Chapter 1 - Reading From The Parent’s Point Of View

Blame Schools | Poor Readers | Parents' Attitudes | Toward Reading | Attitudes Changed? | Understanding | Q + A

Parents are naturally concerned about their child's reading. Reading is associated with social prestige; it affects social relations. Our principal means of communicating with one another are reading, speaking, listening, and writing. Inability to use these tools may seriously interfere with a person's social adjustment.

Reading broadens our interests and enriches our leisure hours. Despite radio and television, reading is here to stay. In 1954 the Chicago Public Library reported an average circulation of ten books for each child of elementary school age. Children's books are bestsellers; more are being published every year.

Reading is necessary for success in school, in college, and in almost every vocation. There are few jobs, if any, that do not require reading ability. To be good citizens we must understand current events by comprehending, weighing, and remembering what we read.

When our child is successful in learning to read, and comes home from school saying gleefully, "Mommy, let me read to you," we rejoice in his accomplishment It is enough at this stage that the child is thrilled by the magic of getting meaning from little black marks on white paper. When, in the fifth grade, the report comes home that Bill is reading at or above grade level, we feel relieved. Later, we are proud to have him placed in the "Honors" or "Advanced" group in high school. We are pleased and reassured by any evidence that our child is successful in reading.

On the other hand, when our child has difficulty with beginning reading, when he lags behind other third graders in reading, when he has a hard time keeping up with the wide reading required in the fifth or sixth grade, when he is placed in a special reading group in junior high school, or when he gets a low score on his college entrance board examinations, we are very much concerned.

Our worry is aggravated by the conflicting points of view expressed in popular articles and books on reading. Many of these articles and books blame the schools: Johnny can't read because the schools do not teach him to sound out the words by certain phonic methods. Johnny can't read because the schools have gone "progressive" and no longer teach the three R's. Johnny can't read because teachers are poorly prepared and poorly paid for their work. And one high school principal, writing in Harpers Magazine, said in effect that one-third of all high school pupils can't read because they are stupid—incapable of mastering the chief tools of learning: reading and writing. Let us try to clear up some of these misconceptions.

Are The Schools To Blame?

Children Are Learning To Read | Many Teachers Are Using Effective Methods | Reading Teachers And Consultants Are Being Employed | Teacher Preparation Is Improving | High Schools Present Problems

The poor readers in this generation are not to be blamed entirely on the schools. The home plays an important part in making a child a good reader or a poor reader. With the best intentions in the world, some parents make reading problems of their children. Some unfavorable parental attitudes will be described later in this chapter.

Reading achievement is also affected by the times we live in. When you and I were growing up, we spent much of our time in reading. Now the average youngster spends his leisure time listening to the radio, watching television programs, going to the movies, riding in a car, and taking part in clubs and social activities. He spends little time in reading; consequently his reading skills remain undeveloped. Just as one acquires skill in sports by constant practice, so one gains fluency and vocabulary by wide reading.

Moreover, movies, radio, and television have reduced the individual's need for reading as a means of satisfying his curiosity about the world and its inhabitants. For sheer entertainment, too, children no longer need to turn to books.

All of this means that the schools are working in a whirlpool of forces that tend to reduce both the need and the desire to read. Ways must be found to make the modern media of communication the allies instead of the enemies of effective reading; they must be used to stimulate and enrich reading.

Children Are Learning To Read

Much of the popular criticism of the schools is not justified. The American schools are not turning out hordes of illiterates. Actually, pupils are reading, on the average, as well as they did a generation ago. As early as 1838, Horace Mann, then Secretary of the Board of Education for Massachusetts, reported: "More than eleven-twelfths of all the children in the reading classes in our schools do not understand the meaning of the words they read." This statement was made during a period when the phonics method was in general use. Records show that fifty years ago, in one large city, 50 per cent of almost 8,000 first graders had failed one or more times, largely because of poor reading.

Tests given recently show equal or slightly higher reading comprehension for today's children as compared with results of identical tests given more than thirty years ago.1 This, despite the fact that there are many children in school today who would earlier have dropped out when reading and study became difficult for them. Children are now required by law to remain in school until sixteen or seventeen years of age, or until graduation from elementary school. Youngsters who are in school merely because the law says they have to be constitute the bulk of the reading problems. We used merely to report that the student had failed in history or some other subject; now we are more likely to recognize failure to comprehend a subject as a reading problem.

From a thorough study of this question, William S. Gray, an authority in the field of reading, concluded that there never was a time when so many boys and girls learned to read so well, read so many books, or read for so many purposes as they do today.

This is not to deny, of course, that many very able children are reading below their potential ability, even though they may be doing as well as average for their grade. Certainly there is room for improvement. No educator would deny this.

But blaming the schools is not the way to remedy the situation. We should take a positive approach. If our child is having trouble with reading, we should avoid making critical remarks in his hearing. Destroying any child's faith in his school and his teacher only makes it harder for him to learn. Helping a child learn to read is a joint responsibility of the home and the school.

Many Teachers Are Using Effective Methods

There is no one best method of teaching reading. Some children have profited at some times by every method that has been tried. The teacher's confidence in her special method is conveyed to the pupils. Any method that is used with faith and enthusiasm gets results. A rabbit's foot or a red flannel cloth has been known in some cases to cure certain aches and pains. If reading is nothing more than "barking at words"—merely being able to pronounce them, with no concern for their meaning—children can be taught to "read" by any systematic phonic method.

The big battles have been waged over phonics. The pendulum has swung from exclusive emphasis on phonics to the other extreme. We are now settling down to a more moderate point of view. A survey has shown that in some form, phonics is being taught in practically all our schools. For example, in the Teaching Guide for the Language Arts for the Chicago Public Schools, specific provision is made in each grade for phonic instruction. Similarly in other cities and states, phonics is being taught as an essential tool in learning to read. This is also true of the teachers' manuals of basal reader series.

The exclusive use of phonics has many dangers. Children may become interested only in pronouncing the words. This has happened. Some boys and girls have been able to read a passage aloud with great fluency, but without the slightest idea of what it meant.

Moreover, phonic drills may be so boring that children acquire a dislike for reading. Then, too, if phonics is introduced too early, some children may fail to learn to read by this method and become hopelessly lost in the process of sounding out words. Why, then, should we turn back the clock and return to the exclusive use of a method that was abandoned as the sole method of teaching reading half a century ago?

