I received this message last week:
“I am trying to find a book to buy written in ITA. I learned ITA at school from 1965 to about 1968. I think it must have been pretty new then because when I went up to the junior school, there were only 6 of us who read ITA. They had to split the class and write everthing twice, once in ITA and again in English”
I replied:
Yes, it was a very odd period in British education – a really bold idea that was dominant for several years and then dropped rapidly from favour. Although I was born in 1964 so must be a bit younger than you, I managed to escape ITA, although my cousins (about 6 years younger than me and so learning to read in the early 70s, were taught using ITA and still blame it to this day for their problems with spelling! So that would span about a decade.
If you have no idea what ITA is – and many people look completely blank if I mention it – this picture above should give you an idea.
In the 1960s, when Ladybird decided to publish a small number of their books in ITA as well as in traditional orthography, they were only following a widespread trend of the day.
The following is an extract from EyeMagazine :
In September 1961 young children starting school in twenty selected primary schools in the Midlands found themselves the unwitting subjects of a controversial educational and typographical experiment. These were the first children to be taught their letters via the Initial Teaching Alphabet: an elegant set of 44 lower-case characters designed to ease the route into the complexities of printed English….
A logical system
James Pitman proposed that children should learn to read with an augmented alphabet that would cover, through 44 distinct characters, the principal sounds in the language – not just short and long vowel sounds, but the most common digraphs (such as ‘th’, ‘ch’) which, as letter combinations, form confusing units within traditional orthography (T.O.). The new alphabet was not intended as a wholesale spelling reform, nor as a replacement for the existing alphabet; its role was purely to provide a logical system that would be simpler for children to learn. Having mastered the concept of reading, they would then make the transition to T.O. at the age seven or so, discarding the initial alphabet like an outgrown shoe.
So whatever happened to ITA? Why did it fall from grace? Has it disappeared completely?
You should find the answers in the full article and another resource listed below – but you might find the many, many comments on this blog post pretty informative too. Please do add to them if you experienced learning to read with ITA. And keep your eye out for Ladybird books in ITA. They can command quite a price among collectors today.
http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/the-initial-teaching-alphabet
I learned I.T.A. somewhere between 1976-1978 in a school in Rochford, Essex. Normal reading and writing was referred to as T.O., though I can't remember what that stood for. The local library even had a special section of I.T.A. books.
My mum tells me I was kept back from progressing to T.O. by my teacher, even though I was reading normal books at home. The teacher advised against this!
I was finally moved off I.T.A. a few weeks before moving house and school. It was only a distance of 5-10 miles, but seemed much further at the age of 6. I was amazed to find everyone in my new class was on T.O., and figured they must all be very clever. It took a while for me to discover they never learned I.T.A.
My spelling has always been excellent (he says, checking through his comment…), but I wonder what might have happened had I been kept on I.T.A. until I moved.
I still remember some of the weird letter forms, but most people I meet have never seen anything like it! Thanks for the nostalgia trip, and proof I didn't make it up.
Thanks for this. Why is there so little information about ITA today? It seems to be seen as a bit of a skeleton in the British literacy cupboard; something of an embarrassment.
I never learnt ITA so, although I can't spell for toffee, I can't use it as an excuse.
I was taught ITA in the early 70's, at Christchurch Infant school in Dorset (name and shame) and experienced many of the blank looks from variuos people i've mentioned it to over the years.
I would love to know where I can buy the Sally and Paul books i remember so well.
I've enjoyed looking at the text and it all came flooding back to me. That explains alot! I thought.
Part of me thinks "Lets reclaim it " and see how everyone else likes it.
I was taught ITA in school and I have no problem with spelling. The project was abandoned after a couple of years and I was forced to write English words again and that was hard. Those that learned ITA were far more advanced than normal readers.
I learned ITA from 78-80 in a primary school in Scotland. I would also love to know where I could buy a Paul and Sally book – they were fabulous. I discussed the ITA spellings with some friends and they though I was going mad! Thankfully, you guys have proved that I'm not!
I am looking for Billy and Betty Pig book?????
I still have a ladybird ita book "the party "I learned ita at school ,then moved to a school where they didnt teach it , I now blame my dreadfull spelling on the experience !
