What if we could make such an impact, and raise awareness so much that we actually changed how all people think about early childhood? What if we could educate the general public so that everyone viewed reading to children as essential as brushing teeth?
A small, voluntary group, the Children's Literacy Coalition began many years ago to consider this idea. How could we embed the value of reading to young children as something that happens every single day within every family?
The small idea has been growing and gathering interested folks who have begun to really create support and beginnings of plans. Recently, at the Colorado Early Childhood Progress and Possibilities conference, more interested attendess were invited to join the conversation and expand the scope of the brainstorming.
With our system of Early Childhood Councils throughout Colorado, we have a built-in, ready-to-go means of reaching all families and spreading the word.
How would you go about educating families so that reading aloud to children becomes equal to brushing their teeth?
If you are interested in joining the conversation, please contact Priscilla Queen, pqueen@dclibraries.org
Comments
Great Question!!!
A culture of literacy would have so many positive outcomes and is definitely something that I hope as a society we are able to achieve.
Ideas for creating a culture of literacy
Priscilla's connection with teeth brushing and reading to your kids before bed is an easy idea to share with parents. Wouldn't it be wonderful if that idea became so embedded in our culture that we didn't have to keep educating parents?
In the meantime, I think we are all committed to helping parents understand the idea of reading to their children on a daily basis. One organization that has promoted a community-wide culture of literacy is the Family Reading Partnership in Ithaca, NY. Check out their website to see some intriguing ideas that you might consider for your community. www.familyreading.org.
Join the conversation about how we can promote these ideas across Colorado. Share with us what your community is doing to promote early literacy.
--Susan O.
Where do supplementary programs fit in?
I am a newcomer to the discussion of literacy, but I definately have a passion for learning. What are the professional thoughts on supplementary programs ie. Sylvan Learning and even Teach Your Baby How to Read videos?
Do they actually work? What is the "science" behind them? If they are successful why aren't practices incorporated into the schools?
--Heidi
DVD's and Infants
In addition to Priscilla's comments, I would like to add that the American Academy of Pediatrics "discourages parents from letting children younger that 2 watch any television".
A couple of years ago an article came out about the Baby Einstein videos titled New Study Finds Baby DVDs and Videos May Hinder Infant Language Development.
You can see it at http://www.seattlechildrens.org/media/press-release/2007/08/002688/#
Vicky
All that literacy stuff out there.....
In reply to Heidi's question-
There are many programs that work well. Sylvan, for example, mostly serves as a tutoring service for children who are not quite making the grade in their classrooms. Public schools cannot always provide the individual attention, practice and repitition that a child might need. Parents may choose to try this approach to help a struggling child or to give their child an advantage. Remember that organizations like Sylvan are 'for profit' and help with school is what they are selling. There is nothing wrong with making a profit - and if there is a market for this kind of service I think it should be available. It would be up to parents to decide if it is successful for their children. I would recommend that parents work closely with their child's teacher to choose what kind of extra help or tutoring might be helpful.
The 'teach your baby to read' kinds of programs, videos, etc. are also selling something. I am not sure which ones you are referencing, but I have certainly seen them advertised. When we talk about early literacy, we mean 'all the activities and experiences children need BEFORE they learn to read'. We don't mean that children should learn to read at younger and younger ages. There is a wealth of information about prenatal, baby and early childhood brain development that points to the amazing benefits of lots of language for healthy development and preparing children to learn to read when they get to school. When looking at early literacy programs, I would definitely look for appropriate child development activities. Knowing a bit about how children learn at different ages will help a person decide which programs are actually good for children. Many of the links included on the CLEL website will direct you to good examples of age-appropriate early literacy programs.
-PQ