In countries where the native language is made up of a relatively few phonic units that sound the same in all words, the phonic method is far more useful than in English-speaking countries. Each of the twenty-six letters of our alphabet has more than one sound; the letter a has close to fifty sounds. Furthermore, what is essentially the same vowel sound is represented by different letters: for example, the short sound of e is heard in met, sweat, any, said, says, jeopardy.

Or the letter combination remains the same but is sounded differently, as ou in sour, pour, would, four. These are just a few of the complexities encountered in teaching phonics.

On the other hand, parents may well become impatient with a teacher who uses the "whole word" or the "look-and-say" method exclusively. Children must learn the sounds that constitute the building blocks of all the words in our language; they cannot learn 25,000 different words one by one. The question is not Should teachers use phonic methods? Of course they should. They do, to some extent, in 99 per cent of our schools. To be on their own in reading, children must learn ways of recognizing unfamiliar words.

The question is, rather, When and how should phonic methods be introduced? The most approved procedure is to begin by teaching the child to associate letter sounds with printed letters in words that are thoroughly familiar and meaningful to him. More will be said about this in later chapters.
Many teachers have discovered that some children do better by one method and others do better by another method. The skillful teacher observes the child's response and uses the method or combination of methods by which he learns best.

Any method that helps a child enjoy achieving accurate comprehension is an effective method. By starting in with his need to read, one enlists his effort. Books that entice the reader by means of humor or the excitement of adventure help him to overcome difficulties that are not, for him, unsurmountable. Other factors in the effective teaching of reading include instruction that is given when it is needed, and drill on words or sounds that the individual child finds especially hard.

In appraising methods of teaching reading, we should recognize three common fallacies: (1) that learning is essentially an unpleasant experience and that the more disagreeable it is, the greater is its value; (2) that criticism is more effective than approval in stimulating a child to put forth greater effort; and (3) that the greater the difficulty of the reading material, the more it will challenge the child—this is what Gertrude Hildreth has called "the spur fallacy." To be sure, a certain degree of difficulty is challenging to most children. They reject too easy material as "baby stuff." But beyond a certain point, difficulty is a deterrent. The child gives up and withdraws from a reading task that yields him nothing but frustration. The ideal is (1) plenty of easy, interesting material to develop fluency and vocabulary painlessly—but not without effort—and (2) a progression of experience with reading material that gradually increases in difficulty. With a basic sight vocabulary and sufficient mastery of word-recognition skills, the child will be able to experience the excitement of having words tell him what the characters are saying and what happened next.

A child's interests are a springboard to reading. Any activity that is important to the child leads him to put forth effort in finding and reading books related to it. Any experience that arouses a child's curiosity may lead him to read more about it. A visit to the zoo led a reluctant reader to peruse book after book on monkeys. The desire to raise a prize pig for the county fair induced another boy, who called himself a "remejal reading problem," to read and comprehend a fairly difficult government bulletin on the subject. Parents, teachers, and librarians can help the child to find the book he needs when he needs it.

Reading Teachers and Consultants Are Being Employed

In more and more schools, reading teachers and consultants are being employed. They help the teachers by suggesting or demonstrating more effective methods of teaching, by supplying appropriate reading materials, and by helping with specific problems in the teaching of reading.
The reading teacher also works with small groups of pupils who need special help. He tries to understand each child and his reading difficulties, to give the instruction and practice that each one needs, to find books that each one can read with enjoyment, and to help every child increase his self-confidence by experiencing success. When a parent wants to discuss his child's reading, he may have a conference with the reading teacher or consultant as well as with the child's regular teacher. These conferences are especially helpful to parents who have children with serious reading problems. The reading consultant may also meet with several parents in a small group where they can reveal their feelings about their children's reading difficulties and discuss what they can do to help.

Teacher Preparation Is Improving

If a child gets off to a poor start in the first grades; if the teaching of reading is neglected in subsequent years; if individual help is not given at any grade level to any child who for any reason is backward in reading, then we have allowed another reading problem to develop.

Although practically all elementary school teachers have had courses in the teaching of reading, this pre-service education may not have been entirely effective in bridging the gap between theory and actual classroom practice. It is no easy task to teach thirty-five children who have not been "school broken," and who present thirty-five different patterns of ability and background. Put yourself in the teacher's place. How fatiguing is it for the teacher to be in continuous contact with so many children for so many hours a day? Constant supervision of three lively children drives some parents nearly crazy. Yet, even under present school conditions, teachers not only maintain order and teach subjects; many even contrive to win the affection of their pupils. Parents should be glad when then-children like the teacher; we all learn more readily from people whom we like.

Administrators often assign a young, inexperienced teacher to the first-grade class. If she is well prepared, has enthusiasm, and enjoys little children, she may do a superior job of teaching beginning reading. The children in her classes are fortunate. But what about the children who draw a teacher who is inept, insecure, and unable to apply effective methods of teaching reading? It is the principal's responsibility to do something about such a situation.

A Canadian elementary principal was asked why there were fewer reading problems in the upper grades of his schools than in our junior high schools. He said he thought it was because Canadian administrators gave careful attention to securing the best possible teachers for the first grades. If a teacher in the first grade was doing a poor job of teaching reading, the supervisor gave her special help; if that was ineffective, she was replaced by a teacher of proved competence in the teaching of reading. In this way effective instruction in beginning reading was assured.

Because of low salaries and unattractive working conditions, some of our communities cannot secure competent teachers; they have to settle for poorly prepared teachers. Even good teachers are hampered in many places by lack of suitable reading materials, an outmoded curriculum, or unenlightened administrative policies.

High Schools Present Problems

There are several causes for the pile-up of poor readers that has occurred in some of our high schools. One obvious cause is the policy of promoting pupils on the basis of age rather than on that of achievement. Children who do not catch on to reading in the first grade are promoted, but do not receive the individual help that they need in the second grade. One fourteen-year-old boy who had not learned to read during his eight years of schooling described his predicament in this way: "In the first grade I didn't like the teacher—I mean she didn't like me. And I had the same teacher for two years. In the third grade the teacher tried to help three of us who hadn't learned to read. But after that, no teacher ever bothered with me." His parents, too, were unaware of his reading problem and did not "bother with him."

Another cause of poor reading in the upper grades is lack of a developmental reading program. Reading instruction should continue throughout the school years and into college. As the poet and philosopher Goethe said: "Learning to read is a life-time process. I have been at it all my life and I cannot say yet I have reached the goal." Every teacher should give instruction in the reading of his subject.

Unfortunately, very few teachers in junior and senior high school have had any preparation in the teaching of reading. Consequently, when they are given the responsibility they feel at a loss. Many of them are now taking courses in the teaching of reading, either in connection with their subject or with the special developmental reading course that is usually offered to all pupils in the seventh and eighth grades.

