RACE slows down classes

Parkway South this year started a new RACE (restate, answer, cite, and explain) for literacy, in an attempt to improve literacy of every single student at Parkway South. Idealy students would learn new reading strategies for all different types of school subjects to better prepare themselves for reading material after High School. The only problem with RACE assignments are, we will never see again, never challenge ourselves, or learn new material under the current format.

RACE is required for every class at South High and this potentially could be a great idea for helping students at South. However, hearing what people think about RACE, listening to what teachers and students are saying, it is evident RACE is widely disliked across the entire student body. The few exceptions I have seen are simply when people get to take a break from the material in a tough class. That is the only benefit that students can. We have been using these reading strategies since middles school and earlier. Addressing this problem so late into many people’s schooling feels like too little too late. That’s if you believe there is even a problem at all. That problem needs to be solved before the last four years of someone’s required education. Especially in the cases for those who will not be continuing their schooling; instead joining the workforce, technical school, or the military.

The benefits of RACE have already been given to students in other subjects much earlier than South would like to admit for some reason. In english we analyze many different types of literacy beyond the scope of books we’ve read in class. The close minded approach that we do not know how to analyze scientific or historic material because we don’t formally do it for administrators is strikingly ignorant and most certainly wrong. We read and analyze material in almost all history and english classes and math and science surprisingly incorporate reading skills as well.

In math we are given textbook sections to read before the lesson and reading skills are very prevalent in many math classes where strong literacy can help you with material. In science we are often assigned to read parts of the textbook to help with new material. These skills are not small tasks and the redundancy of these activities is tediously slow. In fast paced classes these RACE activities take key time amount of the teacher’s plans and may force some material to be rushed. The reading strategies used in these RACE activities are necessary but they have already been achieved and thus making them a large waste of time in many classes.

The fact that both AP Literature and Language classes have to do these as well seems ridiculous. There is no way that someone in either of these classes could not do well on these. Also, these RACE literacy articles do not affect the root of the problem that the overall reading level is decreasing. Many teachers have chosen very easy articles for their students in order to either increase the grades or in order to make them easier to grade. Either way the reading level does not increase and many students would continue to have below average reading levels and not be prepared for life after high school whether in college or otherwise.

The final problem is the lack of accountability. If a student does very poorly on these, is there any way to find and help this student improve? Will we see students improve after the results of these articles come in? Most certainly not, and students know this. Many students see this is as a joke and many do not take them seriously or with the respect that these type of improvements need. The students can tell when a teacher dislikes something as much as them and that makes them ask, “what’s the point?”

I do believe that there is a point but the fact that this is in every class and that students are not receiving the true benefits intended for them. I do want the literacy of the school to improve but this activity is not the way to do it. Hopefully reading status will improve in the future with a more defined and challenging piece of work.