As a mother who has a M.Ed. in Literacy I too have been caught up in
this with my own children. My oldest daughter struggled in k and
1st. She ended up in Reading Recovery, which was humiliating for me--
the teacher/mom, but the absolute best thing that could have happened
for her as a learner. Even after RR, she still didn't really like to
read until 4th grade. I almost cried the day I had to yell at her to
put her book down and go do her chores (I never thought I'd get to say
that). To use a Gary Paulsen quote: "She reads like a wolf eats."
Now my son is in kindergarten and learning to read. As a six year old
(we kept him back for boyish maturity reasons) he is doing fine. I'm
thankful that he isn't struggling like his sister did, but still find
myself caught in the craze to push him and work with him more. I've
finally just decided to be his mom, not his teacher and backed off.
I don't regret it at all. I want him to succeed in life, but I need
to just let him be a little boy and learn at his own pace. I turned
my focus to reading as a pleasure, not a chore or something on our to-
do list.
Just my two bits. :)
Mary Manges
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Children grow into the intellectual life around them."
-Vygotsky
On Nov 5, 2008, at 7:36 PM, Mary Helen Chappetto wrote:
Just my 2 cents.....
I don't have any 'research' for you but, my own experience. My son
showed a great interest in books at a very early age. I would have
bet doubling my mortgage that he was going to be an early
reader.....I have pictures of him 'reading' books at 18 months. He
would literally go and sit at a small table in his room and 'read'.
He would flip through the pages and point and we would have great
fun. He understood so much. Well, he didn't read in Kindergarten
and I thought he might be ADHD....just couldn't understand how he
couldn't 'break the code'. I looked into tutoring and was soooo
worried. My husband finally and firmly said "let him be...." I
knew better! Anyway, my son ended up finally breaking the code and
making sense of reading mid-first grade. I would go back and
reassure them that reading and talking to him and providing great
learning experiences are the best foundation for super-
comprehension! My son ended up becoming an avid reader....so much
so he cannot pass the newspaper without picking it up (7th grade),
he joined a book club and has a great knowledge base for many
topics. He has a monthly subscription to National Geographic and he
has read biographies, other non-fiction and a ton of other
books......I think if I hadn't backed off and tried to force the
'performance' of reading he would not be the learner he is today!
I would also think about what we are trying to do as
teachers....provide children with the knowledge and tools to be
great thinkers!
I agree that learning about being a learner is the best thing to
do.....
Mary Helen
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