I also learnt to read and write with ita and never had any problems at all. My favourite book was Indian Two feet and his horse I’d love a copy
Wow, This brings back memories from when I started primary school in 1971. This was my first book and I remember it very well. Although supposedly easy reading, I think this actually held us back a bit. I can see where they were trying to go with this, but when my family moved house and I changed school to one that taught normal reading and writing, we had to learn over again. I don't think it made much difference to me as I only learned it for 2 years. My spelling and grammar are very good and I did very well in my English exams. I told my colleagues about this book and they thought it was a joke. Only now they believe me. I read out one page which I found very easy to read, and also gave the spellings for the words. My friends were amazed that this was ever published. Thank god we have normal books now.
I was also taught ITA: at St Peter and Paul Primary in Bristol. It would have been around 1974 – 76.
We read Zip and Wendy books.
I used to think I was a guinea-pig in some government experiment but now, working in Primary School office, I am shocked at the poor spelling and grammar abilities of the teaching staff – most of whom are in their 20s and 30s!
That is such a good point let alone the awful grammar and diction it’s discussing what with three being free!!I learnt ITA between 1967 and 72 then had to learn again I really struggled with my spellings and my Mum and Nan spent hours with me helping me get through it. I can see the theory behind it but in reality it did not work.
I was taught ITA, using Paul and Sally, from the mid 70s at a school on The Wirral, Merseyside. (The 'proper' English books were referred to as "traditional", IIRC.)
A few years back I did a little digging online to find out about this strange alphabet from my childhood, and found a study suggesting ITA was quite successful. From what I recall of the findings, kids who started with ITA had a bigger vocabulary, read more, and wrote more, than kids who did not when tested in later years. The main objections against ITA were the scarcity of material, and parental suspicion of the unconventional alphabet.
as usual ill have to change writen words because i cannot spell them and have to change direction
I Agree its the worst reading I ever had to learn,as when you them had spelling tests.you always seem to get things wrong.to this day,it is a nightmare for me as i still tend to make simple mistakes.it was even harder because i didn,t go to school untill i was 6 years old as we had lived Australia befoe this. but could read and write normal.but was forced to read I.T.A
ITA should not be to blame for poor spelling in adulthood! I learned how to read under the ITA program in the early 70s and I was at an advanced reading level; it didn't affect me one bit in spelling. How about people today who never had ITA and can't spell to save their life? ITA was never the issue, it's the person, and if they can't spell properly, then they obviously have a learning disability. I see too many adults who misspell commonly used words. It is pathetic!!
Look at how you spelt programme though.
ITA was part of my first grade (6 yrs old) reading curriculum in Western Pennsylvania in 1976. I don't know if it was a teacher preference or if the school administration wanted it used. I started reading children's books (Dr. Suess) at home at 4 years old and was reading and understanding newspaper in first grade, yet my report cards show U's (unsatisfactory)in reading and spelling. Also two younger brothers were held back because of reading problems. Gee I wonder why?
i learnt i t a in 1973- 1976 in downside infant school in luton .. most of my friends have never heard of it either .. and i am a rubbish speller too :)..i can still read it now and when i show it to my kids they think its a crazy way of learning to read , almost like learning 2 languages
I learned I.T.A between 1965-1967 at a very small village school in Leicestershire. I was taught by my mother to read and write normally before I went to school so this was hard but I had to do it. Then the school closed and I Had to go to a bigger school of which nobody else had learned with I.T.A apart from my brother and my cousin, we never had any help to help us convert back to the normal way of reading and writing, none of us can spell well and I can't pronounce things because I Wasn't taught how to sound out the vowels correctly amongst other things. I feel very angry at being used as a guinea pig as it has effected me all my life, if people see you can not spell they presume you are less intelligent, It also affects my confidence. I have since I left school got my English O level but I still can't spell thank god for computers and spell checkers!
I learnt ITA at St Andrew's school in Hove Sussex from about 1973 to 75. This system was then dropped with no support, who ever decided to use us a guinepigs should be shot. I learnt to read with no problems but then within two years I was having difficukties, it took me 4 attempts to pass GCE English. I wonder if I could clain compensation?, I'm serious!
