READING

PROBLEMS :
A NATIONAL
DILEMMA
Elena C. Cutiongco Ed. D.

Causes of Reading
Failure

Cause No : 1
Inadequate Induction

Reason for Agreement

Or
Disagreement

Suggestion to Address
the Problems

Cause No. 1 statement With the case stated

is very true. I
above, I suggest
personally experienced
that the school
as a student before that
administrators
there were teachers
should hire an
who lack knowledge on
effective and
what they are teaching.
efficient teacher.
And now as parent, my And why should they
daughter is also
hire an untrained
experiencing the same
ignorant teacher on
problem that
the first place?
sometimes I am the one Likewise, the school
who is making my
administrators
daughter understand
should also evaluate
the things being
and supervise the
discussed by their
teachers to know
teachers. I also wonder
whether they are
if the teacher/educator
able to apply their
himself has insufficient skills and knowledge
knowledge on what hes
in developing the
going to teach, then,
students reading
how can he be an
habit and improving

Causes of Reading
Failure

Cause No : 2
Lack of appropriate
reading materials.

Reason for Agreement

Or
Disagreement

Suggestion to Address
the Problems

I agree that the reason why

some students were not able
to develop their reading
skills is due to lack of
appropriate reading
materials. Likewise, they
dont have enough money to
buy other needed reading
materials. They could not
even collect books that
interest them and could help
them improve their
knowledge and vocabulary as
well as developing their
critical thinking skills. There
are also insufficient reading
materials in their school
library and most of them are
outdated and old textbooks
which are already irrelevant
on their lessons

I suggest that for now,

all they could do is to
borrow books either
from their friends or
teachers if they really
want to enhance their
reading power as an
immediate solution to
this problem.
Meanwhile, the
government should
increase the fund for
DepEd specifically
meant to suffice
insufficiency of reading
materials in public
schools to develop
reading habit and
improve the reading
skills of the students

Causes of Reading
Failure

Cause No : 3
Big unmanageable
classes.

Reason for Agreement

Or
Disagreement

Suggestion to Address
the Problems

I must agree that big

With this
unmanageable
situation, I
classesis one of the
suggest that the
causes of reading
DepEd should
failure. In this case, it
seek higher
is very difficult on the
financial
part of a teacher to
assistance from
provide sufficient
the government
instructions to a large
for additional
no. of students.
public school
Furthermore, the
teachers and for
students could hardly
building of
grasp teachers
additional
instructions due to
conducive
noisy, crowded and
classrooms to
poor-ventilated
immediately solve
classroom. Moreover, it
this problem.
is difficult for the
teacher to give enough

Causes of Reading
Failure

Cause No : 4
Poor attitude
towards reading.

Reason for Agreement

Or
Disagreement

Suggestion to Address
the Problems

It is true that poor attitude

towards reading is another cause
for reading failure. He mentioned
that fast changing world is
negatively influencing the
students interest in reading.
Likewise, I agree that Filipinos do
not have an innate nature of
possessing a reading habit. In fact,
parents observed that their
children prefer to watch tv or
listen to radio rather than reading
a book. They also spend more
time malling with their friends,
texting, chatting and travelling
that they are engaging
themselves too much into
different field of interests such as
sports, leisure, entertainment and
many other outdoor activities that
they neglect the importance of
reading and just eventually
develop poor reading habit
instead.

Hence, I suggest that parents

should have already influenced
their children on developing a
reading habit and educated
them with the importance of
having good reading skills just
before they enter into a formal
school. They should also guide
and supervise their children
constantly on the activities that
they are engaging in.
Furthermore, he said that they
could still do other activities but
they should advise their children
to give more time and attention
to reading before these
activities. Nevertheless, the
teachers should keep on
reminding the students on the
importance of enhancing
reading skills and they also do
activities that would motivate
and inspire children on reading
not only as part of their lesson
or curriculum but more
importantly as part of their daily
habit.

Causes of Reading
Failure
Cause No : 5
The interest of todays
generation to
computer games.

Reason for Agreement

Or
Disagreement

Suggestion to Address
the Problems

I agree that students interest to

computer games greatly affected
their reading skills. In fact, most of
the teenagers are becoming
addicted to computer games
instead of just being addicted to
worthwhile reading. This has
become a disadvantage of the
advance technology. Likewise, this
is very evident to those students
who belong to middle and upper
class who could afford these
gadgets or just simply go to
computer shops to play computer
games. Not only that, even after
their classes, some of them go to
the nearest computer shops that
are just few blocks away from their
school or go to the mall and play
computer games. Surprisingly,
computer games are just almost
everywhere. As a result, students
develop poor reading skills because
their attention is being taken away
by the wonders of computer games.
Moreover, they are also getting
poor grades due to poor reading
comprehension skills and because

Thus, I suggest that

the parents should
give more quality
time to their children
to divert their
attention into
developing their
reading habit. They
should also supervise
their children on
their daily activities
in school and at
home. Finally,
parents should be
constantly
communicating and
spending more time
reading with their
children. While
spending quality
time through

What do you think are the

other causes of reading
failures ?

