take responsibility!
David Wiese When you think about how many majority black/inner city schools that get the bottom or the bucket funds to the majority white schools who have better teachers, better curriculums, better educations, better environments, better libraries & better electronics.... you have to take into consideration that racism is also an issue. Its factual.
A black student in a mostly black school worked and improved his reading level, was moved into an advanced reading class, and decided that because there were so many white students in the class that it was institutionalized racism. It appears this conclusion was based on the assumption that we can’t have advanced classes that aren’t institutionalized racism without having an equal number of all ethnicities? This sounds like the idea of equality of outcome to me. It should be a hierarchy of competence to get into advanced classes. Race should not apply here. An advanced class can be 80% Latino, 3% White, 95% Indian American, or have any other combination of racial prevalence as long as the hierarchy of reading ability is maintained. A higher prevalence of a certain race does not equate to racism without clear evidence of racial preference and disregard of the measures of skill. Perhaps there was some proof of this that the speaker did not mention. All of this said, it is clear that we should be working with all of our individual communities to increase all communities’ value of education and get more students of all races to quality for advanced classes without lowering the bar. One key way to do this and simultaneously encourage the cultural sensitivity the speaker talked about in this video is to raise up teachers within our communities to lead these same communities they understand. No amount of cultural sensitivity training for teachers, although it may help, will ever compare to educators rising up to educate the youth of their own communities. We have to value education and take full ownership and responsibility for education in our communities. This is not to ignore the fact that communities where education is already highly valued and schools are better funded will obviously be in a better position to do change these values. This being said, we should also take on the responsibility to help communities outside of our own struggling through these issues in the best ways that we can. These ideas do not detract from the importance of individual communities taking it in their own hands to help their communities restructure their values of education; no amount of outside help will compare to the change that can happen when a community comes together with intentionality and unity to change for the better.
I found this video looking for resources to help my younger brother find the passion for reading that I did growing up. I’m looking forward to nudging him towards identifying as a reader. I hadn’t thought about this through that lens, so thank you for expanding my understanding of reading!
You asked to join "advanced english" and got what you wanted, no problem.. and you still call ‘institutionalized racism’. My only outtake is that it’s a culture difference, institutionalized racism would be if you couldn’t join the class...
It's definitely tiring. I will stop talking about race when police stop killing unarmed black men, when banks stop discriminatory lending practices, and when schools are not funded based on local property taxes. Until then I'll be talking about. If you find yourself living a life absent the discussion of race, then you are one the privileged people of the world because men and women all over the planet the negative impacts of racism on a daily basis.
Many children, girls and boys, struggle with reading but girls have significantly higher reading proficiency than boys across all socioeconomic and racial groups.
Thank you for watching my talk. I look forward to reading your comments.
Alvin Irby I'm sorry you haven't had any replies so far, but I loved it.
I am white (if that matters, although I am in the UK in an area where blacks are an extreme minority, having only five coloured - not a single fully black - students in the 90+ students in my year), in my mid teens and an avid reader. I don't have a phone to use so on the bus I read, and that gives me a good 45 minutes to and then again back from school, meaning I get through books at an insane pace. At ten, I was tested and got a literally off the charts mark for my reading age, at 19 years and 11 months+.
Now, I don't mean to sound like I'm sucking myself off.
The reason I read so avidly is likely because when my dad was angry as a child - parents broke up when I was four - my mum would distract me by reading. This was depressingly often. I also lived near my grandmother - peace to thy gently shade and endless rest (much better than "RIP" in my opinion) - who read a lot and had books of all sorts like Robin Hood and other classic kids books such as The Jungle Book. Of course, I also read Harry Potter - at an age where my teacher at the time didn't believe I was capable of doing so, but that is another story - and have re-read it several times since. I also have an aunt who lives in Australia, and whenever she comes over she geberally brings gifts of chocolate (always appreciated) and books. I have a total of 15 from her, I think, being the Percy Jacksons, The Belgariad and the The Mellorian.
Just felt like talking about my love of reading, hope I didn't bore you.
All in all, I consider myself pretty fortunate and wish that more people would read rather than obsess over getting likes on Instagram.
I also *despise* text speak and improper grammar.
Thank you for reading.
Have you had dreams of LeVar Burton passing the 'Reading Rainbow' hosting duties on to you? I sure hope so.
