Reading
Mary E Gates
Jim Trelease has done research, written several books, and has a website
on reading. He comes from a "schooling" perspective, but mentions many
points that I believe support an unschooling viewpoint. One of his
points is that many people don't enjoy reading because of 12 years of
being told what to read and then having to write reports on it! I heard
him speak last spring and my write-up of that follows. Feel free to skip
it and go straight to his website: http://www.trelease-on-reading.com
Jim Trelease, author of The Read Aloud Handbook, entertained and
motivated a small audience of parents and educators in Kennewick on the
subject of reading aloud to children. His presentation focused on the
idea that reading skills are critical to success in school and beyond and
suggested ways to make reading aloud part of your family's lifestyle.
Trelease was honored by the International Reading Association as one of
eight people who made the largest contributions to reading in the 1980's.
Besides his New Read-Aloud Handbook, Trelease is also the author of Hey!
Listen to This: Stories to Read Aloud, and Read All About It!: Great
Read-Aloud Stories, Poems, and Newspaper Pieces for Preteens and Teens.
As with most activities, children improve their reading skills by �
reading! At first, children learn to read. Then they read to learn.
Trelease says that self-education begins with the knowledge that you can
read whatever you want for your own purposes. Yet many children associate
reading with work, rather than pleasure.
Reading aloud to your child gives your child background knowledge of the
world, provides the child with a "reading role model", and conditions the
child to associate reading with pleasure. In Becoming A Nation of
Readers, the Commission on Reading reports, "The single most important
activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in
reading is reading aloud to children." Trelease stressed that reading
aloud should continue even after children learn to read for themselves.
A child's ability to listen exceeds his ability to read, often by several
grade levels. In print, language is more complicated and sophisticated
than in speech. So by reading aloud to a child, you increase the
exposure to words and styles of grammar not usually encountered in daily
conversations. While The Reading Foundation is encouraging parents to
read to their children 20 minutes a day, Trelease goes further, calling
for at least 30 to 45 minutes every day.
He didn't insist that you throw out your TV, but Trelease did suggest
that controlling your child's viewing habits would make a difference.
Trelease presented graphs showing the correlation between the number of
hours eighth graders watched TV and their scores on reading tests. As
you might expect, more TV viewing was linked with lower test scores.
There was a similar relation between TV viewing and math scores. One
curious anomaly was found in Finland. These eighth graders watched many
hours of television and had high reading scores. Upon closer
examination, it was found that 50% of television shows in Finland are
imported and these foreign shows are broadcast with Finnish subtitles. In
effect, these children were actually reading their TV! Trelease pointed
out that you could mimic this by setting your TV to "close captioned" and
turning off the volume.
Forget the worksheets and expensive phonics programs, Trelease said.
These do not motivate kids to read. He suggested that you spend your
money instead on the "3 B's", to complement the "3 R's" of schooling:
�(1) Books as gifts. Bookstores, yard sales, and the Internet are all
sources of books to enjoy. Trelease made a joke of comparing a new $12
copy of Charlotte's Web with one found at a yard sale for 25 cents.
"They have the same words!" he said.
�(2) Book Baskets. Trelease recommended that parents put baskets of books
anywhere in the house where children may be a captive audience, such as
the bathroom or the dining table. He said we shouldn't worry about
"messing up" a book when the important thing is to encourage reading.
�(3) Bed lamps. According to leading opthomologists, Trelease said, it
is physically impossible to ruin your eyes by reading in bed!
The inspiring presentation wound up with suggestions of many wonderful
books to read aloud. In the Read Aloud Handbook, Trelease lists 1400
titles ranging from wordless picture books to chapter books. He pointed
out that many of our popular stories come from more than one country.
Reading several versions of a story can enlarge your child's view of the
world. You can visit Trelease on the web at:
http://www.trelease-on-reading.com
Mary Ellen
Life's too mysterious...
don't take it serious!
on reading. He comes from a "schooling" perspective, but mentions many
points that I believe support an unschooling viewpoint. One of his
points is that many people don't enjoy reading because of 12 years of
being told what to read and then having to write reports on it! I heard
him speak last spring and my write-up of that follows. Feel free to skip
it and go straight to his website: http://www.trelease-on-reading.com
Jim Trelease, author of The Read Aloud Handbook, entertained and
motivated a small audience of parents and educators in Kennewick on the
subject of reading aloud to children. His presentation focused on the
idea that reading skills are critical to success in school and beyond and
suggested ways to make reading aloud part of your family's lifestyle.
Trelease was honored by the International Reading Association as one of
eight people who made the largest contributions to reading in the 1980's.
Besides his New Read-Aloud Handbook, Trelease is also the author of Hey!
Listen to This: Stories to Read Aloud, and Read All About It!: Great
Read-Aloud Stories, Poems, and Newspaper Pieces for Preteens and Teens.
As with most activities, children improve their reading skills by �
reading! At first, children learn to read. Then they read to learn.
Trelease says that self-education begins with the knowledge that you can
read whatever you want for your own purposes. Yet many children associate
reading with work, rather than pleasure.
Reading aloud to your child gives your child background knowledge of the
world, provides the child with a "reading role model", and conditions the
child to associate reading with pleasure. In Becoming A Nation of
Readers, the Commission on Reading reports, "The single most important
activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in
reading is reading aloud to children." Trelease stressed that reading
aloud should continue even after children learn to read for themselves.
A child's ability to listen exceeds his ability to read, often by several
grade levels. In print, language is more complicated and sophisticated
than in speech. So by reading aloud to a child, you increase the
exposure to words and styles of grammar not usually encountered in daily
conversations. While The Reading Foundation is encouraging parents to
read to their children 20 minutes a day, Trelease goes further, calling
for at least 30 to 45 minutes every day.
He didn't insist that you throw out your TV, but Trelease did suggest
that controlling your child's viewing habits would make a difference.
Trelease presented graphs showing the correlation between the number of
hours eighth graders watched TV and their scores on reading tests. As
you might expect, more TV viewing was linked with lower test scores.
There was a similar relation between TV viewing and math scores. One
curious anomaly was found in Finland. These eighth graders watched many
hours of television and had high reading scores. Upon closer
examination, it was found that 50% of television shows in Finland are
imported and these foreign shows are broadcast with Finnish subtitles. In
effect, these children were actually reading their TV! Trelease pointed
out that you could mimic this by setting your TV to "close captioned" and
turning off the volume.