I was taught ITA and it held me back dreadfully, even now I’m 58 and have great trouble with reading and spelling. It traumatised me as an already shy child. I would love to sue for the damage it did too me.
I went to Cedars first and middle school in Harrow Middlesex in the 70s even though it is one school only the first school use ITA . I can still remember the shock I had first day of middle school when I found out I had to learn to read all over again as we had been taught to read wrong .
I went to Stourfied Junior School in Southbourne, Bournemouth, I learnt to spell with ITA when i started there in 1970. My spelling has always been pretty good so I don't blame the ITA system.
I have collection of 8 Ladybird books that are printed in ITA, they are quite rare i think as most of them were pulped when the system failed. It's good to know there are plenty of other people out there who learnt via the system!
I learnt ITA from 1972-1975 in Belfast. Trying to remember who and what the reading books were about? There was a story about ice-cream. Would love to see those books again.
I was taught I.T.A. at a Catholic grade school in Topeka, Ks. I still remember the symbols that stood for certain sounds. I was born in 1962 and my school only did it my 2nd and third grade years and then stopped. I am a great reader and speller. It did not hurt me but I always remember it as being very odd.
Ah, ITA! Sally and Paul, Zip & Wendy, Ronnie Rocket!
I would love to buy any ITA reading books if anyone has them in good enough condition. Stick them on eBay please!
I used these books too. 1975. In Alton Illinois. I can write with both hands. Then and now. The school thought was weird!!! Left hand could write upside-down and backwords. Right hand was regular.
Hey I can write both hands upside down and backwards too. Never came across anyone who can do that too. So a big Hi from me! I learned ITA 1964-68 in UK.
Oh my goodness! I learned ita reading as a kindergarten student in cleveland ohio in 1965. I already knew how to read, but I loved Sally and Paul! I would love to see a copy of those sweet little books.
I was born in 1962 and was tought to read and wright usuing the ita system ..Zip & wendy books were great …but found it hard to change to normal english .. though when i later went on to learn Latin found it very simillar and my memories of primary 1 2 & 3 came back into use ..would love to se a copy of an old Zip & Wendy or Paul and Sally ..though still use ita as an excuse for my poor
spelling ..
I went to school on The Wirral and also learnt ITA. Whilst I am not a very good speller I am an avid reader. I found it so surprising that I could read the Fisherman page on this site straight away. I do think that ITA effected my spelling but it did give me a better volcabulary.
I also learned ITA when at primary school on the Wirral in the late 1960s. I have had no problems with either reading or spelling so it didn't affect me. I could read before I started school (normal way), had to relearn with ITA when I started and then move on to TO! Never saw it as a problem myself at the time. I can see how it would have affected some people though who were less confident readers. But as others have said, we have poor spellers today who have never learned ITA so it can't be held wholly to blame. Glad my boys didn't have to learn it though! They did do Jolly Phonics, which was another strange reading experiment! We read the Paul and Sally books and in fact it was Googling "Paul and Sally books" that led me to this site!
I was taught how to read using the I.T.A books in my primary school in Moreton on the wirral. I must say that our class learned to read very quickly and then moved into normal reading easily. We where taught that the ch and sh sounds (which in ITA where joined together) no longer spoke to each other and so they seperated them to become ch and sh, so we found it easy to adapt. Our class where given daily spelling tests and spelling was drummed into us as being a very important part of education. By the age of 7 we could read anything and our spelling was of a high standard. My opinion and that of other school friends who remember I.T.A say the same it was an easy and brilliant way of teaching. It has to be said, we did have excellent teachers in our school and English grammar was a high priority. We never suffered from it and in fact we all found it easy to adapt and our spelling was excellent. I loved it and can read an ITA book now without any problem at all. My opinion a brilliant way of teaching
ha i was taught ita too , just goes to show how stupid the people who are left to teach our children really are , mr pitman should of been dragged out of his home screaming and kicking 🙂
It did not affect all kids the same way. to say it is not an excuse for poor spelling is false. Some kids were not affected, but a certain percentage were. That is why it was discontinued. It weird some kids wrong.