Please translate to the Arabic(writing)and E until we understand what you say
This was a thought provoking and inspiring video, Alvin. I am so proud to see how your impact has grown.
Thanks for your amazing thought on reading. Quick question: my siblings are in high school. When they read, they will read for 10 minutes and stop reading. Is there a way to keep them consistency reading? Like 30 minutes or more? Thanks
It breaks my heart when I talk to children who say that they hate reading or even when I speak with adults who proclaim that reading is “boring”. It’s all about finding what interests you. For many, that may be reading science fiction and for others, that may be memoirs. I have never picked up Harry Potter a day in my life and still, I love to read! The best way to find what works for you is to READ.
Nice to see teachers really making a change, by identifying a problem and working with it
He's just promoting his own books, silly.
mhtinla funny how I found u here from the other video haha
My book is merely an example and source inspiration for educators and parents looking to get reluctant or struggling readers excited about reading. If anything, I think it displays my commitment to addressing the lack of humorous children's books featuring black boys.
My comment is merely an example of how people may misinterpret your talk. You go Alvin!!
IF the school system allows one to teach.....
As a 19 year old having difficulty reading constantly I'll take this as advice
If you are black, I recommend "Gross Greg".
Having reading materials that directly relate to a person's interests is great motivation. This also works when learning a new language.
Only if one is interested in learning a new language.
Yeah; motivation to learn the language is IMO the most important thing. Knowing someone who speaks it (and seeing them regularly) has always been motivational for me, although I imagine that I'm unusual in terms of wanting to learn a new language every time I meet someone who speaks a language that I haven't started learning yet.
What a great speech from Alvin Irby! As a passionate reader, I think reading is one of the greatest things it the world. Irby really focused on the problem and laid it out for all of us. I found it eyes opening to hear what the situation is in the USA and how different it is where I have grown up. I quote, “I would not no longer allow other people to dictate when and what I read”. I loved this because I think every reader is different and the personalities of individuals should be considered in classrooms. I found the mission of Barbershops Books really inspiring! I hope it will inspire more young boys to read!
Alvin,
Thank you for sharing this message. The line "the more challenges to reading children face, the more culturally competent educators needs to be" really stood out to me. As a teacher of upper elementary students with a large population of ELLs and struggling readers, in my class, I will definitely be keeping this in mind. I also will take the idea of students be co-creators of knowledge with me and think about how I can help change my students' identity as readers.
Any parents or kids who are working hard to be better at reading I applaud you in my videos of book reviews i most of the time say readers are leaders and so are you so read you are the people proving that👏👏👏👌👍👍👍!!!
I agree, children should be allowed to choose what they want to read. Instead, we force children to read boring old books, a.k.a. The "classics", which were written for adults several decades (or even centuries) ago. The topics in these books are no longer relevant to kids so no wonder they never pick up a book on their own. I enjoy trying to pick topics that the kids will like to read... That is engaging, interesting, and with current topics. This seems to help the reluctant readers find value in what they read. Sometimes students don't have an idea what to read so if we as educators can find what they are interested in then that can be the building block for their reading experiences.
Letting children read books they enjoy is so important!
My "British" school introduced a reading system where we would need to do tests on books we read- it proved if we actually read and understood the book. I was given a low level- I never knew why- suddenly I was forced to read books much simpler than the ones I read before. I couldn't bother to understand the book, I kept getting 6/10 and 7/10.
I struck a deal with a teacher, "Let me read books on that level for the next 3 weeks. If my tests are 9/10 and 10/10 only- I get to move to this level."
My scores were 10, 10, 9. She refused to acknowledge the deal at first- but I told the librarian, my friends and another teacher- she had to acknowledge my request. I never got a score below an 8/10 after that.
Alvin Irby is an amazing guy with a heart that is so HUGE! He is a massive force in getting boys to love reading. I want to team up with him!
85% is absolutely ridiculous. Nice to see an Irby tackling this subject. May you be blessed.
you mean 85% of the talk or tha fact that so many black male are almost iliteracy ?
YoSoyGodot definitely the latter. The talk was heart breaking yet gives hope with solutions.
Not only black boys need to laugh. Everybody needs that! Good talk!❤
I could not agree more. Students should learn from all types of writers. We have excluded science, math, and many other contents from reading in school. I love your smart thinking and the action that you are taking. The misinformed comments below makes me realize how much work we really do have ahead of us in raising up the next generation of adults. We all need to see each other for who we are and want to be as Readers!