In order to assist the school in building an adequate reading program, parents should know what it comprises: (1) instruction in reading as an intrinsic part of the teaching of each subject; (2) a developmental reading course, if needed, for all pupils at some strategic grade level; (3) special reading groups for pupils whose reading is so poor that they cannot profit by regular classroom instruction; and (4) work with individuals whose reading problem is too complex to be handled by the teacher in a group.

In his report on the junior high school, Dr. James Bryant Conant emphasized the need for more effective reading instruction in our high schools:

Pupils will not succeed in high school unless they can read at least at the sixth-grade level. The ability to read is imperative in secondary school. I have been in schools in which practically no one in the ninth grade was reading as low as grade 6 and I have been in schools in which 35 to 50 per cent of the ninth graders were reading at the sixth-grade level or below. . . . Many communities . . . need to recognize the seriousness of the reading problem and to attempt to upgrade their reading programs. . . . Though instruction in the basic skills is the special responsibility of the elementary schools, it is the responsibility of the secondary schools as well.2

Are Poor Readers "Just Stupid"?

Slow Learners Have Learned To Read | There Are Other Causes

Even on group intelligence tests, the majority (69 per cent) of the children who were referred to the St. Louis language-arts centers because of failure to learn to read had normal or superior intelligence. For example, a fourteen-year-old boy in the seventh grade could barely read fourth-grade material. When he came to a difficult word, he often said silly things to make his classmates laugh and divert their attention from his poor reading. His usual attitude was one of defeat: "You can't teach me nothin'! Lots of people have tried. I'm too dumb to learn." Although his intelligence was slightly above average, he was convinced that he was stupid. Continued failure in reading and inability to learn subjects that required reading had confirmed his habit of self-disparagement With special individual instruction in reading for two hours a week over a period of three months, he learned the basic vocabulary and word-recognition skills that he had failed to acquire earlier; with delight he began to read easy books that had interest and value for him.

Slow Learners Have Learned To Read

There are few, if any, children who cannot learn to read better if they are given time to grow and if they are provided with favorable learning conditions. Some will go ahead fast; others will proceed more slowly. A mentally deficient boy had failed to learn to read during eight years of schooling; however, he had grown enough mentally during these years so that, when he was given appropriate individual instruction, he was able to read signs, directions, and other important things in his environment. After a year of intensive teaching he could read books of about third-grade difficulty. This was sufficient reading ability to enable him to get a job and to hold it during a depression period when many college graduates were out of work. Reading, like other aspects of a child's development, is a continuous process of growth, sometimes slow, sometimes rapid; the rate varies with different children. No two children, not even children in the same family, follow exactly the same pattern of reading development.

There Are Other Causes

If a child is having trouble in reading, his teacher or principal should help the parents to find out why. The special services of a reading specialist, counselor, or psychologist may be enlisted. Many factors contribute to reading ability. No one can say a poor reader is just stupid until all other possible causes of his reading difficulty have been studied. In the majority of the cases that are brought to reading clinics, various specific causes of the reading failure are found. In other aspects of his life, the child may show interest, initiative, and other indications that he is potentially capable of learning to read. He has the mental ability, but, for some reason, he has not been able to learn to read. He is not just dumb.

To determine whether a child has the ability to learn to read better, the crucial test is to give him the best possible instruction in the most favorable environment and see how well he learns. If he does not respond to these conditions, we should accept his present performance and not expect him to do the impossible. Later, as he grows a little more mature mentally, he should be able to make corresponding progress. The role of both parent and teacher is to encourage the child's potentialities for learning.

In certain cases, inability to read is due to a combination of factors such as defective vision, hearing, or intelligence; unfavorable environmental conditions; or negative parental attitudes. If these conditions cannot be remedied we should help the child to understand his strengths and limitations, and to learn all he can in areas where reading ability is not absolutely essential.

The Parents' Attitudes Toward Their Child

Never Satisfied | Embarrassingly Boastful | Indifferent | Impatient | Overanxious | Openly Hostile | Genuinely Pleased | Understanding, Accepting, Expectant And Affectionate | Unable To Face Facts

When a child who has been eager to learn to read ceases to have any interest in words, the parents naturally become anxious. They are likely to resent being told that they shouldn't worry about it or put pressure on the child to read. They have been told that they should not sit the child down with a book and teach him to sound out words. Yet they want to do something to help. There are many helpful things that they can do—these will be described later. But it would be well for them to make first a calm examination of their own attitudes toward their child and his reading.

Parents have mixed feelings about their child's reading. These are affected by family pride and personal ambition—and by feelings of personal inadequacy. Other operative factors include the child's personality, ability, and behavior, and the attitudes of other people in the community. The range of parental attitudes is wide.

Never Satisfied

Many parents are never satisfied with their child's achievement in reading. No matter how well he does, they say, "You could have done better." Even a bright child wants parental approval for his good work; for the slow-learning child it is a necessity. For a child who is not doing as well as he can, the parents' recognition of the progress he has achieved and their realistic hopes for his further attainment form a stimulating and helpful combination.

Embarrassingly Boastful

The child who brings home a superior report of progress in reading and other phases of schoolwork is sometimes embarrassed when his parents show his report card to friends and relatives and boast about his achievement. In some instances the child is bothered not only by the way this affects other people's attitudes toward him but also by the feeling that the parent is taking credit for his achievement. In other instances the child may feel that the parent cares more for his achievement than for him as a person. These feelings of resentment may lead the child to relax his academic effort.

Indifferent

Parental indifference sometimes hurts a child more than criticism. It all depends upon what the parent's behavior means to the child. Children often say they like "strict" teachers and parents. By "strict" they mean persons who care enough about them to make them do what they ought to do. One boy actually said, "I'd rather have my father punish me than not care about me."

No one likes to be ignored. A wife who seemed to be able to manage her husband very skillfully explained her success by this remark: "When my husband doesn't do what I want him to do, I ignore him, and if there's one thing he cannot stand it's ignorance."

A bright child who is doing well in school may slump in his work if he realizes that nobody cares. One girl felt there was no one in her life who cared whether she succeeded or failed. When she brought home a good report, no one seemed interested, no one shared her satisfaction in achievement. This wall of indifference deterred her from putting forth further effort. A child who comes from a home where school learning has little prestige lacks the very important incentive of a warm personal relationship with someone who is interested in his achievement in reading.

