Bad Teachers Can Keep Children From Reaching Their Potential

Today's Shocking Finding comes to us from a study called "Teacher Quality Moderates the Genetic Effects on Early Reading" at the University of Florida documented in an article in the journal Science.

Key Findings:

"Teachers have an effect on student reading achievement," said psychology Associate Professor Jeanette Taylor, the study's lead author. "Better teachers provide an environment that allows children to reach their potential."

"When children receive more effective instruction, they will tend to develop at their optimal trajectory," Taylor said. "When instruction is less effective, then children's learning potential is not optimized and genetic differences are left unrealized."

The authors cautioned that other factors, such as classmates, resources and the physical classroom itself, might also influence the level of reading achievement among young students. However, this study clearly underscores the importance of teachers.

"Putting high quality teachers in the classroom will not eliminate variability among students nor guarantee equally high achievement from all children, but ignoring teachers as a salient contributor to the classroom environment represents a missed opportunity to promote children's potential in school and their success in life," the researchers concluded.

So, having good teachers can help you to learn to read better.

Source: PhysOrg