Forget the worksheets and expensive phonics programs, Trelease said.
These do not motivate kids to read. He suggested that you spend your
money instead on the "3 B's", to complement the "3 R's" of schooling:
�(1) Books as gifts. Bookstores, yard sales, and the Internet are all
sources of books to enjoy. Trelease made a joke of comparing a new $12
copy of Charlotte's Web with one found at a yard sale for 25 cents.
"They have the same words!" he said.
�(2) Book Baskets. Trelease recommended that parents put baskets of books
anywhere in the house where children may be a captive audience, such as
the bathroom or the dining table. He said we shouldn't worry about
"messing up" a book when the important thing is to encourage reading.
�(3) Bed lamps. According to leading opthomologists, Trelease said, it
is physically impossible to ruin your eyes by reading in bed!
The inspiring presentation wound up with suggestions of many wonderful
books to read aloud. In the Read Aloud Handbook, Trelease lists 1400
titles ranging from wordless picture books to chapter books. He pointed
out that many of our popular stories come from more than one country.
Reading several versions of a story can enlarge your child's view of the
world. You can visit Trelease on the web at:
http://www.trelease-on-reading.com
Mary Ellen
Life's too mysterious...
don't take it serious!
[email protected]
In a message dated 08/14/1999 11:04:53 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
megates@... writes:
<< One of his
points is that many people don't enjoy reading because of 12 years of
being told what to read and then having to write reports on it! >>
Boy, is this true!! I never enjoyed reading until after I was out of
school...now I'm a total bookworm!
Sam
megates@... writes:
<< One of his
points is that many people don't enjoy reading because of 12 years of
being told what to read and then having to write reports on it! >>
Boy, is this true!! I never enjoyed reading until after I was out of
school...now I'm a total bookworm!
Sam
Sherry Hagen
Hi folks,
My son is 6 years old and shows little interest in reading yet. He's
much more curious about numbers. I'm not concerned, some grandparents
are a bit. There are so many ways to learn besides reading. I'll
probably start getting anxious if he doesn't show interest by next
year. But then again I know another friend who said her daughter was
too busy jumping over couches till age 8 and by 8 1/2 she was all caught
up to her "peers".
On Mondays we are volunteering for an hour or so to pet and play with
cats at an animal shelter. We might walk small dogs too. We also help
at a birthday party at a nursing home once a month. Does anyone else do
volunteer work?
Sherry
From Upper Michigan
My son is 6 years old and shows little interest in reading yet. He's
much more curious about numbers. I'm not concerned, some grandparents
are a bit. There are so many ways to learn besides reading. I'll
probably start getting anxious if he doesn't show interest by next
year. But then again I know another friend who said her daughter was
too busy jumping over couches till age 8 and by 8 1/2 she was all caught
up to her "peers".
On Mondays we are volunteering for an hour or so to pet and play with
cats at an animal shelter. We might walk small dogs too. We also help
at a birthday party at a nursing home once a month. Does anyone else do
volunteer work?
Sherry
From Upper Michigan
Valerie
My son is 6 years old and shows little interest in reading yet. He's
much more curious about numbers. I'm not concerned, some grandparents
are a bit. There are so many ways to learn besides reading. I'll
probably start getting anxious if he doesn't show interest by next
year.
**Sherry, please don't worry next year if your son still isn't interested.
He may not be ready physically. If you haven't read anything by the Moores,
I'd suggest it. The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook is good. Also, you
could read Homeschooling for Excellence by the Colfaxes, whose son didn't
learn to read until 9 but was reading at college level in 2 years and then
went on to Harvard.
On Mondays we are volunteering for an hour or so to pet and play with
cats at an animal shelter. We might walk small dogs too. We also help
at a birthday party at a nursing home once a month. Does anyone else do
volunteer work?
**This sounds like very cool volunteer work. We do a lot of different
things. There's always something happening through our church. We just
finished a Habitat for Humanity project. Built 5 houses in 5 days, all on
one street. There's the "Lutheran House" the "Presbyterian House", etc. For
this project, we just collected our change. My 2 yo isn't ready for
carpentry. We make get-well letters for people we know and for some we just
hear about. We make goodies for nursing homes. We sponsor kids at Christmas.
(I esp like the one through Samaritan's Purse, where you fill a shoebox with
goodies with a boy or girl of a certain age in mind and these boxes are sent
all over the world to kids who wouldn't otherwise receive anything). We also
sponsor 2 sisters in Peru through World Vision. My 2 older girls are in 4-H.
They do yard clean-up for disabled people, food drives, park maintenance,
where ever they see a need they try to fill it. Sometimes we have a "Clean
the World Day" where we go out for a stroll and don't come home until we
fill several bags with trash. (Today might be a good day for that...hmmmm) I
can't even think of all the service things we do. It's just a way of life.
And that's how I want the kids to look at it, also.
---Valerie
much more curious about numbers. I'm not concerned, some grandparents
are a bit. There are so many ways to learn besides reading. I'll
probably start getting anxious if he doesn't show interest by next
year.
**Sherry, please don't worry next year if your son still isn't interested.
He may not be ready physically. If you haven't read anything by the Moores,
I'd suggest it. The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook is good. Also, you
could read Homeschooling for Excellence by the Colfaxes, whose son didn't
learn to read until 9 but was reading at college level in 2 years and then
went on to Harvard.
On Mondays we are volunteering for an hour or so to pet and play with
cats at an animal shelter. We might walk small dogs too. We also help
at a birthday party at a nursing home once a month. Does anyone else do
volunteer work?
**This sounds like very cool volunteer work. We do a lot of different
things. There's always something happening through our church. We just
finished a Habitat for Humanity project. Built 5 houses in 5 days, all on
one street. There's the "Lutheran House" the "Presbyterian House", etc. For
this project, we just collected our change. My 2 yo isn't ready for
carpentry. We make get-well letters for people we know and for some we just
hear about. We make goodies for nursing homes. We sponsor kids at Christmas.
(I esp like the one through Samaritan's Purse, where you fill a shoebox with
goodies with a boy or girl of a certain age in mind and these boxes are sent
all over the world to kids who wouldn't otherwise receive anything). We also
sponsor 2 sisters in Peru through World Vision. My 2 older girls are in 4-H.