Impatient

Impatience on the part of the parent may make the child feel discouraged with himself. With elementary and even junior high school children, it does little good to emphasize the future importance of reading skills. They are chiefly interested in the immediate success and advantage to be gained by improved reading: their parents will be pleased, the teacher will have increased respect for them, their classmates will recognize their accomplishment, they will be able to do their homework more easily and quickly, and, most important of all, they will be able to read more interesting books.

The important question to ask about any parental move is, What does it mean to the child? Even an occasional outburst of impatience or criticism may help the child to put forth greater effort if he perceives the parent's behavior as an evidence of love and of concern for his best development.

Overanxious

Anxiety is catching. Anxiety on the part of the parent or the teacher is often conveyed to the child. It becomes a stumbling block in the path of reading progress. An overanxious child is not in a favorable frame of mind for learning.

Sometimes the child's anxiety is manifested in frantic efforts to cover up the fact that he does not know the words, or to conceal the fact that he is attending a special reading class. We can take a child's reading difficulty too seriously; we may make him self-conscious and worried about it.

Parents often express their anxiety in efforts to help the child by tutoring him, putting pressure on him to read at home, not allowing him to play after school until his homework is done, constantly asking him about his progress in reading, taking him to one clinic after another, or giving him something he wants only on condition that he improve his reading.

Parents are uncertain about how much pressure to put on a child. They asked anxiously, "But if I do not try to make him read, will he not get further and further behind?"

Advice to parents on this question has undergone shifts in emphasis over the years. In the 1930's parents were expected to be strict—to control if not suppress their children's impulses. "Spare the rod and spoil the child" was often taken literally. In the period from 1942 to 1945, a reaction set in. Parents were urged to be mild, nondirective, and permissive; some went to the extreme of 'letting the little angels do anything they wanted to." When the bad effects of this extreme laissez-faire attitude began to be recognized, a modified approach was recommended. This was more permissive than the practices of the 1930's, but still stressed the need for maintaining control and setting limits to what children were permitted to do. It was recognized that children have to learn to consider the rights and feelings of other people and that such socially adaptive behavior does not develop spontaneously. The child requires guidance both in achieving socially acceptable behavior and in realizing his potential abilities.

There are all kinds and degrees of home pressures; they may be arranged on a continuum as follows:

Harsh, sarcastic pressure—"You're just stupid, not like your bright sister."

Unrealistic pressure—expecting more than the child is able to do.

Indirect pressure—the child is given no chance to rebel, resist, or assert himself.

Putting all the responsibility on the child—"I wash my hands of the matter. It's up to you—do what you wish." This is quite different from sharing responsibility with the child.

Indifference—the parents don't seem to care whether the child reads or not.

Interest that is confined to the child's achievement, and does not include the child himself.

Interest in the child's achievement that stems from real affection and concern. This kind of interest the child perceives as evidence that the parents want him to succeed in reading, and to be happy in his success.

Pressure must be considered with reference to:

1. The goals—realistic or unrealistic.

2. What the pressure means to the child—that the parents care about him, or that the parents are disappointed, ashamed, or anxious to change him.

3. The total parent-child relationship—if it is one of genuine understanding and love, the child will accept pressure that he would otherwise resist.

4. Sensitivity to the way the child is feeling at a given time.

In most instances we can substitute pull for push—the pull of a specific, immediate goal that the child wants to attain is far better than pressure exerted on the child to attain the parents' goal.

The parent who is overconcerned and oversympathetic about a child's reading difficulty may increase his anxiety about it. A certain degree of anxiety serves as an incentive to learning, but intense anxiety makes learning impossible.

If parents have strong feelings of frustration, disappointment, or anxiety about their child's backwardness in reading, which crop out despite their best intentions, the less they say and do about the child's reading, the better. They should leave the problem with the school, and work through the teacher, counselor, or reading specialist rather than directly with the child. The child's reading teacher will suggest concrete ways in which parents can be helpful to the child.

Openly Hostile

Some parents feel a strong hostility toward their backward child. This may be owing to a combination of circumstances in their own lives: thwarted ambition, a guilty feeling that they are somehow to blame for the child's handicap, some disturbance in the intricate marital relationship or in their relations with the other children in the family, or any number of other complicated causes. Despite their best intentions, these hostile feelings rise to the surface. Expressing them is a relief to the parents but may have a destructive influence on the child. Such parents need expert help in recognizing and handling the causes of their hostility. When they have learned to accept themselves, they will be able to accept the child as he is and as he can become.

Genuinely Pleased

The parent who is genuinely pleased about the child's progress in reading encourages his continued improvement. It is well established that, in general, praise is more effective than blame, approval than criticism. However, if praise is to be effective it must be genuine rather than artificial, spontaneous rather than studied, concrete rather than vague, deserved rather than gratuitous, accurate rather than erroneous. The right kind of praise is likely to stimulate the child to put forth more effort. It reinforces his concept of himself as an approved person, and thus increases his self-esteem and diminishes any anxiety or fear that he may have about himself.
Nothing is more effective in furthering a child's development than making the appropriate response to his daily behavior. By approving his moves in the right direction, we help to reinforce the essential steps in the reading process. By ignoring a wrong move, or quietly indicating that it is wrong, we help the child to avoid it in his future learning. Since parents are usually the most significant persons in the child's life, it is most important that they make the right response to his progress, or lack of progress, in reading.

Understanding, Accepting, Expectant and Affectionate

This is the ideal atitude. It involves understanding the child's reading development, expecting the best of him and accepting his earnest achievement, all in an atmosphere of respect for the child as a person.

Firmness and consistency are not incompatible with loving-kindness. Parents should not give in to the child against their better judgment. Children want to grow up and leave behind their baby ways. Ability to read is generally recognized by children as a sign of being grown up. Thus improvement in reading is allied to a fundamental urge of childhood. They love the person who helps them to help themselves and to succeed in the things they think are most important. Some children like to share reading experiences with their parents; for example, rereading with them one of their favorite books. Teachers should encourage this practice.

Sometimes a parent's acceptance is only on the surface. Parents who recognize and regret their disappointment or resentment about the child's reading failure often try desperately to conceal their real feelings from the child. They may not succeed. The child may sense their impatience and frustration. This is especially true when the parent attempts to help the child with his reading. As one youngster said, "When my father tries to help me with my homework, I get all puzzled up. When he becomes impatient with me, I read worse than ever."

When one of their children is a more able learner than another, parents often make invidious comparisons, without meaning to do so, or without realizing the effect they may have on the child. Reading carries so much prestige that other accomplishments cannot, as the child sees it, make up for a reading deficiency.