Great idea! Barbershop books..We need to learn more about child psychology to be better parent/teacher..
Nicely done, bro! Respect to you! I’m in my final year of becoming a teacher myself (African-Canadian).
We need more teachers with passion like this in our schools. No matter what level of education!!
Teachers are busy striking these days.
Did I hear Paulo Freire?
Cultural competency...the ability to translate what you want someone else to know or to be able to do into communication or experiences that they define as relevant and engaging.
this is so true. because rn i am 'forced' to study in science major in highschool. while i have ZERO interest in it. i wanted to do social major and learn sociology. but now im stuck in this all math-science, psychic, chem materials EVERYDAY. as someone who doesn't have any interest in these subjects. my grades are getting down and down, while i keep having less and lesser interest on learning in school. because what i WANT to learn, is not there. now im here on youtube watching learning videos of sociology, psychology, arts, music and other things i actually have interest in and love.
It's amazing when someone reference a big man of our country (Paulo Freire). Thanks very much!
Indeed, children should be allowed to choose what they want to read. Instead, school systems all over the world force children to read boring old books, a.k.a. the "classics", which were, for the most part, written for adults several decades (or even centuries) ago. No wonder they never pick up a book afterwards.
Children should not be allowed to read whatever they want.
mhtinla hello there *in Obi Wan's voice* :D
snipersev07 Hold on. Yoda is busy now.
mhtinla unless it's like 50 Shades of Gray, why?
Azure Griffin because children are useless creatures whose only purpose is to be eaten for breakfast
For me I always loved reading because in the winter you couldn't go outside so I got bunch of books I liked then read them for hours. It was fun
I'm an Italian teacher of English.... in a school I was criticised for using TH-cam videos about gaming for young male students... at the end of the year my students had really improved their English.... no word lists can work as much as feeling interested in something and part of a community.... in another class we watched the bbc coverage of the world cup... same result. Boys and girls learn in a different way but somehow female teachers like me only provide effective teaching material only for the female student population...I am trying to think outside the box to reach out to our male students who for the most part come from underpriviledged families who know very limited English but reinventing our job listening to our students isn't that easy... especially for white middle-class women from educated families ... but believe me a lot of us are trying their best given that we cannot change gender, colour or our social background
Child Reader:
1. Boosters and rewards after reading
2. Encouragement and motivation and setting a distinctive goal in life such as a doctor or scientist etc ..
3.Fun and entertaining while reading
4. Encouraging the writing of daily newspaper pieces
5. Interested and proficient private teacher or mother and father distinguished in daily education
My son Mohammed began reading the Koran, although it is difficult to recite at the age of six and a half and began to read small English words
In your clip I focused on blacks in teaching reading perhaps because they are the hardest hit.
I think mothers are more busy working than educating their children.
Thank you
As a teacher who teach reading and phonics, the struggle is real especially with learners younger than 5 years old. But, I let my students choose what they want to do with the passage. As they have purpose to read, their comprehensive skills is getting much better.
Do you recommend books for my six-year-old son so that he can read English novels as a second language.
Alvin,
Thank you for this important message about the connection between identity and learning. I liked the connection you made to reading and laughter. I would really appreciate it if you would be willing to share a link to a reading list that has a good dose of humor for various reading levels. As a follow up question, how do you achieve the balance between the humorous and the serious?
Excellent, Mr. Irby. Well done. 👌🏾
In this actual society teachers have to learn new interactive and fun ways to teach and students have to be more curious about everything. Both of them have to think outside the box
I love this ! Barbershop Books is an amazing book and I hope that my little brothers encounter a barbershop in NYC that has this.
Just take them to the library. Don't wait for the next haircut -- if he goes for dreadlocks it'll be a long wait.
This is so cool! Reading 8s one of my favorite things to do 😁
Thank you so much for this my teacher told me to search this up and do my homework about reading thank you! 🤗
It's not about the reading material, it's about the role model of the kid.
Now this is what I’m subscribed to this channel for.. not the weird stuff good speech
Thanks for watching! I'm glad you enjoyed my talk.
Hey, great talk man. Learnt something important in this, which i already know! but needed someone to tell it to me. Children read books that makes them laugh.