Poverty
Poor health condition
Physical disabilities
Lack of parents guidance
and attention
Environment

Can the situation

improve? How?

There is always a solution for every problem. With our

current situation on the reading failures, we should
work hand in hand. As the saying goes, It takes two to
tango. First, it should begin at home. Parents should
have already helped their children develop their reading
habit and help them improve their reading ability and
skills even before entering to a formal school. Second,
the government should provide programs that will help
support the education of those who belong to poverty
level and below poverty level. Likewise, the government
should provide more job opportunities to improve the
Filipinos economic status and quality of life and so that
parents do not have to work abroad and miss the chance
of guiding and supervising their children accordingly.
Parents should also do their part on making a balance of
everything for their children.f After all, too much of
everything is a dangerous thing.They should do
something to lessen the addiction of their children to
the latest trends, activities and technologies through
proper guidance and nourishment. On the other hand,
school administrators should strictly hire effective
teachers and constantly supervise and evaluate them to
see if they could provide proper and sufficient
instruction to students. As the saying goes, 'You cannot
teach what you do not know and you cannot give what
you do not have. 'Nevertheless, the DepEd should
increase the fund for high quality reading materials that
will aid their students in developing reading habit and
critical thinking skills. Finally, the DepEd should provide
more conducive classrooms that could help both the
students and teachers on different learning activities.

FIVE FACTORS
AFFECTING
READING
DEVELOPEMENT

Two Students Study

In
Two Different School
( FROM PUBLIC & PRIVATE SCHOOL )

JHENNY ROSE CATAPANG

14 YEARS OLD
MUNTING PULO, LIPA CITY
STUDYING IN HOLY TRINITY
SCHOOL
(PRIVATE RELIGIOUS SCHOOL IN
LIPA CITY)

MARY ROSE LLANES

BRGY. SAN JOSE, LIPA CITY
13 YEARS OLD
STUDYING IN
LIPA CITY NATIONAL HIGH
SCHOOL
(WELL KNOWN PUBLIC SCHOOL IN
LIPA CITY)

FACTORS

INDICATOR

1. Physical and Clinical

Factors

Is the child is in good health?

Does he/she suffer from physical
comfort?
Does he/she have motor control?
Does he/she have speech defect?
Does he/she have neurological
disorder?

FACTORS

INDICATOR

2. Predictors of School Entry Is the child mature enough to begin

formal reading instruction?
What does the child feel about self
and others?
Is the child interested in studying/
reading?
Does the child have emotional
problems?
What is the age of this child?
Has the child received preparatory
instruction?

FACTORS

INDICATOR

3. Acquired knowledge of
literacy.
How many intellectual
development of the child be
described?
Does the child has good
language background?

FACTORS

INDICATOR

4. Family based risk

factors.

What is the general atmosphere

at home ?
Are the child parents are
supportive?
Do the family members
encourage the child to read ?
Are there books at home?

FACTORS

5. Neighborhood,
Community and School
Based Factors .

INDICATOR

Is the school is conducive in

learning?
Are the teachers are competent?
Do they have emotional
maturity?
Do they luck of social sense?

Mary Rose is physically and

mentally fit but unfortunately is
not a good reader before . The
primary school were she came
from has a lots of students so
her preparation in grade 7 is
not enough. When she turn in
grade 7 I heard her how she
read and its like she is reading
like primary student but what
make us worried she read slow
and she didnt understand what
she is reading . I felt bad for it .
Since our mother in those days
is in Cyprus, we are all busy
doing our own career we
choose so we left her behind. I
recognized that we didnt give

To make this story brief

my mother came back
after a year, she found
out
about
it
she
monitored Marah, and let
her to be responsible.
The LCNHS also has big
part what she is now.
Their
teachers
encourage them to read,
but not just to read but
also to understand what
they are reading. They
have activities practice
reading and also were
students help to teach
her co-students to read.

Jhenny story inspired me as a person. She is also from a

primary school were Mary Rose graduated. The LCNHS
refused to accept her because of her condition. She need more
guidance. Her parents decided enrolled her in Holy Trinity
because they found out the same problem which Mary Rose
encountered but the difference is Jhenny has an issue of
mental disorder. She is a very slow learner and graduated
primary school that cannot read at all and even tagalog for
her not easy to read.

The spirit of this child to learn is very

powerful. With her very supportive
parents and faculties of Holy Trinity .
The teachers in Holy Trinity help her
and focus in teaching her to read. Their
activities in reading, sharing what they
read help her a lot. Holy Trinity is
English Zone School so most of the
student can speak fluently in English.
Today Jhenny can read fast, she can also
understand what she is reading. You can
say that the way she read, speaks and act
is like normal 14 years old young lady.
In a way, Jhenny is doing good to her
studies.

Point of View

REPORTED BY : GROUP 1
CASALME, JOEL
BERNABE, AMOR BITUIN
BARBERAN,
PAMELA
FERNANDEZ,
GLASA

MAYLA

Prof . Ed.
MAGBOO, MEREN GRACE
BADILLA, JANET
LLANES, MARJORIE