Unable To Face Facts

Some parents resort to wishful thinking; they have difficulty in facing reality. Even on the best possible evidence, they refuse to believe that their child is retarded in mental ability. Consequently they try anything or anyone that promises to make him a better reader.
Being dragged from one clinic to another is hard on the child. Each successive unsuccessful experience intensifies the child's feeling of hopelessness about himself and his reading.

Some special treatment will often produce a temporary spurt, only to be followed by a lapse into the former reading pattern. To give both parent and child some idea of the degree of improvement that can be expected, there must first be an accurate diagnosis. However, instead of devoting several hours to an initial diagnosis, which may frighten an already insecure child, it is usually better to proceed gradually, combining diagnosis with instruction. Thus the child is encouraged by seeing evidence of his progress, and the teacher gains a more accurate understanding of the child's ability and rate of learning. The child's early experiences in reading should be pleasant and satisfying. Paul Witty 3 has pointed out that children who discover very early that reading can be fun usually become good readers.

Parents' Attitudes Toward Reading

Our own attitude toward reading and our own reading habits affect the child's desire to read. How much do we read? When was the last time we brought home books from the library? How much do we enjoy reading? What are our purposes in reading. Reading interests are caught as well as taught. By seeing us read, the child will learn that reading is the thing to do; that it is important; that people get satisfaction and enjoyment from it, and that it is an evidence of maturity, not childish or "sissy."

Parents should appraise their own reading:

What do you get out of your reading? Why do you read? What do you read? Are you satisfied with the way you read? Do you have a deep love of reading? Do you see reading as a part of your own program of lifelong learning, of self-understanding and self-development?

Are you an efficient reader? Can you change gears to meet the demands of the kind of material you are reading—slow, creative reading for poetry, swift reading for skimming or for getting the general idea? Or do you read everything at the same pace?

Are you a thoughtful, critical reader? Do you use both your head and your heart when you read? Do you recognize satire or irony?

It is also enlightening to keep a diary record of the way you spend your weekdays and your weekends. How much time do you spend in reading? What do you read in the time available? What do you retain from your reading? Following are two actual daily schedules. Could you suggest any improvements in the examples of reading interest that these parents present to their children?

The following is an account of a commuter's day. Note the kind and amount of reading he does:

6:45 A.M.—Alarm goes off. With some trouble I get up, wash, and dress.

7:15—Take a cup of coffee and a piece of toast.

7:30—Arrive at the railroad station at 252nd Street. Since this is a one hour and a half train ride, I start to read the book I brought with me —The Canvas Dagger by Helen Reilly. I usually finish about half of one of these Detective Books before I arrive at the office.

8:47—Arrived at the office. Since my work day doesn't start until 9:00 A.M., I often take up a newspaper and read the sections devoted to: (a) sports, (b) finance, (c) local news, (d) world affairs.

9:00—Start my daily schedule of work. My work has to do with the insurance world, i.e., policy granting and the compiling of all the data sent to my firm regarding claims.

10:30—Coffee Break—Spent time with other members discussing a news item. I gave my views based on what I had read and heard on the radio. It was surprising how many of my business associates did not know even the basic facts about the topic.

11:30—Return to work.

12:00—Lunch Hour—Had a good lunch at the office cafeteria then wandered out of the building to do some shopping at the many stores around our area. It's amazing to me the amount of advertising these stores do in order to get people to come in.

1:00—Returned to the office—My work for the afternoon was on a pamphlet on "Safety on the Highway." This pamphlet concerned itself with some suggestions that have been offered by authorities in the field of safety on how to stay alive on the highway. This was truly an enjoyable piece of work for I gained from this pamphlet a great deal of information about the terrible slaughter we bring on ourselves when we get behind the wheel of an automobile.

2:30—Coffee Break—I did nothing but talk about the above pamphlet. I was gratified that all were interested.

2:45—Returned to work on this pamphlet.

4:45—Finished for the day and headed for the train. Completed the book I started in the morning and then started to read the magazine which I had bought at the news stand at the station.

6:00—Arrived at the suburban station and drove home.

6:15—Ate dinner.

7:00—Watched television while I also read some of the evening papers.

10:30—Retired to bed—set alarm clock for 6:45.

When asked why he read these kinds of material, this commuter gave the following reasons: to make the train trip seem shorter, for pleasure, to find out what is going on in the world, and to be able to talk with friends about it. On Sunday he buys two Sunday papers and starts to read them after lunch, stopping often to make comments to his wife about what he is reading. He likes to read historical novels, and often reads one over the weekend. He finds it futile to try to read serious books during the weekdays because he cannot keep his mind on them.

Following is the daily schedule of a married woman with three children whose husband works six days a week. He leaves home around eight each morning and does not return until seven-thirty in the evening. This schedule is for two successive days, a Sunday and Monday:

Sunday

8:30—Up and out of bed. Got the children cleaned up for the morning.

9:00—Prepared breakfast for the family to the tune of the radio—listened to the news and the weather reports. 9:30—Gathered the clan into the kitchen for a once-a-week breakfast together.

10:00—Washed dishes. Put the kitchen in order. 10:30—Called my sister on the phone. 11:00—Started to cook lunch.

11:30—Received phone call. Started putting the house in order. 12:30—Dressed the two younger children and myself. 1:00—Set the lunch table and fed the children. 1:30—Washed the lunch dishes. 2:00—Relaxed for half an hour by just sitting down. 2:30—Watched the children play for the next hour. 4:00—Served milk and cookies to children and their friends.

4:30 to 5:30—Had a belated lunch with husband and talked about purchases he had made for the business. Cleaned the kitchen up again and put up a new knick-knack shelf. 6:30—Gave the children their supper. 7:00 to 8:00—Watched TV with the family. 8:30—Got the children washed and ready for bed. 9:00—Made myself comfortable for the evening. 10:00—Prepared a snack for hubby and myself and settled back for an enjoyable TV showing which lasted until 11:15. 11:15—To bed.

Monday

7:30—Arose. Turned the radio for news and weather. Got the family up while breakfast was in the making. 8:00—Prepared husband's lunch. Fed the children and got the two older children ready to go off to school.

9:00—Had my breakfast and got the little fellow (age 4) settled with some kind of amusement.

9:30—Got started cleaning the house; this took until 11:30. 11:30—Washed and dressed myself and the little fellow to go shopping. 12:00—Arrived home to give the big boy lunch and watch the current events program on TV. 12:30—Left for an appointment with the doctor and stopped off at the bank along the way. 1:00 to 2:00—While waiting for the doctor, I skimmed several articles in the magazines in the office.

2:30—Picked up the other children at school and had a belated lunch.