They do yard clean-up for disabled people, food drives, park maintenance,
where ever they see a need they try to fill it. Sometimes we have a "Clean
the World Day" where we go out for a stroll and don't come home until we
fill several bags with trash. (Today might be a good day for that...hmmmm) I
can't even think of all the service things we do. It's just a way of life.
And that's how I want the kids to look at it, also.
---Valerie
Susan (mother to 5 in Fla)
<<<On Mondays we are volunteering for an hour or so to pet and play with
<<cats at an animal shelter. We might walk small dogs too. We also help
<<at a birthday party at a nursing home once a month. Does anyone else do
<<volunteer work?
We don't volunteer. But my mother has Alzheimers & I've put her in an
assisted living facility. The kids (7,4&2) go with me every week to visit
her. The kids are usually very well behaved (avoid their nap times - bad
timing) & a hit with the other residents. I wasn't sure how mine would
respond. I remember visiting my grandfather when I was 5 or 6 in a VA
hospital & being scared. The kids at first were shy but after a few visits
they were giving hugs to lots of the ladies & shaking hands with the men.
DD says it's like she's taking the place of their grandchildren who must
live too far away to visit. DS 4 is shy off & on & doesn't like it when his
grandma doesn't know him. DS 2 loves the attention from everyone.
The sad part is my parents never had time to spend with the kids when they
were well. My father died 2 yrs ago & mom was with Alzheimers enough for me
to get guardianship a year later. So this has been a great time for them.
Even though she's lost parts of her memory she's sweet with them, gives them
lots of attention, talks to them & hugs them. Something she was slow to do
even when I was growing up. (Do you think it had anything to do with her
being a ps teacher?)
Ok off the soap box.
<<cats at an animal shelter. We might walk small dogs too. We also help
<<at a birthday party at a nursing home once a month. Does anyone else do
<<volunteer work?
We don't volunteer. But my mother has Alzheimers & I've put her in an
assisted living facility. The kids (7,4&2) go with me every week to visit
her. The kids are usually very well behaved (avoid their nap times - bad
timing) & a hit with the other residents. I wasn't sure how mine would
respond. I remember visiting my grandfather when I was 5 or 6 in a VA
hospital & being scared. The kids at first were shy but after a few visits
they were giving hugs to lots of the ladies & shaking hands with the men.
DD says it's like she's taking the place of their grandchildren who must
live too far away to visit. DS 4 is shy off & on & doesn't like it when his
grandma doesn't know him. DS 2 loves the attention from everyone.
The sad part is my parents never had time to spend with the kids when they
were well. My father died 2 yrs ago & mom was with Alzheimers enough for me
to get guardianship a year later. So this has been a great time for them.
Even though she's lost parts of her memory she's sweet with them, gives them
lots of attention, talks to them & hugs them. Something she was slow to do
even when I was growing up. (Do you think it had anything to do with her
being a ps teacher?)
Ok off the soap box.
[email protected]
In a message dated 8/19/01 6:19:19 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[email protected] writes:
reads somewhere around the end of second grade level, based on the level of
the books she reads (we don't test or do formal reading curriculum)
Renee
This email is a natural product
made from recycled electrons. The
slight variations in spelling and
grammar enhance its individual
character and beauty and in no way
are to be considered flaws or
defects. Any errors in tact or
fact are transmission errors.
~Karris
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected] writes:
> Does your dd sound words out also? I feel this is important and I want toShe didn't then, but she does now. They need to do both. She's six now and
> pass it along to my dd.
>
>
reads somewhere around the end of second grade level, based on the level of
the books she reads (we don't test or do formal reading curriculum)
Renee
This email is a natural product
made from recycled electrons. The
slight variations in spelling and
grammar enhance its individual
character and beauty and in no way
are to be considered flaws or
defects. Any errors in tact or
fact are transmission errors.
~Karris
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 08/19/2001 2:20:46 PM !!!First Boot!!!, bach2yoga@...
writes:
Nance
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
writes:
> This email is a natural productLOL!!!!!!!
> made from recycled electrons. The
> slight variations in spelling and
> grammar enhance its individual
> character and beauty and in no way
> are to be considered flaws or
> defects. Any errors in tact or
> fact are transmission errors.
> ~Karris
>
>
>
Nance
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Bridget E Coffman
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 22:38:21 EDT From: brendaclaspell@...
Subject: Question about reading
Don't tell him what you are doing or why. But probably he will follow
too. If he doesn't, don't worry about it but keep doing it. Don't stop
or interrupt the story, just trail that finger along.
Bridget
~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~
Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought
- Henri Bergson
Subject: Question about reading
> With reading, is it something for them to just pick up entirely ontheir own,
> or should I point stuff out? I mean we read a lot of books, but Idon't
> really try to focus on him getting the words or reading or anything.I've
> sort of been of the opinion that when he wants to or is ready, he'llstart on
> his own. It just hit me tonight that maybe I should be pointing outwords
> more or 'trying' to get him to notice small words. I think I may havejust
> answered my own question :-), but I could still use a bit ofTry this: When reading to him, follow along the words with your finger.
> feedback.
>
> Brenda
Don't tell him what you are doing or why. But probably he will follow
too. If he doesn't, don't worry about it but keep doing it. Don't stop
or interrupt the story, just trail that finger along.
Bridget
~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~ ~\/~
Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought
- Henri Bergson
Fetteroll
on 9/18/01 10:42 AM, Bridget E Coffman <rumpleteasermom@...> wrote:
I found it awkward and unnatural. It's also okay not to do things that are
on everyone's list of what needs to be done to help a child to read.
I think it's helpful to realize there isn't any one thing that will help him
to read. (Well, except reading things he wants you to read!) It's going to
be a conglomeration of lots of little momentary things that will reinforce
each other. If one thing brings him to an aha moment, it will be resting on
hundreds of other seemingly lesser moments and dozens that were meaningless
because the timing was off. Occasionally one thing will bring a bundle of
them into clarity, but without the bundle, there'd be no aha!
Joyce
> Try this: When reading to him, follow along the words with your finger.Call me slow but I needed someone to say that it was okay *not* to do this.
> Don't tell him what you are doing or why. But probably he will follow
> too. If he doesn't, don't worry about it but keep doing it. Don't stop
> or interrupt the story, just trail that finger along.
I found it awkward and unnatural. It's also okay not to do things that are
on everyone's list of what needs to be done to help a child to read.
