Right To Read
Right to Read Manitoba
If you or your child has struggled or is struggling in school to learn to read, for supports and interventions, please consider Joining the Right to Read Manitoba movement. We want your voices heard.
"A quill represents literacy (reading, reading comprehension, spelling, written expression, and math) along with freedom that comes with being functionally literate."
For Marin
Marin's Principle - Right to Literacy
Please considered signing the following petition and sharing it.
Students who struggle due to neurodivergent disabilities deserve instruction and therapy (for mental harm) paid for so that they can become confident, functionally literate citizens.
Select link below to be directed to the petition.
For the petition to be read to you, please select "Read Aloud" button.
UpDate from the Manitoba Human Rights CommisSion
Due to the delays of the Manitoba Human Rights Commission's Right to Read, also because orthographic dyslexia, dysraphia, and dyscalculia were excluded, there was an independent complaint.
Please consider fillout and signing this petition.
- “To get 700 responses from Manitobans, for us, affirmed that this is an important issue for folks in our communities,” Sharma said. “And so far, as we’ve been looking at and coding the data, we have been surprised by the stories that we’re hearing.”
- The responses that have stuck with her are ones shared by individuals who have a high school diploma yet never truly learned how to read, resulting in “downstream impacts” on their post-graduation lives.
- Following a literature review, the commission collected wide-ranging surveys from students, caregivers, teachers, administrators and other stakeholders who have taught or supported students with reading disabilities.
- The next-phase — in-person and virtual public forums — has been pushed back from the fall. No dates have been set, but the MHRC is planning to host hearings before the current school year wraps up and conclude the initiative with a series of stakeholder-specific consultations.
- The probe is long overdue for Twila Richards, a teacher who has a child with a dyslexia diagnosis and has personally grappled with learning disabilities.
- “I’m beyond frustrated,” said the advocate who first approached the commission almost seven years ago with concerns about gaps in reading instruction.'
- No one has been contacted by MB HRC since July 18, 2024.
Drill to Skill: Keep Practicing Like Hockey Players
In December 2023, my daughter and I met Chicago Blackhawk players. We started talking. When I mentioned that I teach students who struggle to read and spell with dyslexia, one player pointed to another and stated, "He does, too." The player that was outed drooped. I looked at him and said, "I tell my students to keep practising like hockey players." With that, he stood up and smiled.
Get involved
Join the Movement
You can submit a written submission. Your submission should tell us about your views related to the potential human rights issues affecting students with reading disabilities in Manitoba’s schools. This would be an independent submission. Please state Right to Read in Manitoba.
The Manitoba Human Rights Commission / La Commission des droits de la personne du ManitobaRue 700 - 175 Hargrave StreetWinnipeg, MB R3C 3R8
Email/Courriel: hrc@gov.mb.ca
The Manitoba Human Rights Commission / La Commission des droits de la personne du ManitobaRue 700 - 175 Hargrave StreetWinnipeg, MB R3C 3R8
Email/Courriel: hrc@gov.mb.ca
Teaching with Orton-Gillingham knowledge (structured literacy) and methods will help all students learn to read, spell, write, and comprehend.
Twila Richards wrote to the MB-HRC in 2020 with a group of concerned parents. This is a parent and individual initiative. They have asked MB-HRC to inquire into literacy in Manitoba, especially for students with specific learning disabilities: dyslexia, dysgraphia, and/or dyscalculia, and autism.
Please note: Although this is a parent and individual movement, teachers are also welcome.
On October 21, 2022, the Right to Read was declared in Manitoba. Karen Sharma, A/Executive Director MB-HRC made the announcement and then joined Twila Richards in the evening to present this unique initiative at the Forks near the Winnipeg sign.
Please note: Although this is a parent and individual movement, teachers are also welcome.
On October 21, 2022, the Right to Read was declared in Manitoba. Karen Sharma, A/Executive Director MB-HRC made the announcement and then joined Twila Richards in the evening to present this unique initiative at the Forks near the Winnipeg sign.
Hear a section of Karen Sharma's speech in the below link:
47:25 minute mark for the Video Below
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We, dyslexic people, all learn differently. It just takes patience and time and more to learn."
Grade 11 Student
Education is a human right for everyone; all Manitobans deserve the right to be literate."
Twila Richards
" I have grandchild with dyslexia and autism who are in grade 12. They have not received any specialized help with reading or school work. We feel let down by schools not having teachers with specialized training in the Orton Gillingham methods."
Grandparent
"...Manitoba is systematically failing many students with reading disabilities. When will the government act to provide the funding and the approach so that students with learning disabilities are not missed and so they are diagnosed early and be given adequate help to be able to learn to read?"
Hon. Jon Gerrard
Honourable Jon Gerrard
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Question Period
So many students with phonological and orthographic deficits are functionally illiterate or literate. The first sentence, “All students have the right to learn to read...” and then having the reading disability voices excluded from this document and having references that encourage doubt about their needs is disheartening. We encourage parents, individuals, and teachers to investigate the references. Teachers, we advocate for you and wish you have a document to help you understand learning disabilities and give you much-needed support.
Right to Read Manitoba encourages you to read the links on the reference pages.
https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/docs/guide_principle_approp_read_instr.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1TjRwoipKLh4O_sZIpeejp6R-vN8dCCwCQYHWZe80RMbOhuN21SCHP8_Q