3:00—Milk and cookies for the children. Did laundry work for the rest of the afternoon. This was interrupted by some gossip with neighbors. 5:00—Started to prepare supper. 6:00—Fed the children supper. 6:30—Prepared supper for husband and myself. 7:00—Helped children with their homework.

8:00—Ate supper. Caught up with quick reading of daily newspaper.

9:00—Watched TV.

9:30—Chatted with neighbor who dropped in.

10:30—Watched TV through the news broadcasts.

11:30—To bed.

This schedule represents a typical weekday and weekend day in this person's life. As you see, her time is pretty much taken up by household and family matters. She finds that she has little time for other activities, such as reading. The reading that she did do in this period was casual and incidental, and occurred when there was an unexpected lull in her day. The reading that she did in the doctor's office was mainly in the issue of Life that concerned the role of the American woman in today's society. This is her dominant reading interest at this time—how to function in her home. She spent some time on a close reading of the article in Life that concerned the working mother who can still do her own housekeeping and entertaining. Her comment on it was that she did not believe it was completely truthful. Her regular reading is the monthly Parents* Magazine. She reads this because she hopes to find suggestions for becoming a more effective mother and housekeeper.

She also did some quick reading in the daily newspaper. She read the headlines, skimmed the first few pages for news high lights, read a few of the columnists, and ended with the comics. She reads these parts of the newspaper every day in an effort to keep up with world events. However, she says that time limitations prevent her from getting all she wants from this medium; she has to rely on TV and radio to supplement this information. She can use these media while doing her regular housework. She also uses TV and radio to pursue her interest in household affairs; she watches or listens to the programs that deal with these matters.

She is not satisfied with her daily routine because it does not give her a chance to do very much except what is indicated on the schedule. She would like to have time to sit down and "pick up a book to read," a thing she has not done for some time. This reading would be for entertainment or diversion. When questioned as to why she does not read instead of watching TV in the evening, she points out that when her husband is watching TV she has no place in which to read quietly. She admits that her failure to include more reading in her daily schedule is due in some measure to inertia.

Most adults do a very small amount of serious reading. "Like father, like son" often applies to reading habits. One seriously retarded reader identified himself closely with a father who boasted that he had become successful in business without knowing how to read. We can usually find time to do the things we want to do. Improving our own reading habits not only sets a good example to our children; it also enriches our lives.

Can Attitudes Be Changed?

Parents of retarded readers are frequently invited to group meetings in which they discuss problems such as homework, lack of progress in reading, teaching methods, and summer planning. Following the group meeting, individual conferences are held with parents whose children are having serious reading difficulties. Many parents are relieved to learn that they are not alone in their feelings of anxiety, annoyance, or discouragement. Parents of seriously retarded readers who participated in a free discussion of their feelings and behavior toward their children made such comments as these:

"At first I was rather hesitant to talk openly."

"I now feel that our problem is a common one."

"I feel a great deal more patient with my son than I did before."

"I don't think my son feels quite as badly as he did before. Now we openly discuss his progress."

"In the beginning, when I first discovered that he had a serious reading problem, I felt hopeless. I have since come to realize that this situation can be changed." 4

That changes took place in the attitudes and behavior of these parents becomes evident when we study their comments in the order in which they occurred, from the first to the last session:

Session 1. "My son is just plain lazy. The guidance director told us he was below average in intelligence and this seemed to fit in with what we thought of him."

Session 2. "I still think it is a form of laziness, or possibly he has as much intelligence as an average child, but he's not using it."

Session 3. "I'm letting up on the pressure now and have stopped criticizing him constantly. He is actually a pleasure to live with lately."

Session 4. "I'm taking it easier on him; maybe it's working. He doesn't seem to be any worse anyway."

Session 5. "Well, I'm relaxed for the first time in a long time, sitting back and letting things go by for a little while, and believe it or not, the child seems to be much better, not so hateful to me."

"We've restored some of his privileges. We had taken away about everything."

"Now he seems to be taking a little more interest in reading. I notice he sits down and reads a book now and then—seems to be trying to improve himself."

"I've decided I'm not going to ruin my life hounding him; it makes him so disagreeable. He is better lately."

"I feel like a new person or at least a different person, more relaxed." 5

Of course parents' verbal descriptions of their behavior and attitudes may not correspond with what actually occurs. However, there does seem to be a relation between a child's progress and his parents' participation in small group discussions and counseling.

Sources Of Understanding

Printed Sources | Large Group Meetings | Demonstrations | Small Discussion Groups | Parent-Teacher Conferences | The Librarian As A Resource

If parents are to cooperate with the school in a broad reading improvement program, they will need information about the nature of reading, techniques of understanding the individual child, modern methods of teaching reading, and ways in which they may share responsibility with the school people and the child himself.

Printed Sources

Parents may obtain much sound information about children's reading development from printed sources. (See Bibliography, pp. 215-219.) The school tries to communicate with the parents through notes sent home by teachers, letters to parents written by various members of their own group, form letters, articles in the school newspaper and the local newspaper, and booklets describing the school system in general or the reading program in particular. Perhaps your school system issues materials of this kind.

Large Group Meetings

Various kinds of group meetings help parents to reach a better understanding of the reading program. Meetings called for the announced purpose of discussing reading are usually the best attended of all parent-teacher meetings. These meetings may take various forms: an interpretation of the reading program by the reading specialist or principal; a discussion of a good reading film, such as "Skippy and the Three R's" (a film, 29 minutes, black and white or color, produced and distributed by the National Education Association), or a set of slides accompanied by a tape recording such as that developed by Percy Bruce at Roslyn Heights, New York.

Any group meeting for parents should be parent-centered; it should give the parents the opportunity to find out what they want to know about reading. Before the meeting or at the beginning of it, the parents should be invited to ask questions; the role of the leader is to help them find the answers. Answers allay the parents' anxiety about the teaching of reading in the school, and increase their understanding and insight.

Demonstrations

We often learn more when we are shown something than when we are merely told about it. This is the television technique. It can be used with parent groups. It is generally effective to demonstrate with a class of children how some phase of reading is taught to pupils of a certain age.

A variation of the classroom demonstration is the use of tape-recorded lessons. Janet E. Sprount6 described a procedure of this kind that was highly successful. First, the principal discovered by talking with a number of parents that they were highly interested in phonics. They were sure phonics should be taught in their schools. To give them this understanding, the reading consultant taped a series of reading lessons in grades one through six. As the teacher in each class began her usual word-analysis part of the reading lesson, he made a recording that lasted five minutes. At the parents' meeting the consultant spent ten minutes explaining what the parents could gain from the recordings. After all the recordings had been played, there was time for the parents to comment on them; their remarks were most enthusiastic. They were amazed that "children learn so much in six years."

