To read a book.
To teach a young child, three and four year olds, about books, they say you should remember to point out the title, the author, the illustrator, the publisher and the copyright date. As you read, explain the period, the comma, and the question mark. Point out the phonemes, the upper and lower case letters and why they are used. Dissect the book and leave the wonder out of the equation. Who cares if the story is understood, or the gift of words is actually realized? It’s all about getting ready to teach for that test.
To teach a love of reading, forget the lesson. Animate and sing the words, inflect them with feeling. Enjoy the words and let them run over your tongue in bits of rhyme and rhythm; let them feel that period. Let the images be born, let the child feel the possibility of escape, let them believe the rabbit can talk. Tell the story as the ancient traditions would, weave the words with body and soul. Imbue the child with excitement, and love and a yearning for more.
What is most important at four? To understand grammar and research or the excitement that the written word can contain?
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I'd like to say your first graf is just a silly fantasy, but I guess it isn't, eh?
ReplyDeleteNo, it isn't, unfortunately. If you visited some of the four year old programs, you would see that happening, and they focus on one book per week. By Friday much of it is drilled into the preschooler. I think it is an abomination, but who am I?
ReplyDeleteReading is not a skill that's necessary to learn early. We're hardwired to learn language from infancy, bu there's nothing comparable hardwired for reading. Fact is, many many children--boys especially--would do better starting at 8 or 9. They will very quickly catch up with kids who've been practicing for years, because many of those practicing kids have learned a lot of lack of confidence by being taught too early.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right. Try telling that to the "No Child Left Behind" counsel or whoever thinks the earlier the better. So much of what has been pushed down is a detriment to the learning process, and we have totally forgotten that children need to have their social and emotional needs met and in place first!
ReplyDeleteMeasurable goals and outcomes is the god we worship and it's hard to get those social and emotional needs into a test we can score....
ReplyDelete