Writers write. And the whole process seems pointless unless readers read what they write. And how can writers write unless they’re readers, too? So no one should be surprised that writers write about reading and readers. Here’s some of what they’ve had to say:
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The coronavirus pandemic has cast parents unwillingly into the role of teacher. Except for parents who were homeschooling anyway, it can be an uncomfortable experience. Parents haven’t studied the curriculum or the techniques of teaching. When it comes to teaching your child to read, however, not knowing current reading theory is an advantage. I am not a teacher, but I was married to an elementary school teacher for more than 20 years. I saw firsthand how state standards interfere with teaching reading or anything else. What’s more, my own teachers drilled spelling, vocabulary, and grammar in ways our teacher training institutions no longer encourage. And I am learning that scientific research has verified that current methods of teaching children to read don’t work. Unfortunately, schools of education haven’t kept up.
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Early childhood literacy matters. Academic success depends on reading, yet nearly one and five school children have trouble reading. The 1000 Books Before Kindergarten challenge was founded to jumpstart early childhood literacy. It encourages reading to children. According to the University of Virginia’s Kindergarten Readiness Program, as many as 34% of children are unprepared to start kindergarten. They lack at least one of four critical learning domains: literacy, mathematics, self-regulation, and social skills. Formal education in this country doesn’t begin until children start kindergarten when they’re 5. That is too late to start learning. Parents and other caregivers take care of children in the critical first five years of life. Few have any teacher training, but all of them influence a child’s development for better or worse. Children learn to speak by hearing others speak to them. The more words they hear, the easier it will be to learn a large working vocabulary. In the same way, the more someone reads to them, the easier it will be for them to learn to read. When parents speak to their babies a lot and read to them, it promotes not only learning once they get to school. It also helps with … Continue reading →
Now that summer is here, it’s time for summer reading programs. Do they do what they’re supposed to? Our school calendar is well suited to the middle and late nineteenth century. Back then, nearly everyone lived on farms. Farmers needed their children to work in the fields during the summer. So schools took the summer off to accommodate them. Now, of course, most people live in cities or suburbs. Children no longer have to help their parents on the farm. But schools still take the summer off. Students who don’t read during the summer lose some of their reading ability—the dreaded summer slide. Now, the students may not dread it, but stagnating or declining abilities make the start of school in the fall more difficult than it needs to be.
Continue reading →Have we become such a post-literate society that it even extends to how we use libraries? I just read another tiresome puff piece about how the library isn’t obsolete. This one especially highlights how millennials (people ages 18-35) visit the library more than any other generation. But do they read? The article gives only passing notice to books. I don’t find “read” or related words anywhere in the article.
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