Visits by parents to the child's classroom are less satisfactory for several reasons: (1) the aspects of reading in which the parent is especially interested may not be taught at that particular time, (2) the teacher does not have time to interpret her teaching to the parent, and (3) the parent does not get the same perspective on the development of reading ability that he would obtain from a series of recordings or films dealing with different grade levels.

Small Discussion Groups

It is not enough to know how reading is being taught. We all need to bridge the gap between knowing and doing. Sometimes, like the old farmer, we resist getting more "knowin's till our doings catch up with our knowin's." For this reason parents' meetings should give them opportunities to apply the information they have gained to the understanding of their own child. It is helpful to prepare or solicit ways of applying specific facts to specific situations. This can be done most effectively in small discussion groups led by a trained person who will be skillful in handling any personal problems that may be brought up.

Group therapy. In some reading clinics parents are urged to attend small group meetings in which their own children are discussed. Other parents in the group often help the parent whose child is under consideration by telling about a similar experience and describing the methods they used and the solutions they found. This helps the parent to see what he is doing to the child and to discover ways in which he could change his attitude or behavior. More important, the parent comes to realize that other parents have the same problems and that there is no need to feel ashamed or humiliated. Almost all parents have some problems with their children. In a skillfully conducted therapy session, parents overcome their sense of failure, and learn to view problems as opportunities to learn.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

The individual parent-teacher conference or home visit is a positive approach to all pupils. The teacher and parent help each other to understand the child—his strengths and weaknesses, the situations in which he learns best, the difficulties he is meeting and the ways in which he is responding to them. Together teacher and parent seek ways m which the home and school can help the child develop his reading potential at this stage in his development. Of course, parent-teacher conferences vary greatly in their quality and helpfulness, but both parents and teachers are enthusiastic about their value and are learning to conduct them more effectively. The following short conference followed a classroom visit by a parent. It was satisfying to both parent and teacher. Mike had poor work habits and was doing poorly in reading when he entered Miss J.'s class. During the first two months of the present year he had improved immensely, and Mrs. R. came in to express her appreciation:

Mrs. R. I am well pleased with the work you are doing with the children.

Miss J. I am so glad.

Mrs. R. As a primary teacher myself I never felt Mike was working up to his ability. He simply did not know how to read. I decided to come in to see Mike's new teacher this year and tell her that I felt Mike had been given enough social adjustment and that he was ready for reading and writing. I have not been in because Mike said you were a new teacher, and I wanted to give you time to become acquainted with the class before I came in. Then Mike kept reporting all the things he was doing in school. I have been quite surprised at the way Mike has learned to read during this two-month period. He is happy in school this year and he likes you very much. I was anxious to come in to observe your techniques because of the fine progress Mike is making.

Miss J. I'm so glad you wanted to come in. I wish more mothers would be interested in observing in the classroom.

Mrs. R. Are you having any particular problem with Mike?

Miss J. No. Mike and I have talked over together the problems he must work on. For example, we discussed his work habits. He is working hard towards doing neater work and getting it finished. He is trying to remember not to get the games until he has finished all his work. I think Mike is doing a splendid job of solving his own problems now that he recognizes them.

Mrs. R. All the children did last year was play. We were actually worried about Mike. We had him tested and he tested very high. I knew there was no reason why he should not be reading by third grade. He is picking up books at home now and reading. He never did this before.

Miss J. I feel that Mike is progressing nicely in all his work. Would you like to have another conference this semester?

Mrs. R. No. I don't feel that it's necessary.

Miss J. Please feel free to visit me at any time you feel the need or desire. I'm so glad you were able to come in today. Good-bye.

The Librarian as a Resource

Providing the child with appropriate and interesting reading material at each stage in his reading development is a basic part of the reading-improvement program. Teachers, reading consultants, and librarians try to help parents find the right books. They prepare lists of books on different subjects for children of different ages and different levels of reading ability. They give book talks and set up exhibits of appealing books for children. They welcome inquiries from parents about books that their child will enjoy and be able to read independently. In the children's rooms of many libraries there are fine collections of books, and librarians to guide children skillfully in their choices. Especially important is a youth library with appropriate books for the slow as well as for the precocious reader. Attractive furniture that fits children of all age groups adds to their enjoyment of reading.

In addition to recommending specific books for a particular child, librarians and teachers may also help by giving parents general criteria for selecting books for children and adolescents. First among these criteria is enjoyment: it is not a good book for a child if he is unable to read it, or if he finds it deadly dull.

A second criterion involves the interests and needs of the child at his stage of development. As he grows older the span of his interest should broaden at the same time that certain of his interests become more specialized. He should not get into a reading rut. Interests can be developed.

A third criterion concerns the book itself and its effect on the child. Does it have enough action, suspense, humor, and imagination to keep the child reading eagerly? Are its heroes and heroines worthy of emulation? Does it make children feel that life is worth living? Does it help them gain insight into their own problems and their relations with all sorts of people? Does it have a distinctive style? Is it true to life, which has, as A. E. Housman said, "much of good and much of ill" in it? If it is nonfiction, is it accurate and readable? Does the book challenge the child's inquiring mind?

As a special service to parents, one library, in cooperation with the P.T.A. Council and other organizations, offered a short course for parents on children's reading.

In some communities parents have access to resources such as adult education classes and recreation centers; medical and psychological services and family counseling agencies may also be available if intensive psychotherapy seems indicated.

The parents, the teacher, and the librarian constitute an effective team. The parent knows the child's interests; the teacher knows his abilities; and the librarian knows books. In these and other ways, parents can gain understanding of their children, learn how they are being taught to read in the schools, and determine what role they should play in the child's reading development.

Questions And Answers

1. Does home environment affect a child's reading?

We can say that children are taught to read in school, but how well they learn depends a great deal on the home environment. The language the parents speak, the example they set, their attitude toward reading, and the general emotional atmosphere—these are only a few of the factors that interact to affect a child's reading. For example, Patty's parents spoke excellent English, and considered education very important. Moreover, she was a wanted child. For twelve years she was the only child. Then the parents adopted a boy about four years younger than Patty. Without realizing it, the parents began to give more and more attention to Tommy and less and less to Patty. Unconsciously, Patty became jealous, and this emotional ferment prevented her from concentrating on her reading.