Have just come across the blog. I was taught to read using ita in the early 1970's. Like most children if you are taught to do something then you learn to do it. The porpblem was when you changed to reading traditional English. I struggled to make the conversion. It put me off reading as the new, correct English was alien to me. I also think that it hindered my education whilst at school. Truely I did not enjoy reading until I was in my teens. I am now an avid reader. Also I am now a Primary School Teacher. Experiments are set by those in government who have no real understanding of education and learning. THEY only want to leave their mark- to justify their big salaries. I think compensation for the failed experiment should be in oreder…Funny thin is I could read the extract from the Fisherman. The spelling is atrocious. In an experiment, it is said that most people can decipher words in their own language if the first and last letters are in the correct place. (the others can be jumbled) such as; Why Can You Sltil Raed Tihs Haeldine?
I can honestly say I had never heard of ITA books until I did a house clearance this week in Dorset and found a whole shelf of very strange children's books. I was born in '62 and, according to you bloggers, should have seen them at school in Middlesex, west London but maybe I just missed out. Anyway, anyone want a weird book? plenty of titles to choose from.
If you still have any books I would love one
Yes please, Gillian. I'd love to get my hands on a few more! I find the whole episode fascinating. Please email me if you have any for sale: nmccar1063@aol.com
Hi all ,my school pal and I were the only ones at our Junior school taught ITA in around 1971-3. We were deemed the good readers so we were taught ITA and it was thought it wouldn't harm our reading as we were above average. Our
reading ability at the end of almost 2 years became the same as our class peers so it was abandoned. I still have 1 book called book ov pets Shame I cant write it the way its spelt on here. I can still read it tho
Would love to see the books I read so if anyone has any going spare! Ill send me details.
Gillian, if yo still have these books I would also be very interested. I'm a special needs teacher and was talking about these books in a spelling staff meeting – they thought I was mad! I'd love to be able to show them real copies!! I went to school in Isleworth Middx and was taught conventionally but my cousin who went to a nearby school was taught ITA. We were both born in 1963 and learning to read at the same time – I can remember us both having the same book with different spelling and arguing which of us had the real book! My email is: debmccutcheon@yahoo.co.uk
I was just talking to my parents and we were discussing dinosaur Ben. That was the ITA book I learned to read. I was taught ITA in a small town in southeastern New Mexico. That was in 1965. I believe it was only taught for one year. I was always a good speller but not a very good reader. I have no idea if the ITA had anything to do with it or not. I haven't thought about ITA in a long time. This is the first time I have even looked up any information on the subject. It has been interesting reading the posts.
I was taught to read with ITA at Lineker Street Primary school in Southport England in the early to mid 60's. I think I could read before I went to school.
I don't remember transitioning and suspect it happened when I changed school aged 6, but I don't recall having a problem with it. I do know that I always had a reading age and vocabulary many years above my actual age all the way through primary school (when these things seemed to matter very much!) Is that because I love reading and writing like breathing, or is it because I am a perfect product of ITA? Which is the chicken and which the egg? Who knows? That said, I still cannot with any confidence spell a word with a diphthong. They all look equally wrong whichever way I write them.
I started as a teacher in 1970. I won't say where…. For three years I taught ITA and then we were told that because there were problems with it the school was abandoning it. it gave me a very cynical view of teaching when I realised that I had probably delayed or even destroyed the reading ability of my three (very large )classes. I did keep my cynicism for forty years as a teacher though.
I completed my teacher training in July 1964 and started teaching 6 year olds in Sept 1964. The head of my school immediately sent me on ITA training (not my choice!) and I subsequently taught reading using ITA from early 1965. I still have a number of readers in good condition if anyone is interested in buying them.
1964 ITA Teacher
This brings back so many memories. I, like Bigland was taught ITA in Rochford, Essex between 1976 and 1978. I still have an old 'news' book. I too remember progressing to T.O when I was in the 3rd Year infants. I have always wondered what T.O stands for. I am currently teaching literacy at a High School. So ITA is of great interest to me.
Hello,
My name is Yasmin Amico. I am British. My sisters and I learned to read under the ITA system and we have continued to excel in all of our literacy endeavours. It is unfortunate that so many people were not able to adapt to this system. I am an educator pursuing an Ed.D Education Leadership: Curriculum Instructional Design, & Assessment degree. I have earned an M.A.Ed., and an M.F.A.W. My siblings are Superintendents, Medical Doctors, and Bankers. Thanks to Harrow Public Schools, Middlesex, England.