I think it's helpful to realize there isn't any one thing that will help him
to read. (Well, except reading things he wants you to read!) It's going to
be a conglomeration of lots of little momentary things that will reinforce
each other. If one thing brings him to an aha moment, it will be resting on
hundreds of other seemingly lesser moments and dozens that were meaningless
because the timing was off. Occasionally one thing will bring a bundle of
them into clarity, but without the bundle, there'd be no aha!
Joyce
Sharon Rudd
I tried the finger pointing at the words and sounds
thing, too. With all of the children I attempted it
with, 100% asked me, politely, to stop. They all found
it irritating or worse. It didn't seem to have any
affect one way or another on later reading skills or
when they learned to read....or when I found out they
could read. I did it some with everybody....my four
and others. The only consistant element was that I
thought I should try it and nobody liked my finger in
the book. All thought I should have that arm around
them instead.
Sharon
__________________________________________________
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thing, too. With all of the children I attempted it
with, 100% asked me, politely, to stop. They all found
it irritating or worse. It didn't seem to have any
affect one way or another on later reading skills or
when they learned to read....or when I found out they
could read. I did it some with everybody....my four
and others. The only consistant element was that I
thought I should try it and nobody liked my finger in
the book. All thought I should have that arm around
them instead.
Sharon
__________________________________________________
Terrorist Attacks on U.S. - How can you help?
Donate cash, emergency relief information
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LisaBugg
> Try this: When reading to him, follow along the words with your finger.I tried this with all 3 of the children who learned to read at home. All 3
> Don't tell him what you are doing or why. But probably he will follow
> too. If he doesn't, don't worry about it but keep doing it. Don't stop
> or interrupt the story, just trail that finger along.
of them hated it and asked me to stop. Each one of them did go through a
stage where THEY pointed to the words and asked what they were. They would
point to whatever word/sounds they were working on at that time.
I'd much rather say directly, "how about I point to the words as I'm reading
them, would that help?"
Lisa
[email protected]
In a message dated 9/18/01 3:04:40 PM, LisaBugg@... writes:
<< I'd much rather say directly, "how about I point to the words as I'm
reading
them, would that help?" >>
I tried that.
Holly said, "Okay."
Two lines later she said "Mom, I'm not watching your finger. I'm trying to
look at the pictures."
I said, "Okay."
That was the end of that.
Sandra
"Everything counts."
http://expage.com/SandraDoddArticles
http://expage.com/SandraDodd
<< I'd much rather say directly, "how about I point to the words as I'm
reading
them, would that help?" >>
I tried that.
Holly said, "Okay."
Two lines later she said "Mom, I'm not watching your finger. I'm trying to
look at the pictures."
I said, "Okay."
That was the end of that.
Sandra
"Everything counts."
http://expage.com/SandraDoddArticles
http://expage.com/SandraDodd
[email protected]
In a message dated 9/18/01 2:53:28 PM US Eastern Standard Time,
fetteroll@... writes:
will be a number of things and *I'll* catch on what my role is, i.e. when to
offer more or shut up. I have tried the guided finger thing too, and at first
he thought it was funny. And he did it too, for fun. But then he got bored
with it, and irritated when I tried to continue.
Brenda
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
fetteroll@... writes:
> Call me slow but I needed someone to say that it was okay *not* to do this.That really makes a lot of sense. That's sort of what I was feeling, that it
> I found it awkward and unnatural. It's also okay not to do things that are
> on everyone's list of what needs to be done to help a child to read.
>
> I think it's helpful to realize there isn't any one thing that will help him
> to read. (Well, except reading things he wants you to read!) It's going to
> be a conglomeration of lots of little momentary things that will reinforce
> each other. If one thing brings him to an aha moment, it will be resting on
> hundreds of other seemingly lesser moments and dozens that were meaningless
> because the timing was off. Occasionally one thing will bring a bundle of
> them into clarity, but without the bundle, there'd be no aha!
>
> Joyce
>
will be a number of things and *I'll* catch on what my role is, i.e. when to
offer more or shut up. I have tried the guided finger thing too, and at first
he thought it was funny. And he did it too, for fun. But then he got bored
with it, and irritated when I tried to continue.
Brenda
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
Thanks to all for the reading feedback, it really really helps to hear
others' stories. :-)
Brenda
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
others' stories. :-)
Brenda
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
eeoh
If reading is natural, then wouldn't a written language be natural?
What about the Australian aboriginals who survived thousand of years
without "inventing" one?
E.
What about the Australian aboriginals who survived thousand of years
without "inventing" one?
E.
Deniz Martinez
--- In [email protected], eeoh
<elizabethogi@y...> wrote:
up. Again, it all comes down to how we're defining "natural."
Scientifically speaking, speaking is univserally instinctual for the
human species, but coding spoken words into written symbols is not;
that is a cultural invention, one that not all cultures utilize, and
one that manifests itself in different ways amongst the cultures that
do. Some written languages code individual sounds (alphabetic, like
Greek), some code syllables (syllabic, like Ethiopic), some code
partial or whole words, or even entire abstract ideas (logographic,
like Chinese). Then there are of course alternative writing systems
that are invented to serve specific trans-cultural needs (braille,
morse code, etc).
Here is a good website to find out more about the different varieties
of written language:
http://www.omniglot.com/
Cheers,
Deniz
<elizabethogi@y...> wrote:
>I just made this point in my last post, and it's a valid one to bring
> If reading is natural, then wouldn't a written language be
> natural? What about the Australian aboriginals who survived
> thousand of years without "inventing" one?
> E.
up. Again, it all comes down to how we're defining "natural."
Scientifically speaking, speaking is univserally instinctual for the
human species, but coding spoken words into written symbols is not;
that is a cultural invention, one that not all cultures utilize, and
one that manifests itself in different ways amongst the cultures that
do. Some written languages code individual sounds (alphabetic, like
Greek), some code syllables (syllabic, like Ethiopic), some code
partial or whole words, or even entire abstract ideas (logographic,
like Chinese). Then there are of course alternative writing systems
that are invented to serve specific trans-cultural needs (braille,
morse code, etc).
Here is a good website to find out more about the different varieties
of written language:
http://www.omniglot.com/
Cheers,
Deniz
Deniz Martinez
--- In [email protected], "Deniz Martinez"
<denizmartinez@y...> wrote:
must not be working right today. ;)
<denizmartinez@y...> wrote:
>univserally instinctualUh, I meant universally, LOL. My instinctual internal spell-check
must not be working right today. ;)
[email protected]
In a message dated 8/13/03 11:21:24 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
denizmartinez@... writes:
Great posts! And thanx for the links too.