Love the idea!!!
I enjoyed reading a lot when I was young my tip to you all is try adventure stories and mystery stories loved them so much
Thank you... From egypt ♥️
Thanks for sharing!
Teacher at an inner-city school in Canada, here. Many of my students have never seen ANY adult read. Therefore, anytime we have time for silent reading, I am sure to have a novel with me that I can read as well. Help to normalize it for them.
Thank you !
"institutionalized racism". actually, it's a matter of culture and parenting. both whites and asians are more likely to get into advanced classes (and want to do so). sounds like this guy had a good parent who made sure he could read, thus making him interested in the advanced class (versus his friends always playing outside). many black and hispanic parents are not like that. it's not goddamn "institutionalized racism"...
The cognitive dissonance is amazing how he grasps that he personally had to demonstrate that he could handle the advanced english classes, which he admits still gave him trouble, and fails to connect that it was merit not racism.
So in your opinion why aren’t many black and Hispanic parents “like that” or “good”? Is it genetic? You say it’s cultural as if black and Hispanic cultures haven’t been shaped to a large extent by racism. As if the roles were reversed you’d still see the same trends.
Emmanuel D. When you put it like that, maybe it's true. But I admit that when I first heard the words "institutionalised racism" in this context, I thought that he was claiming that it's the school as an institution that's hindering black boys from learning. But the roots are deeper than that. It's the racism inflicted on the previous generation that is resonating in the newer generation. :( sad
Emmanuel D: Good question. I don't think it's genetic at all. There are plenty of exceptions among black and hispanic parents. I think that the victim mentality in black and hispanic cultures has been pushed by left-wing media and academia, leading them to believe that putting in hard work to succeed is fairly pointless. It's an easy position to take, because hard work isn't generally enjoyable. Yet it is of course demonstrably wrong.
Proverbial Potato: spot on. couldn't have said it better myself. i was stunned when he uttered that paragraph or so and mentioned "institutionalized racism".
Watched this to inspire myself
I loved reading since I was a kid but I didn’t know that I had a condition called convergence insufficiency(disorder where eyes don’t convergence usually causing double vision when doing up close tasks). My parents didn’t know about this and thought it could be solved with getting glasses. Educators and parents should be listening more to their kids and try to address anything that is hindering their learning process
How do you help a child if this is the problem? My 8 years old grandson loves going to library, because I take him there couple times a week and I have always read books to him, but he don't like to read. I got him glasses, didn't help. His teachers say he is behind in reading. I think he feels like it's a punishment, instead of fun. He loves math, but if they time him, he does so bad. Sorry about long message, I just want to find away to help him. They wanted to hold him backin school and I said no, I think he would really start thinking he was dumb. I would appreciate any advice. You can email me at runawaybluebird@ yahoo.com.
Thanks
Laurie
@1:10 What does institutionalized racism has to do with having too many white folks in the advanced reading class? It is not like black people aren't allowed to attend advanced reading class, right? If he wants to see more black kids in reading classes, isn't it better to just tell black parents to encourage reading, learning and education in general than to blame another race?
I think he meant that he saw it in all black kids being tossed into the basic reading class by default (along with himself) on the assumption of low reading skills.
Yes, educators can send home notes to parents telling them to encourage reading and education, and we do send those notes home - all the time. But it's not that simple. Take my school (elementary - roughly 60% black, 30% white, 10 % Hispanic/Asian): all of our black students - minus a few families - are very low income, many single moms, some parents in jail, many of our little kids being looked after by their older siblings, many parents working 2-4 jobs to make ends meet. Compare that to the great majority of our white families: many two parent homes or parents who responsibly share custody, predominantly middle and upper middle class, parents with one job that has good benefits, quite a few stay-at-home parents. (Obviously, this is one school only and I'm painting in broad strokes.) Students who have parents available at home to read to them, help with homework, attend PTA and school events...these students are going to be more successful. Our students are coming from different places and need different things in order to succeed. Simply telling kids "Hey! Value education and read more, y'all!" is not going to be effective for many of our most struggling students; there are too many other factors that are working against them.
The problem is dyslexia. Are there books of instruction (spelling) and (syllables) to learn to read long words well.
For intermediate and advanced levels. So read classic novels and adjust the accent.