My American friends in Marion, Iowa also learned under the ITA system with successful outcomes.
Thank you for making this blog and helping me to revisit my childhood through the ITA system.
Best regards to all.
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The ITA system does work. It helps students to sound out words phonetically. Spelling accurately comes afterwards. Many students who encountered problems were unable to make the connections between letters and the sounds they make. These students might have encountered problems with reading due to what is now call dyslexia, dysgraphia, or a reading disability that went undiagnosed.
Literacy is the platform for my dissertation. It would be interesting to see how many people were taught using the ITA system and where they are today.
I note many ITA students are educators. So the system must have worked somewhat!
T.O. stands for tradtional orthography. I learned preschool on ITA as my mother wanted to experimen; which is why my dyslexia never showed up because I transferred without trouble and never had any trouble with spelling save the tendency to spell 'of' as 'ov'. It also helped me when I was 13 and was learning shorthand. I just came upon a heap of ITA Ladybirds when I was clearing out and I wondered if they were in demand to the collector as I hesitate to just bin them. I think it might be something to keep in reserve for the severely dyslexic especially those on the Autistic spectrum as it's totally logical. My AS son learned on TO but then, he had the excellent Ladybird Puddle Lane series so was reading fluently by the time he was 3.
I learned ITA in primary school in Bacup in Lancashire in the late 1960s and haven't come across anybody who has heard of ITA. it mustn't have suited everybody but I moved up a class year when I was 5 and was top of that class every year until I left primary school at the age of 10 having passed my 11+. I have always prided myself on my spelling and cannot understand why others are unable to spell. I have a love of foreign languages and speak four languages albeit qualified to varying levels. As a child I was a keen reader and still am. I used to write "stories and books" I learned shorthand to a high speed including French language shorthand and I am qualified to teach shorthand. Although this was not Pitman shorthand (it was Teeline) there were similarities to ITA and I am sure this contributed to my ease at learning it. I believe ITA was of great benefit to me. Perhaps the studies into the success of ITA didn't look far enough ahead.
Barbara, I agree! it was written off as bad without proper studies, and the teachers my mother spoke too wouldn't use it because they reckoned that it was too difficult for them. My Great-aunt, who left school at 13 and considered herself uneducated, picked it up very quickly to read with me, and in fact started reading more T.O. books as a result of confidence in her fluency in it. I really wish someone would do a study of it with dyslexic adults
On BBC breakfast news this morning they were discussing whether we need to change to more American spellings,particularly dropping silent and double letters. It was suggested using two systems and I remembered being taught i.t.a in Liverpool in the 70s. I found this blog on a hunt on the Internet. I made the transition easily and consider myself good at spelling but my brother blames his poor spelling on this system.
I learned to read in Scotland then when I was 7 was moved to England and was put in the bottom class because I couldn't read ITA! After a couple of weeks I found Janet and John (which I could read perfectly) on the library trolley and was then put into the top class.
Another victim of ITA! I learned in Burton on Trent in 78 (first year infants) and then it was dropped so in second year infants we had to learn reading and writing all over again! I never did find out why. My cousin learned it for 3 years (2 years older than me) and she cant spell worth a damn, despite being very famous as the UK's foremost expert in her field!
Both myself and my sister had a trip down memory lane yesterday talking about ITA, although no-one else in the room had heard of it.
My spelling has been severely affected by the whole process…strange what they thought was a good idea in the 70s could still have an affect in the 2010s!!!
Born in 1965, I learned to read with ITA and my mother maintains to this day, my reading was incredibly good and I progressed extremely quickly. It's too easy to blame the tool and not the craftsman.
Just been in my lot and found a ladybird ITA book I was awarded from school in 1965 for "consistently good work". The book is from the series "peepl at work" and called "the fireman". Just as a note I can't remember struggling with the change to normal English and went on to achieve exam passes at a high level. Maybe that's just my brain works in a funny way which has been demonstrated by living in 15+ countries over the last 40 years and picking up various languages.