Rhonda
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
denizmartinez@... writes:
> Scientifically speaking, speaking is univserally instinctual for theBravo Deniz.
> human species, but coding spoken words into written symbols is not;
> that is a cultural invention, one that not all cultures utilize, and
> one that manifests itself in different ways amongst the cultures that
> do. Some written languages code individual sounds (alphabetic, like
> Greek), some code syllables (syllabic, like Ethiopic), some code
> partial or whole words, or even entire abstract ideas (logographic,
> like Chinese). Then there are of course alternative writing systems
> that are invented to serve specific trans-cultural needs (braille,
> morse code, etc).
>
> Here is a good website to find out more about the different varieties
> of written language:
>
> http://www.omniglot.com/
>
> Cheers,
> Deniz
>
Great posts! And thanx for the links too.
Rhonda
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 8/13/03 12:21:15 PM, denizmartinez@... writes:
<< > If reading is natural, then wouldn't a written language be
that natural?
It was for them, and I SERIOUSLY doubt, if it's true that they had that skill
as a group, that they were teaching it in classroom settings.
It's not "natural" for streets to be laid out with street names and numbered
houses, yet in every town or city in which human culture has developed such a
system, the residents learn it without having to take a class with a test at
the end. Some people end up needing to prove that they know the system, either
by a test or by practical proof (cab drivers, police officers, ambulance and
fire truck drivers).
<<Scientifically speaking, speaking is univserally instinctual for the
human species, but coding spoken words into written symbols is not;
that is a cultural invention, one that not all cultures utilize, and
one that manifests itself in different ways amongst the cultures that
do. >>
People learn their own cultures naturally.
Sandra
<< > If reading is natural, then wouldn't a written language be
> natural? What about the Australian aboriginals who survivedIt is said that the native Australians could communicate telepathically. Is
> thousand of years without "inventing" one? >>
that natural?
It was for them, and I SERIOUSLY doubt, if it's true that they had that skill
as a group, that they were teaching it in classroom settings.
It's not "natural" for streets to be laid out with street names and numbered
houses, yet in every town or city in which human culture has developed such a
system, the residents learn it without having to take a class with a test at
the end. Some people end up needing to prove that they know the system, either
by a test or by practical proof (cab drivers, police officers, ambulance and
fire truck drivers).
<<Scientifically speaking, speaking is univserally instinctual for the
human species, but coding spoken words into written symbols is not;
that is a cultural invention, one that not all cultures utilize, and
one that manifests itself in different ways amongst the cultures that
do. >>
People learn their own cultures naturally.
Sandra
Deniz Martinez
--- In [email protected], SandraDodd@a... wrote:
term "natural" is being thrown around by different people who are
using it in different contexts. If we're going to use "natural" to
mean what is inherent and normal to a particular culture, then yes,
one could say that it is natural to learn to read in an environment
where reading is the norm. Then again, using that same context, one
can also say that it is natural for young girls in Eastern Turkey to
marry when they are teenagers, because that is the norm there as
well. But is the act of marrying young, and in fact the institution
of marriage itself, a "natural process" in the scientific way that
other people are taking the term to mean? No, it's a cultural
invention, just like writing is. Speaking is biologically natural for
humans, and coupling is biologically natural for humans; reading and
marriage are culturally-specific concepts which may or may not be
natural to a particular human, dependent on what kind of culture the
human is in.
All humans all over the world learn to walk and talk at roughly the
same time. Even babies who are woefully neglected in orphanages
manage to figure out how to at move on their own and at least make
babbling noises even if they're not spoken to. Those are "natural
processes" in the scientific context--they are universally
instinctual human behaviors. One cannot say the same thing about
reading; there is no instinct to specifically read per se, only an
instinct to learn. IF there is written language present in your
environment, then yes, that instinct to learn will probably make
you "naturally" want to learn to read those symbols at some point.
Cheers,
Deniz
> People learn their own cultures naturally.Yes, but again, there is a semantical issue here because this
>
> Sandra
term "natural" is being thrown around by different people who are
using it in different contexts. If we're going to use "natural" to
mean what is inherent and normal to a particular culture, then yes,
one could say that it is natural to learn to read in an environment
where reading is the norm. Then again, using that same context, one
can also say that it is natural for young girls in Eastern Turkey to
marry when they are teenagers, because that is the norm there as
well. But is the act of marrying young, and in fact the institution
of marriage itself, a "natural process" in the scientific way that
other people are taking the term to mean? No, it's a cultural
invention, just like writing is. Speaking is biologically natural for
humans, and coupling is biologically natural for humans; reading and
marriage are culturally-specific concepts which may or may not be
natural to a particular human, dependent on what kind of culture the
human is in.
All humans all over the world learn to walk and talk at roughly the
same time. Even babies who are woefully neglected in orphanages
manage to figure out how to at move on their own and at least make
babbling noises even if they're not spoken to. Those are "natural
processes" in the scientific context--they are universally
instinctual human behaviors. One cannot say the same thing about
reading; there is no instinct to specifically read per se, only an
instinct to learn. IF there is written language present in your
environment, then yes, that instinct to learn will probably make
you "naturally" want to learn to read those symbols at some point.
Cheers,
Deniz
[email protected]
In a message dated 8/13/03 2:00:21 PM, denizmartinez@... writes:
<< Speaking is biologically natural for
humans, and coupling is biologically natural for humans; reading and
marriage are culturally-specific concepts which may or may not be
natural to a particular human, dependent on what kind of culture the
human is in. >>
Someone who's got a really big "nature sense" (the 8th of Gardner's 7
intelligences <bwg>) would do GREAT in some cultures, be a leader! But in modern
American culture, few care about nature sense at all. We have a friend who would
just go insane in a city. His nature sense is his best thing. He was a
smoke-jumper, forest-fire-fighter for years. THERE he is strong and able and
quick and suave, in the forest. In a classroom he's a mess!
Someone who was going to have a harder time learning to read ANYwhere would
do better in an Amazon tribe without any writing. (If he can be born naturally
in that tribe, I mean, not parachuted in in a baby-basket.)
Someone without much artistic sense might have had a hard time writing in
Chinese 500 years ago. Now they have word processing (amazing, with pulldown
menus of similar symbols, I've heard).
