Dr. Richard L. "Dick" Allington
Presented by: Annette Ketter
About Dr. Allington
Image from: http://www.teachersread.net/about-dr-allington
Philosophical Beliefs
Dr. Allington believes that "every child can and must be literate" (McGill-Franzen & Allington, 1991). Allington also believes that, for the most part, middle school students do not receive effective reading instruction (Allington, 2011). Allington also posits "students cannot learn much from books they cannot read accurately, fluently, and with understanding" (as cited in Allington, 2011, p. 12). In addition to presenting students with texts they are capable of reading, Allington also recommends "presenting students with texts they might want to read" (Allington, 2011, p. 13). Allington also believes that "the quality of classroom instruction the students receive is the most important aspect of schooling" (Allington, 2011, p. 13). Allington advocates for more time for children to read in school. He wrote, “Children too rarely spend any sustained school time just reading (by sustained I mean 30-60 minutes or more)” (Allington, 1994, p. 171).
Contribution to the Field/Influence on Reading Instruction
Dr. Allington demonstrates his leadership in literacy through his involvement in several literacy organizations. He was President of the National Reading Conference and the International Reading Association. He has also served on the editorial advisory boards for several professional reading journals (www.teachersread.net, n.d.).
Resources
About Dr. Richard Allington. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.teachersread.net/about-dr-allington
Allington, R. L. (2011). Reading intervention in the middle grades. Voices from the Middle, 19(2), 10-16.
Allington, R. L. (2007). Intervention all day long: New hope for struggling readers. Voices from the Middle, 14(4), 7-14).
Allington, R. L. (1994). The schools we have. The schools we need. In Padak, N. D., Rasinski, T., Peck, J. K. (and others). (Eds.). (2000). Distinguished educators on reading: Contributions that have shaped effective literacy instruction (pp. 164-181). Newark, DE: International Reading Association, Inc.
McGill-Franzen, A., & Allington, R. L. (1991). Every child’s right: Literacy. The Reading Teacher, 45(2), 86-90.
Padak, N. D., Rasinski, T., Peck, J. K. (and others). (Eds.). (2000). Distinguished educators on reading: Contributions that have shaped effective literacy instruction (pp. 162-163). Newark, DE: International Reading Association, Inc.
Richard Allington, Ph.D. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://web.utk.edu/~tpte/faculty/rallington.html