Whether for people of the language or learning as a second language
Awesome!!! Thanks, for sharing! We read to the kiddos encouraging character building.. Our future leaders deserve our intentionality. Please follow us. Thanks, in advance! 🙏
Wow the guy from SNL and disjointed got smart!
Wow Ben Carson is looking super slim, nice work Ben!
so great, just great
I love this. 😢
Thanks!
Well said, Alvin.
God bless you!
good stuff! on point
So many sad yet avoidable Truths, I will be purchasing several copies to distribute to our local barbershop s, Thank U!!
With all due respect, your initiative should not be confined to Black boys only. You must understand that education, health and environment are something that every human being is entitled to. So I hope your mission covers every being irrespective of colour, religion and nationality. Good luck
A Barbershop Books reading space can be sponsored for any barbershop in the US regardless of the demographics of the children who frequent the barbershop and anyone who visits a participating barbershop is free to interact with the reading space. However, there are unique challenges and specific implicit biases that systematically inhibit the reading success of black boys and that's what Barbershop Books seeks to address. I encourage anyone who identifies a problem in their community to take action to make things better.
I'm a brown Asian from Pakistan. I have a sister that's 4 years old. I cannot find children in children's books that look like us. What's more disappointing is that even the few Urdu (Pakistan language) books we own have white animated children.
as a bookworm, i completely agree
Great video
Beautiful 😃👍👍👏
Google what Rudolf Steiner says about preschool education. Great stuff
My son's advanced high school class had one black student and he simply cut up and disrupted the class.
I wish I could find funny books for 9-11 year olds to read that are translated. Turkish kids seems to hate reading and I am struggling to inspire my step kids .
Good one!!!
Awesome
Aspire Success 21w
"..dismantling the savage inequalities that plague American education..."
No one bans blacks from reading. The guy even said he was enrolled in Advanced English in high school. So where's the institutionalized racism?
@Rachel Thomas They have to want to read first.
@Rachel Thomas They have access to books. Period.
@Rachel Thomas To some it's never about personal responsibility. No wonder they are behind.
@Rachel Thomas If one cannot read, it's not his/her fault but social injustice. If one does drugs, it's not his/her fault but social injustice. If one commits murder, it's not his/her fault but social injustice. Sigh... no wonder these people can never stand on their own.
When finaly someone gets to a topic with facts and a solution for the problem instead of SJWing around.
I was happy and alarmed (85...) to see this talk and initiative
Misleading title however, I'm an aspiring elementary school teacher and in France this whole talk (apart from stating the obvious, engage and be humorous) is irrelevant to the classroom.
Awesome!
There is so much to learn, and my one humble life is just not enough to cover all those subjects.
So, i would like to quote a thing on my deathbed..Which is,
" R.I.B. ---. REST IN BOOKS"..
I read it "lifelong leader" 😳
I am a reader are four words :D (or does "I'm" count as one word?)
I'm counts as one word, maybe you don't read enough to understand English???
(That was supposed to be a joke)
I thought this was Ben Carson for a second
This guy actually makes sense. Ben Carson is a brain surgeon and an idiot at the same time. Grain in pyramids... Evolution being a global conspiracy...
Agree. God made Ben stupid.
What if I don't need inspiration
Does extroverts struggle more wit reading than introverts?
why must we inspire them to be readers? is it not better to inspire them to be ever so curious & questioning? the reading part will come along later.
There are lots of curious children who grow up to be adults that are functionally illiterate. Early access to books and positive reading experiences aren't mutually exclusive with cultivating a child's curiosity.
I thought that skin color doesn't matter. After watching this video I finally understood how awfully wrong I was. I found that black boys need special books for black boys. Black boys need black man as their role model. Who knows what else black boys need but it certainly has to be black.
Toxicodendron orientalis It just boils down to needing a role model they easily identify with.
Those who we call them black boy are human after all
Peace ✌
this sounds sexist
And we all know it's impossible to learn a skill without first seeing someone that looks like you perform the skill you want to learn.
this is sarcasm.
Not impossible. Just not as easy. That's what culture means.
Representation definitely matters!!!
It matters to you because you're vain.
SuperAtheist
Maybe it doesn't matter to you because you had it.
Now, have a little empathy, will ya?
"Maybe it doesn't matter to you because you had it."
I've had mostly white & black teachers, 1 Mexican and 1 Chinese teacher and never did I think learning the subject being taught would be easier if only my teacher were a white man. This is ludicrous.