I was always a prolific reader as a child and always read ahead of my age group. I changed schools at one point – about 1967 – and on my last day the teacher took me aside and told me they would be trying a new reading system soon – what did I think of it? She showed me an ITA book and asked me to read it to her. I had absolutely no idea what it said, which she thought was quite funny. I remember her telling me not to worry and that I was better off carrying on as I was. I never forgot the book but I never saw them again as my new school didn't use the system.
i was taught this indulgence in the mid 60's. After 4 years of being taught it we were flipped into writing in 'English". The first spelling lesson i had after 4 years of this nonsense i was hit with a ruler for not being able to spell in English. That moment began and defined my complete lack of respect for teachers, adults and authority – as John Lydon (Rotten) was to say in '77 "ever feel like you've been cheated". I have no traditional teaching in my own language in understanding the structure or origin of words and this also affects my abilities with other language. I see continued efforts in schools of my children to create new brilliant ways of teaching our shared language but the people charged with this responsibility still walk a thin line between teacher and tinkerer. Rules are rules as they say. Funnily enough this nonsense tinkering opened my eyes to the fallibility of those in charge – maybe thats a good thing in the long run but when i hear people say how great their school days were i feel like an alien. i still feel like anyone who got taught this rubbish should get compensation
I was born in 1967 and was kept behind at Hamstel School (Southend-on-Sea), in the infants with I.T.A. It was very frustrating and have often put it down to discrimination. There were 2 of us. My parents were poor and the other kid was the only black boy in my year. As a result, I've always been a slow reader and still feel bitter towards the system and 'teachers' to this day.
Instead of learning 2 variations of English, I should have been learning English and a 2nd language!
Who do I sue??!!???
I spent about 18 months learning ITA at Rawcliffe School in York, UK, then because of a family upheaval, I was away from school for almost 6 months before starting again elsewhere.
During those 6 months I found a combined of Alice In Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass and somehow managed to plough my way through to the end, to the amazement of the teachers at my new school who thought I was some kind of child genius being far and away the best reader in the class of six and seven year olds.
I can't tell whether ITA did this, or the freedom from the classroom which gave me a chance to learn for myself, but since then I haven't stopped reading and I'm usually to Go To person when people want help with spelling.
I came across a small box of these ITA books at a jumble sale recently, having never heard of this way of learning I found them fascinating but very easy to read. I remember 'The Party' from childhood I now have the same book in ITA, what innocence!
I was taught ITA in the early sixties, 64 to 67, I very good and read every book in the series. Then in 1967 I was moved into the juniors and the teacher said to us "no more mambi pambi reading books from now on, now it's time to read proper English"
I can remember opening the reading book and thinking 'I don't recognise half the words' from that point I struggled in school failing my 11+.
It was done on purpose to stop working class children going into further education and getting better jobs, the government of the time was determind that the working class children could not go into blue collar jobs.
And it was a big success, it has been kept quiet and all evidence has disappeared.
I would love to research on this, because if I am right the government could be made accountable.
I was taught ITA in infant school in kirkby England. I thought this was a normal way to learn to read and write and didn't have any issues with my reading or writing growing up ( I am actually a great speller). As an adult I realised this was an unusual style of learning after my children started school and they learned how to read and write differently from me. For a long time I thought maybe I had imagined my experience of reading and writing wrongly,but seeing the Ita alphabet on this, website brought it all back. I have nothing but fond memories of my time in infant school and really wish I could get the paul and sally books so I can share them with my family ( who think this is a weird way to read and write..lol ) I live in the USA and no one I know has heard of this either.. whatever the reasoning behind this method of teaching was I am glad I was a part of it.. did not hurt me in anyway..just gives me an interesting story to talk about ..lol
Me, and my sister and brothers, were taught ITA at Calshot infants school in Birmingham in the mid '60's. Three of us older children had no problem reading 'normal' writing as we often visited the library and there were no ITA books in there. We just thought of it as 'school' reading and 'home' reading, we knew no different. But my youngest sister had appalling problems with reading, in the days before dyslexia was recognised, non of the ITA ever made any sense to her and she could not transfer basic reading skills to normal books. To this day, this woman who successfully runs her own business, cannot read without help and I do wonder if ITA hindered her chance of learning to read well.
I was taught ita in Gobions Infants School in Collier Row Romford Essex, I was born in 1961 and have no problems with my spelling (although getting old now so my memory is going so can blame poor spelling on that now lol). I still have 2 ita pale green books Janet and John ones if anyone can remember those, and I can still read them lol.