<<One cannot say the same thing about
reading; there is no instinct to specifically read per se, only an
instinct to learn. IF there is written language present in your
environment, then yes, that instinct to learn will probably make
you "naturally" want to learn to read those symbols at some point.
severerly disabled, IF the parents aren't pressing a school-style timetable.
There are people who come to unschooling REALLY hoping for people to say,
"OH, sure, no, your kids won't learn naturally. Don't feel bad if you keep
pressing lessons on them."
I'm not willing to help parents cop out on getting to natural learning once
they've expressed a real interest, and I'm not at ALL interested in anyone
diluting the information in this forum by suggesting it won't work for some kids.
Just vaguely making blanket exceptions for vague "disorders" like that is
not productive, and doesn't help the undecided move away from the school.
Sandra
<< Speaking is biologically natural for
humans, and coupling is biologically natural for humans; reading and
marriage are culturally-specific concepts which may or may not be
natural to a particular human, dependent on what kind of culture the
human is in. >>
Someone who's got a really big "nature sense" (the 8th of Gardner's 7
intelligences <bwg>) would do GREAT in some cultures, be a leader! But in modern
American culture, few care about nature sense at all. We have a friend who would
just go insane in a city. His nature sense is his best thing. He was a
smoke-jumper, forest-fire-fighter for years. THERE he is strong and able and
quick and suave, in the forest. In a classroom he's a mess!
Someone who was going to have a harder time learning to read ANYwhere would
do better in an Amazon tribe without any writing. (If he can be born naturally
in that tribe, I mean, not parachuted in in a baby-basket.)
Someone without much artistic sense might have had a hard time writing in
Chinese 500 years ago. Now they have word processing (amazing, with pulldown
menus of similar symbols, I've heard).
<<One cannot say the same thing about
reading; there is no instinct to specifically read per se, only an
instinct to learn. IF there is written language present in your
environment, then yes, that instinct to learn will probably make
you "naturally" want to learn to read those symbols at some point.
>>And that being true, I think reading is accessible to all but the most
severerly disabled, IF the parents aren't pressing a school-style timetable.
There are people who come to unschooling REALLY hoping for people to say,
"OH, sure, no, your kids won't learn naturally. Don't feel bad if you keep
pressing lessons on them."
I'm not willing to help parents cop out on getting to natural learning once
they've expressed a real interest, and I'm not at ALL interested in anyone
diluting the information in this forum by suggesting it won't work for some kids.
Just vaguely making blanket exceptions for vague "disorders" like that is
not productive, and doesn't help the undecided move away from the school.
Sandra
Tia Leschke
> I'm not willing to help parents cop out on getting to natural learningonce
> they've expressed a real interest, and I'm not at ALL interested in anyonesome kids.
> diluting the information in this forum by suggesting it won't work for
> Just vaguely making blanket exceptions for vague "disorders" like that isIt also doesn't help the people who *are* committed to unschooling to hear
> not productive, and doesn't help the undecided move away from the school.
that their later reader might actually have a learning disability which
would make it much harder or impossible. That's what happened with me.
When I brought my worries about reading on another list when Lars was almost
12 and not reading, someone mentioned an unschooling family in which all the
kids turned out to have a learning disability. Apparently the mother felt
horribly guilty for not finding this out until the oldest was 14. Well that
got *this* mother feeling guilty and worried enough to push phonics on a kid
who was probably just about ready to crack reading on his own if I had just
let him. Instead he learned to read but also dislike reading.
Tia
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety." Ben Franklin
leschke@...
[email protected]
In a message dated 8/13/2003 4:21:28 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
SandraDodd@... writes:
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
SandraDodd@... writes:
> Someone without much artistic sense might have had a hard time writing inHuh uh! COOOOL!
> Chinese 500 years ago. Now they have word processing (amazing, with
> pulldown
> menus of similar symbols, I've heard).
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Gary & Lisa Williams
Hi all~
Just wanted to share a few comments on reading. My son is 6 and has been
trying to read since about 4. He has been read to a lot as he has a sister
5 years older. While he was an infant, and toddler he was always listening
in to her stories and as she was older, many books were chapter books. I
say he has been trying to read because he has never been taught, rather
trying on his own accord. At around 4 he would occasionally ask what some
word was on the page...usually a big word like "CRASH" or
"BOOM"...something that was written in bold colors and that I would have
read loud! Or he noticed the McDonald's "M" and wanted to know if that said
"McDonald's" and we would tell him that is the first letter of McDonald's,
etc., etc.
Also around this age he started playing Playstation. He knew long before
this how to put a VCR tape or a computer game in and putting in a CD into
Playstation was no problem. BUT, he could not alway tell which game he
wanted to play if they were all mixed up and out of their cases. He would
get frustrated asking someone to come and help him find such and such. So I
would hear him putting letters to certain games and then I think he started
recognizing the titles and doing phoenetic sounding out. (He knew his
alphabet, letter recognition and most letter sounds from playing computer
games, singing ABC with his sister and watching various TV shows.) After he
mastered telling games apart and really playing them, he wanted to know
details of the game. Like how to get the green sword to work and how much
bonus points was the little guy worth and what did the pop up screen say
about saving his score, etc. So he would have me read these little game
booklets to him over and over and he started to pick up words. Now over the
course of 2 years, he can pretty much read anything. He is still figuring
out that "e" on the end doesn't make a sound and makes one of the letters
change sounds. He doesn't know "vowels" or "rules" but he can figure out
his Playstation booklets!! I think he was able to do this basically on his
own because he had a need and he wanted to know these game hints without
having to wait on me to come and help him. I believe that when people in
general have a need they usually try to fulfill it.
Sorry this is long...just wanted to share another kid's story of learning to
read.
Lisa
Just wanted to share a few comments on reading. My son is 6 and has been
trying to read since about 4. He has been read to a lot as he has a sister
5 years older. While he was an infant, and toddler he was always listening
in to her stories and as she was older, many books were chapter books. I
say he has been trying to read because he has never been taught, rather
trying on his own accord. At around 4 he would occasionally ask what some
word was on the page...usually a big word like "CRASH" or
"BOOM"...something that was written in bold colors and that I would have
read loud! Or he noticed the McDonald's "M" and wanted to know if that said
"McDonald's" and we would tell him that is the first letter of McDonald's,
etc., etc.