This guy played the race card more than seto kiba plays the blue eye white dragon
Good
Cool
Do you visit schools?
Absolutely. I regularly deliver keynotes and facilitate workshops on a variety of topics including cultural competency, early literacy, and early childhood education in general. Please visit my website to learn more: alvinirby.com
Is he the crochet dude?
少年读书励志，中年读书养心。
我得联系写中文。 我是美国人。 我写中文写得不好。
老年读书坏眼睛
i've bought a book for a friend ,Canadian. it tells how the Chinese characters improved，very interesting，and when you know that you will find the easy way to learn.
Simplification is not necessarily improvement.
Why does everything have to be about racism? Its not racism, its a cultural issue. Maybe instead of blaming "the whites" you clean your room and take responsibility!
David Wiese When you think about how many majority black/inner city schools that get the bottom or the bucket funds to the majority white schools who have better teachers, better curriculums, better educations, better environments, better libraries & better electronics.... you have to take into consideration that racism is also an issue. Its factual.
We have destroyed their room for ages and now they just have to clean it. AHAM
A black student in a mostly black school worked and improved his reading level, was moved into an advanced reading class, and decided that because there were so many white students in the class that it was institutionalized racism. It appears this conclusion was based on the assumption that we can’t have advanced classes that aren’t institutionalized racism without having an equal number of all ethnicities? This sounds like the idea of equality of outcome to me. It should be a hierarchy of competence to get into advanced classes. Race should not apply here. An advanced class can be 80% Latino, 3% White, 95% Indian American, or have any other combination of racial prevalence as long as the hierarchy of reading ability is maintained. A higher prevalence of a certain race does not equate to racism without clear evidence of racial preference and disregard of the measures of skill. Perhaps there was some proof of this that the speaker did not mention. All of this said, it is clear that we should be working with all of our individual communities to increase all communities’ value of education and get more students of all races to quality for advanced classes without lowering the bar. One key way to do this and simultaneously encourage the cultural sensitivity the speaker talked about in this video is to raise up teachers within our communities to lead these same communities they understand. No amount of cultural sensitivity training for teachers, although it may help, will ever compare to educators rising up to educate the youth of their own communities. We have to value education and take full ownership and responsibility for education in our communities. This is not to ignore the fact that communities where education is already highly valued and schools are better funded will obviously be in a better position to do change these values. This being said, we should also take on the responsibility to help communities outside of our own struggling through these issues in the best ways that we can. These ideas do not detract from the importance of individual communities taking it in their own hands to help their communities restructure their values of education; no amount of outside help will compare to the change that can happen when a community comes together with intentionality and unity to change for the better.
I found this video looking for resources to help my younger brother find the passion for reading that I did growing up. I’m looking forward to nudging him towards identifying as a reader. I hadn’t thought about this through that lens, so thank you for expanding my understanding of reading!
You asked to join "advanced english" and got what you wanted, no problem.. and you still call ‘institutionalized racism’. My only outtake is that it’s a culture difference, institutionalized racism would be if you couldn’t join the class...
Read Black Panther ;)
Id like whatever hes on
I came to learn something interesting. I quit when racism became a topic. Stop the sabotaging yourself
You are going to have to break through the antintelectual attitude found in too many inner city communities.
HOLA LINDO DIA 🙋💙
Читать, безусловно, нужно с малых лет, но не до такой степени, чтобы потом всю жизнь ходить в очках.
why do these people always blame something on racism.....
are americans able to talk about anything without making it about race?
It's definitely tiring. I will stop talking about race when police stop killing unarmed black men, when banks stop discriminatory lending practices, and when schools are not funded based on local property taxes. Until then I'll be talking about. If you find yourself living a life absent the discussion of race, then you are one the privileged people of the world because men and women all over the planet the negative impacts of racism on a daily basis.
Came here for insight, leaving because of the nonsense he is spouting about systemic racism
Aviri Char I misspoke. He said "institutional racism" not systemic racism. Regardless, it isn't the cause of the problem as he described it.
who else is a13 year old here?
i lost my virginity at 13. I bet you won't beat my record.
😍
is it like...only a male problem?
Many children, girls and boys, struggle with reading but girls have significantly higher reading proficiency than boys across all socioeconomic and racial groups.