Radio Commentary
A Columbia University professor inspired a generation of
teachers to help young children become good writers.
One of her
books is a parents’ guide to raising lifelong learners, and it offers some very
good advice.
Her basic
counsel is that all things come to those who read. If children read avidly and
read a lot, they will write better, spell better, they will know more, and they
will care more.
For
parents, it is critical not only to support reading, but also to do it in the
proper way.
She paints
two different pictures to illustrate her point. In the first scenario, the
parent asks a child home from school if he has any homework. The child says,
“Yes, I need to read.”
The parent says, “It’s good to get
your homework done right away. Why don’t you go up to your room, sit at your
desk, and do your reading? It really matters. That’s how you get ahead — by
reading.”
That’s one
way to support reading. Here’s another: The parent greets the child by saying,
“You’ve had a really long day at school. I bet you’re ready for time to rest
and snuggle. Why don’t we each get our books and read here on the sofa? I’m in
the middle of mine now.
“I don’t know that book you’re reading. What’s
it like? You’re so lucky to have teachers point you to great books like that.”
The professor says that though both
approaches support reading, the second conveys the message that reading is one
of life’s great joys.
And that can make all the
difference.