Also around this age he started playing Playstation. He knew long before
this how to put a VCR tape or a computer game in and putting in a CD into
Playstation was no problem. BUT, he could not alway tell which game he
wanted to play if they were all mixed up and out of their cases. He would
get frustrated asking someone to come and help him find such and such. So I
would hear him putting letters to certain games and then I think he started
recognizing the titles and doing phoenetic sounding out. (He knew his
alphabet, letter recognition and most letter sounds from playing computer
games, singing ABC with his sister and watching various TV shows.) After he
mastered telling games apart and really playing them, he wanted to know
details of the game. Like how to get the green sword to work and how much
bonus points was the little guy worth and what did the pop up screen say
about saving his score, etc. So he would have me read these little game
booklets to him over and over and he started to pick up words. Now over the
course of 2 years, he can pretty much read anything. He is still figuring
out that "e" on the end doesn't make a sound and makes one of the letters
change sounds. He doesn't know "vowels" or "rules" but he can figure out
his Playstation booklets!! I think he was able to do this basically on his
own because he had a need and he wanted to know these game hints without
having to wait on me to come and help him. I believe that when people in
general have a need they usually try to fulfill it.
Sorry this is long...just wanted to share another kid's story of learning to
read.
Lisa
[email protected]
In a message dated 9/17/2003 4:42:03 PM Central Daylight Time,
glmnw@... writes:
from TV. She loves to be read to, and wants me to points to the words as I read
them. She pointed a letter B on her shirt last week and said, "That's a B, a
B for me!!" (Her name is Brenna) It was kinda a light bulb moment for her. Her
brother was a very early reader and I hear comments from relatives that he
was already reading well by her age, etc, etc....which is just crazy. I love
watching her own personal progress taking its own pace.
Amy Kagey
<A HREF="http://www.ubah.com/ecommerce/default.asp?sid=Z0939&gid=1684902">Free shipping on </A><A HREF="http://www.ubah.com/ecommerce/default.asp?sid=Z0939&gid=1684902">Usborne Books</A> !
Join Usborne for only $29.95 in Sept!
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
glmnw@... writes:
> I think he was able to do this basically on hisThanks for sharing, Lisa! My dd will be 4 in October and knows her ABC song
> own because he had a need and he wanted to know these game hints without
> having to wait on me to come and help him. I believe that when people in
> general have a need they usually try to fulfill it.
> Sorry this is long...just wanted to share another kid's story of learning to
> read.
>
from TV. She loves to be read to, and wants me to points to the words as I read
them. She pointed a letter B on her shirt last week and said, "That's a B, a
B for me!!" (Her name is Brenna) It was kinda a light bulb moment for her. Her
brother was a very early reader and I hear comments from relatives that he
was already reading well by her age, etc, etc....which is just crazy. I love
watching her own personal progress taking its own pace.
Amy Kagey
<A HREF="http://www.ubah.com/ecommerce/default.asp?sid=Z0939&gid=1684902">Free shipping on </A><A HREF="http://www.ubah.com/ecommerce/default.asp?sid=Z0939&gid=1684902">Usborne Books</A> !
Join Usborne for only $29.95 in Sept!
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
aplan4life
I just want to say here, that as a person who once would not let her
reluctant reader ds, read "Harry Potter" that 11yo has read OVER
2500 pages in the past 3 months! I'm not bragging, just saying that
he was never interested in reading, ALTHOUGH, he was reading from
games, magazines, etc. The vocabulary he has picked up and he
remembers spells and such, it just blows me away.
He used to go to Pensacola Christian Academy and they would have
these "contests" and the person who read the most pages would win a
bike or money or something, he never cared enough. The stories were
lame, they couldn't read anything that wasn't Christian, etc. In
his class they had to answer all of these questions on stories that
someone else thought they should remember and he didn't do well on
the comprehension tests... Forget that! He is SOOOOO much happier
now. It just makes my heart melt. When he's bored sometimes he'll
go to a Harry Potter Quiz site, he scores high on the quizzes. I
imagine in public schools there are some pre-set questions and
probably a book report required for Harry Potter.
I brought this up to let everyone know how I am that he is home and
able to enjoy these books, at HIS pace and not in school given "x"
amount of days or weeks to read the book and be tested.
~Sandy Winn
reluctant reader ds, read "Harry Potter" that 11yo has read OVER
2500 pages in the past 3 months! I'm not bragging, just saying that
he was never interested in reading, ALTHOUGH, he was reading from
games, magazines, etc. The vocabulary he has picked up and he
remembers spells and such, it just blows me away.
He used to go to Pensacola Christian Academy and they would have
these "contests" and the person who read the most pages would win a
bike or money or something, he never cared enough. The stories were
lame, they couldn't read anything that wasn't Christian, etc. In
his class they had to answer all of these questions on stories that
someone else thought they should remember and he didn't do well on
the comprehension tests... Forget that! He is SOOOOO much happier
now. It just makes my heart melt. When he's bored sometimes he'll
go to a Harry Potter Quiz site, he scores high on the quizzes. I
imagine in public schools there are some pre-set questions and
probably a book report required for Harry Potter.
I brought this up to let everyone know how I am that he is home and
able to enjoy these books, at HIS pace and not in school given "x"
amount of days or weeks to read the book and be tested.
~Sandy Winn
Ren Allen
My "late-reader" Jared, shared something new with me last night;
Sierra was making up a ticket for the movie we were about to watch.
She wrote "people" as "pippel" and wanted to know the correct spelling.
I told her the correct spelling sounded just as funny phonetically;
Pee-oh-pull. Jared said "I don't say it that way when I see it, I just
see it and know it says people."
I knew he never learned phonics, I knew he just slowly learned what
words said....but I hadn't really thought about it much. I HAD to
learn to say "Pee-oh-pull" in order to spell it correctly year after
year. Sierra has learned in more of a phonics style (asking me what
sounds each letter made and piecing it together over the years) so I
hadn't even thought about what it would be like to just see the whole
word and know.
Just another cool thing that surprised me about the various ways kids
learn to read naturally.
Another thing that took me by surprise is their reading ability.
Sierra started to really TRY reading around 5-6. She did what people
would call "practice", by sitting with early readers and going over
and over them until she became proficient enough to read simple words.
She now reads fluently at age 8.
Jared otoh, never seemed to be interested in the methodology of
reading, he simply followed his passions (things like D&D, video games
and Yu-gi-oh) and as we helped him navigate the words, he picked them up.
