Read to your child, and encourage them to read, this Summer

Summer Reading Broad Generalizations

(This is a retread of a post from last year – but is apropos as this Summer falls upon us) 

 

This comment struck an odd chord on reading – in the Washington Post’s ”Extra Credit” column of June 21, 2007; a public school teacher talks about not having the same luxury as parents to work one-on-one with a child, or the luxury of schools where all students have a common focus such as college preparation. That’s fair enough (and very obvious, stepping in most classrooms with nearly 30 students), but the editor’s response was a little disconcerting.

Mr. Mathews says “you don’t need to worry much about the college-prep students. Their parents will make sure they are reading. That might leave you more time for some helpful one-on-one with children whose parents are too busy paying the rent to give reading the attention it needs”. On the very surface, this sounds directionally accurate – but it didn’t take much consideration to note this comment as a sweeping generalization too often proven unfounded.

College-prep students, for example, very often are utterly self-motivated, or come from environments where both parents are working several jobs to pay the rent AND make sure their children receive every advantage offered, including Virginia private school. (College-prep happens in public schools too, by the way). I wouldn’t relegate so quickly “parents who are too busy paying the rent” to the heap of those “disinterested and uninvolved in helping their children to read”.

Also, “too busy” is no excuse, in my opinion – there ALWAYS is another 10 or 20 minutes in a day to read to your child, or point out some spelling words, etc. Look hard, adjust personal priorities, cut down on the TV.

Read to your child – they’re teenagers so soon, and you’ll wish forever for more time with them.

‘Nuff said.