Such lovely memories of learning to read ita and then being told you could now learn real writing and read proper books lol.
Thanks for sharing. I still use ITA strategies to help students who struggle with reading. It works!
I found ITA logical and roared ahead in infant 1+2 then I had to learn english and it completely ruined me I was angry and could not handle going from the top to the bottom of the class if I could I would sue all involved crazy idiots
I too learnt ITA at Westborough Infant school Southend Essex and like Angus Knox said it left me and every one I know who learnt this way struggling with English.
ps the letter land reading scheme was another disarster my niece was taught this one at the same school I went to.So I made sure my son could read before he started school.
I was taught ITA back in the 1960's. It still returns even now in the 2016's. No ink Not a good way of learning to read and one that should rest in history as being a failure.
I was taught ITA back in the 1960's. It still returns even now in the 2016's. Not a good way of learning to read and one that should rest in history as being a failure.
I was taught ita in the 1980s at St Robert Bellarmine Primary School, Harris Drive in Bootle under the headmaster Mr Lionette. I would be interested to know if ours was the last school being subjected to it at that point. I am under the firm opinion that it should never be allowed to be re-introduced. It took me many years to regain confidence in my reading and spelling once we switched to normal English spelling. I have not encountered any problems with my spelling or reading abilities as an adult, but I do feel that using ita set me back and has not had any benefits other than helping me with the phonetic pronunciations used in dictionaries etc.
I'm feeling quite nostalgic for Zip and Wendy! I was taught ITA in the mid- to late Sixties in Exeter. I did OK with it (my younger sister less so) but once I'd mastered it I wanted to read the ordinary books at school because I thought ITA was 'babyish' and I was no longer a baby! I was practically bi-lingual, as it were, because I had normal reading books at home and ITA at school, so I made the transition without any problems.
So, if anyone has any Zip and Wendy books they don't want…
I was taught the I.T.A system in 1966 at school but moved to a different school in another area on the Wirral. I was called stupid, idiot and fool for months and ridiculed by teachers because I couldn't read or write, finally on parents evening after talking to my mother they found out I was taught I.T.A. A few days later the teacher held up a picture of the last supper with the title written in I.T.A., she asked if anyone could read the title and mine was the only hand to go up. the feeling that I could read and wasn't stupid was amazing and the other kids in class thought I knew an other language. The teacher then explained it was a different way to learn things and the poster went on the wall but the title was covered with a properly written title and I was the started on the process of learning to read like the rest of the school, I wasn't stupid either I jumped from being bottom of the class to the top in a year. I can still read I.T.A but I think it was a very bad idea to teach it on a wide scale as it did screw up so many kids
My primary school (mid 1970s in England) taught ITA but I could read and write proper English before starting so I was allowed to continue. It was very strange at first, not understanding why 'the kids' (I didn't really know I was one!) used this strange language not seen anywhere outside school! I used to casually read their books as well as my own though, so I was reasonably 'bilingual'. Soon enough other people started transferring over so I had comrades in proper English.
I do remember some kids still on ITA age 8 or so, which was a real social stigma for them. A failed experiment I'd say. Everyone I know who learnt ITA grew up to be a terrible speller.
I was the youngest in my family and as a result could read well before I started primary school, competition among siblings is an excellent incentive.
However, in 1968, as soon as I started at Lee Manor Infants School in Lee, London, we started to use I.T.A for reading. It was very confusing to me, especially when the teacher wrote these very strange symbols on the board. I found that so long as I didn't think too hard about the words, I could make the right sounds, even though it all looked totally wrong.
I'm a bit hazy about how long this lasted at my school. I'm pretty sure that my teacher, the lovely Mrs. Hart, soon realised that I could read perfectly well and that, for me and some others, the I.T.A thing was just a bit of an annoying distraction.
I'm interested where others believe that I.T.A has led to them to have difficulties with spelling, that has not been my experience. Now, if I could blame I.T.A. for shocking handwriting……..
As with many radical methods within education, I would love to see whether the post-implementation study decided I.T.A was a good thing or not. That is, assuming someone bothered to do a follow-up study.