In working with Patty the teacher took advantage of the early adolescent desire for independence and helped Patty to enjoy activities with her own age group. The parents became aware of the problem and tried to give Patty her share of their attention. When her anxiety about her status was relieved and she was happier at home and at school, she was free to give her attention to reading.

Parents should remember that no two children grow at the same rate—even children who appear to have the same experiences. The best development is likely to take place if the home provides the opportunities for learning and lets the child take the initiative.

2. Is it true, as one popular writer said, that one-third of all high school pupils are "nonverbal" and cannot learn to read?

In his recent survey of junior high schools, Dr. Conant found schools in which 35 to 50 per cent were reading at sixth-grade level or below. However, it is one thing to say that a third of the pupils are falling below their grade level in reading, and quite another thing to say that they are "impervious to book learning." Too often mental retardation is confused with reading retardation.

There are many causes, and combinations of causes, for poor reading. When we detect the causes and apply appropriate methods of dealing with them, children, young people, and adults improve their reading. Published accounts of reading programs furnished evidence of such improvement.

In a most intensive study of reading cases carried on at the University of Chicago, it was estimated that less than 1 per cent—not 33% per cent as stated by the popular writer mentioned in the question above—were incapable of learning to reading. For these very rare cases other avenues of learning were recommended: pictures, diagrams, films, radio, records, trips, discussions, and other auditory visual aids. These pupils should have a curriculum that is tailor-made to their needs.

3. How does a parent know whether his child is retarded in reading?

Parents may obtain many indications that a child has the ability to read better than he does. Is he doing well in subjects that do not require much reading? Is he succeeding in school, despite his low reading achievement, because he listens well and organizes and remembers the facts he accumulates? Does he use facts in original ways? Does he have a hobby or interest on which he concentrates and in the pursuit of which he shows initiative and self-direction. Does he voluntarily go to the library? Does he do a variety of things in his free time?

Is the child's retardation in reading out of line with other aspects of his development? If the child enjoys playing with children of his own age and holds his own with them, shows appropriate independence in caring for himself and making good use of his time, and acts his age in other ways, his backwardness in reading may be overcome by appropriate instruction.

On the other hand, if the child is generally immature and seems reluctant to leave the security of dependency, he may view reading as a threat and resist it. Before he can make progress, he must want to grow up. He must also get satisfaction from any moves he makes in the direction of safely exploring his neighborhood, playing by himself or with his age group, or taking responsibility that he can handle successfully.

At the same time, the teacher can encourage any steps he takes in learning to read, starting at his present level and moving ahead from small to larger successes. Once he has experienced for himself the magic of getting meaning and enjoyment from printed words, he will no longer be so dependent upon the approval of his parents or teachers.

4. What is the parent's role when a child is seriously behind in reading?

It usually puts too great a strain on parent-child relationships when a parent tries to help a seriously retarded reader. The parent's patience is likely to reach a breaking point. Then he makes a remark that undermines the self-confidence and self-respect the teacher or the reading specialist has been trying to build up. It is much better to leave the instruction of such a child or adolescent to persons who are outside the family and not involved emotionally with the child, as parents naturally are.

The role of the parents is to show the child that they understand he has a tough job to do in learning to read better, that they admire his determination, initiative, and effort, and that they are ready to help in any way the reading teacher suggests. But at other times they are going to relax, forget reading, and enjoy doing many other things with the child.

5. Shouldn't teachers give children instruction in phonics earlier?

Perhaps the best answer is, "Tentatively try and see"—see whether phonics helps a particular child learn to recognize unfamiliar words and thus become independent in his reading. If the child becomes the least bit confused or disturbed by the instruction, use another approach at this time.

Some teachers report success in teaching children to sound out words after they have learned a few words by sight. Others say it is better for the children to recognize seventy-five or more meaningful words by sight before they begin to try to associate the letter sounds with the printed letters in these words. Others claim that children do not take much interest in phonics until they are at least ten years old, and a few believe that "phonics do the most good for children over the age of twelve and who are having particular difficulty with spelling." 7

6. What is the relation between reading and spelling?

In general, good readers are good spellers. But there are exceptions. Some bright pupils are poor spellers. They get the meaning from slight clues—they do not have to look at all the letters. They would be helped by learning some of the simple spelling rules that have few exceptions, such as

I before E
Except after C
Or when sounded like A
As in "neighbor" or "weigh."

Instruction in phonics, while it is helpful in teaching pupils to spell, does not guarantee good spellers. In fact, many spelling errors stem from spelling the word the way it sounds.

7. In what ways can parents and teachers cooperate on children's reading?

Teachers today enlist the parents' cooperation in many ways:

(1) They may have conferences or meetings with the parents of preschool children.

(2) The kindergarten teacher may have a meeting with parents in the first few weeks of school to explain the purposes of the kindergarten activities and to suggest that parents help their child to bring something interesting to tell about or show to the other children at least once a week.

(3) One first-grade teacher showed parents the results of a reading-readiness test and explained how they could provide various readiness experiences at home.

(4) Sometimes a teacher will give a demonstration lesson at a P.T.A. meeting.

(5) An exhibit of children's readers and other schoolbooks, both old-fashioned and modern, emphasizes how superior modern books are in many respects.

(6) Parent-teacher conferences about the reading of individual children are especially helpful to parents whose children are not achieving their reading potentialities. Teachers should send notes home more often, emphasizing the progress the child is making and suggesting specific ways in which the parents may help.
 
 (7) Teachers appreciate parents who understand their problems and give them credit for their efforts to help individual children, as well as to teach the entire class skillfully.

8. How is reading taught today?

The best schools increase children's desire to read, direct their attention toward meaning, and connect their reading with their experiences. They learn some words as wholes (the word method). They learn to sound out unfamiliar words (the phonic method), and to recognize familiar syllables and combinations of letters in new words. If a certain word is suggested by its context, the child may need to use only a few sound-letter associations in order to pronounce it correctly. Thus the child learns a combination of methods and uses them appropriately. His attention is focused on getting the meaning of what he is reading, not on the skill per se.

9. If reading instruction in the schools is sound, why are there so many poor readers today?

In the first place, we are more aware of retardation in reading than we used to be. In the second place, poor readers used to drop out of school; now they are required by law to remain in school until they are fifteen or older. In the third place, poor instruction in reading is only one cause of failure in reading. Lack of interest and unfavorable attitudes toward reading are characteristic of poor readers. These attitudes often stem from unhappy homes where parents are indifferent to reading, and either overanxious, neglectful, or overindulgent toward their children. In today's culture, other media of communication tend to supplant reading despite the increase in leisure time.

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