readiness to read

A series of editorials in the New York Times addresses the question "what is school for?" And we must admit that it serves a variety of functions in today's world, ranging all the way from baby sitter to preparing our children for a future that's completely unknown to us. One essay insisted that School is about teaching kids to read. 

When it comes to kids reading in school, some read as early as 4 years old, having read most of the beginning reading books in the library at age 5, and some are reluctant readers, and I suggest that we back way the hell off. 

In the US we begin applying pressure to read in Kindergarten. In Finland they begin formal reading in schools at about age 8. When tested in the PISA test which compares education in various countries at age 15, the Finns beat American students by a significant margin in 30% less time. In Finland, the beginning years of education are for getting the children connected, socialized, and physically active in ways that develop both mind and body.

When my mother was trained as a Kindergarten teacher, she was taught to observe signs of reading readiness. For instance, if a child could skip it suggested a readiness to begin reading. If not, it suggested that they child had not developed sufficiently in mind/body integration to read, and to apply pressure to read would not only be time wasted, but could be detrimental to the child, causing resistance to read... A costly thing to their educations and futures... a costly thing that school districts spend millions of dollars to overcome.

The simple solution is to dial back on the pressures to read, allow children to play, learn through play, be physically active in response to their learning needs. Kids actually do better at reading when they have things worth writing about.

Make, fix and create... Assist others in learning likewise.