He is a fluent reader now at 12. His ability seemed to grow very
quickly, where Sierra's reading journey seemed a slower struggle.
Interestingly enough, for the past several years, she would help him
read. All of the sudden, she is coming to HIM for help. He can read
more difficult words and read longer paragraphs with more flow.
If I'd worried about his ability a year or two ago and tried pushing,
who knows what kind of damage I would have done. He has the
contentedness of knowing he figured it out himself. He never has to
feel "slow" or "less than" because he learned to read at 12, instead of 6.
This isn't anything my life experiences could have prepared me for.
But it's been really cool to watch it unfold.
In that sense, my kids and unschooling ARE a big experiment. I'm so
glad I get to be the observer!!:)
Ren
Sierra was making up a ticket for the movie we were about to watch.
She wrote "people" as "pippel" and wanted to know the correct spelling.
I told her the correct spelling sounded just as funny phonetically;
Pee-oh-pull. Jared said "I don't say it that way when I see it, I just
see it and know it says people."
I knew he never learned phonics, I knew he just slowly learned what
words said....but I hadn't really thought about it much. I HAD to
learn to say "Pee-oh-pull" in order to spell it correctly year after
year. Sierra has learned in more of a phonics style (asking me what
sounds each letter made and piecing it together over the years) so I
hadn't even thought about what it would be like to just see the whole
word and know.
Just another cool thing that surprised me about the various ways kids
learn to read naturally.
Another thing that took me by surprise is their reading ability.
Sierra started to really TRY reading around 5-6. She did what people
would call "practice", by sitting with early readers and going over
and over them until she became proficient enough to read simple words.
She now reads fluently at age 8.
Jared otoh, never seemed to be interested in the methodology of
reading, he simply followed his passions (things like D&D, video games
and Yu-gi-oh) and as we helped him navigate the words, he picked them up.
He is a fluent reader now at 12. His ability seemed to grow very
quickly, where Sierra's reading journey seemed a slower struggle.
Interestingly enough, for the past several years, she would help him
read. All of the sudden, she is coming to HIM for help. He can read
more difficult words and read longer paragraphs with more flow.
If I'd worried about his ability a year or two ago and tried pushing,
who knows what kind of damage I would have done. He has the
contentedness of knowing he figured it out himself. He never has to
feel "slow" or "less than" because he learned to read at 12, instead of 6.
This isn't anything my life experiences could have prepared me for.
But it's been really cool to watch it unfold.
In that sense, my kids and unschooling ARE a big experiment. I'm so
glad I get to be the observer!!:)
Ren
k
I was never good at reading comprehension until about 14 or 15 years
old
even though I read like crazy and loved books, especially biographies
from about 5th grade on. I filled my mind after all with things other
than the usual school fare, mostly forgettable stuff ... especially if
questions and tests were attached.
PCA and Harry Potter. Apparently not a good match. My SIL and BIL
went
to the college version of that school (forget the name?) and they're
very much against HP (warning dh not to expose ds to its evils). I
would have been all over that when I was coming up and I enjoy the
movies. Dh worries about the spell aspect. I think it's great
exercise
in thinking about how one should use power. The kids that star in the
HP series are wonderful to see. They are growing up so fast and the
Harry star looks almost 20 to me already. Very self-assured character
who realistically struggles with things I would only want to
vicariously-- brave fellow! The whole HP atmosphere is fascinating of
course.
I love witch/magic/fairy stories and only the last couple of years
discovered some original Celtic lore which much in that vein sprang
from. I fell into those stories after reading Tolkiens Ring books and
some of the histories connected to the making of. Another thing...
very
uncrunchy of me I suppose-- I love Grimms' Fairy Tales and grew up
reading every one I could get my hands on. Only learned later what
classics they're supposed to be and now they are most decided NOT pc.
Bleh.
Kathe
aplan4life wrote:
Yahoo! FareChase: Search multiple travel sites in one click.
http://farechase.yahoo.com
old
even though I read like crazy and loved books, especially biographies
from about 5th grade on. I filled my mind after all with things other
than the usual school fare, mostly forgettable stuff ... especially if
questions and tests were attached.
PCA and Harry Potter. Apparently not a good match. My SIL and BIL
went
to the college version of that school (forget the name?) and they're
very much against HP (warning dh not to expose ds to its evils). I
would have been all over that when I was coming up and I enjoy the
movies. Dh worries about the spell aspect. I think it's great
exercise
in thinking about how one should use power. The kids that star in the
HP series are wonderful to see. They are growing up so fast and the
Harry star looks almost 20 to me already. Very self-assured character
who realistically struggles with things I would only want to
vicariously-- brave fellow! The whole HP atmosphere is fascinating of
course.
I love witch/magic/fairy stories and only the last couple of years
discovered some original Celtic lore which much in that vein sprang
from. I fell into those stories after reading Tolkiens Ring books and
some of the histories connected to the making of. Another thing...
very
uncrunchy of me I suppose-- I love Grimms' Fairy Tales and grew up
reading every one I could get my hands on. Only learned later what
classics they're supposed to be and now they are most decided NOT pc.
Bleh.
Kathe
aplan4life wrote:
> I just want to say here, that as a person who once would not let her__________________________________
> reluctant reader ds, read "Harry Potter" that 11yo has read OVER
> 2500 pages in the past 3 months! I'm not bragging, just saying that
> he was never interested in reading, ALTHOUGH, he was reading from
> games, magazines, etc. The vocabulary he has picked up and he
> remembers spells and such, it just blows me away.
>
> He used to go to Pensacola Christian Academy and they would have
> these "contests" and the person who read the most pages would win a
> bike or money or something, he never cared enough. The stories were
> lame, they couldn't read anything that wasn't Christian, etc. In
> his class they had to answer all of these questions on stories that
> someone else thought they should remember and he didn't do well on
> the comprehension tests... Forget that! He is SOOOOO much happier
> now. It just makes my heart melt. When he's bored sometimes he'll
> go to a Harry Potter Quiz site, he scores high on the quizzes. I
> imagine in public schools there are some pre-set questions and
> probably a book report required for Harry Potter.
>
> I brought this up to let everyone know how I am that he is home and
> able to enjoy these books, at HIS pace and not in school given "x"
> amount of days or weeks to read the book and be tested.
>
> ~Sandy Winn
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