I run a page at http://www.facebook.com/InitialTeachingAlphabet/. I have a small collection of i/t/a books, including Zip and Wendy, mostly picked up from Biblio. If people are interested they are welcome to peruse my images, including some complete books. Very many people comment that i/t/a ruined their lives, so I am always happy to hear from contributors who have something positive to say about it. It was a genuine attempt to correct a problem that existed with reading in English. The transition to TO was wrongly imagined to be without problems, but it proved a huge problem for many. Paul
I was taught ITA in school till the age of 6, then when I went into the juniors at 7 I was given an English reading book.
This was done on purpose to stop working class children going into higher education and getting blue collar jobs. I believe it was successful because what you learn up to the age of 5yrs stays with you, it is your basic programming and can never be changed.
This program was designed to mess with children's ability to learn, I would love to have the money to do research on all those who was taught this way and to look at what careers they ended up in.
Wow this is strange to see how many parts of the world used this, I was taught in Millbrae California in kinder and first grade, but I remember no two vowels in any word and no two letters to make one sound. I must have blocked out the special alaphabet as I do not remember that. I have a hard time reading and can not spell. I will say that when we reached high school almost all of my kinder class were back together in a special English class as we were so far behind. I was amazed when a boss of mine more than 15 years my younger had been taught ITA as I thought the state would have dumped it after we all failed. I did not go to college because I struggled so with English, spelling, and reading. Yes that meant I never was able to land a good paying job or career. I can not believe that today their are still schools teaching it and that the organization that promotes it is still around. Please if you gave a child that is being taught this pull them and if you have to home school them, it is cruel to teach this and continue to use children as experiments. My class is living proof that it failed as well as most of those whom have posted here.
I was taught ita at primary school in the 1960s and found it really easy. We switched at the age of seven to (if I remember rightly the green and blue books from number one onwards) spelling was really forced onto us on a daily basis and the switch over was quite simple. We where taught to change the sound symbol to a letter. Personally and talking to friends I started school with, we never had a problem with it. We all found reading and spelling no problem at all.
Hi All, I was taught ITA from the age of 4 to 7 (1963-66)near Preston Lancashire. It was strange as there was a normal alphabet displayed on the wall around the class room! Then we had to read miss spelt words with upside down and back to back letters. We had Janet and John books to read. First problem was my parents could not help me as they could not read them nor my older brother and sisters! We moved and I went to a new school and was considered almost backward as I could not read! I was stuck like this for a year until the age off 8 when I'd been stuck on Blue Book one for most if the year and when lined up waiting to read to the teacher the girl in front of me who was on Green Book 6 (12 books ahead of me) and I could read it. Told the teacher I could read that, the disbelief was written all over her face! but she gave me a go and that was the day I could finally read, at the age of 8! Mr Pittman should have been hung out to dry in my opinion. I still cannot spell as I spell things how they sound, still to this day.The school dropped ITA just after I left as I think they realised it was causing more damage than good.
Adrian
Oh my ITA. I received 3years of this in 70s at Drumlandrig school in Hawick….Scottish Borders.
It was some time after those 3yrs that I became able to spell correctly!
We were discouraged from reading 'normal books at home which in hindsight was crazy.
I was in 3rd grade in 1977-78 and we had one class learning in ITA and another in common Alphabet. We had notes sent home to see if our parents were on board with us learning this new method. I remember the kids in my class got called out once a day for ITA I was so sad I couldn't go. My mother was a school teacher in a different district so I never attended school where she taught, but I remember her answer to that note. Hell no! They are not going to teach you how to spell wrong! I'll be damned if they are gonna start teaching a new alphabet and confuse you after learning standard for 3 years. I am glad that she did now that I am older. I have always been able to spell just about anything and I read pretty fast. I have heard many people that took ITA have difficulty still. Thanks Mom
How about the invented spelling that was in place for Grade 1 students in the early 2000s (here in Alberta, Canada, anyway). These kids were allowed to spell however they wanted so as not to stifle their writing creativity. Us parents who were questioning it were told that the proper spelling would come later. Well, it didn’t, and after that they started learning on computers with spell check. It’s taken many years for my girls to learn decent spelling, and it had to become important to them first.
Spelling? what abowt pronunsiashun?