Beverley Paine

Sandra wrote:
I was surprised to discover, late in my life, (or halfway through maybe <g>) how much our attitude toward books has changed and should change. They're given way too much glory. I'm collecting ideas about that here:
http://sandradodd.com/bookworship
http://sandradodd.com/books

I've also written on this topic in my book Learning in the Absence of Education:
"What is all the Fuss about Reading (Fiction) Anyway!"

My youngest son always seemed to know what he wanted to say, even as a tiny tot, but didn't have the vocabulary and would quickly get into a rage. His reading and writing skill development was delayed and he began reading 'for real' by about age ten. His learning journey made me realise how the emphasis on reading story books can harm emergent readers.

Maybe this emphasis on learning to read using fiction derives from the practice of reading the Bible - because it was the only book most families had a few hundred years ago and just about everyone learned to read by reading the Bible. Maybe somehow the whole idea was corrupted and educators figured that any old story would do... And then it became that stories were the best way to encourage reading, and now a whole publishing industry is built upon that premise.



wishing you peace and prosperity,
Beverley Paine

http://homeschoolaustralia.beverleypaine.com and
Always Learning Books - www.alwayslearningbooks.com.au
PO Box 371, Yankalilla 5203 South Australia

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