Where's the Fun Gone?

By DAPHNE LEE

Tots to Teens, StarMag

THERE’S so much emphasis on literacy these days that I think people have forgotten or overlooked the joy of reading, ie, the simple pleasure of reading or listening to a good story – if they ever knew it in the first place.

I can’t think of anyone from my generation who enrolled in a reading programme or was taught phonics by a parent or at kindergarten. Why is it necessary today? Because parents are now more determined than ever that Kok Leong Jnr and Little Shanti get a head start in the race to Oxbridge and the Ivy League universities?

At a recent storytelling event in a shopping centre, a couple of children who were listening to me read from picture books were actually dragged off (screaming!) by their parents who said they “had to go”. Later, I saw the family at a store selling phonics software. Hopefully, the children will learn to read and so save their parents the trouble of having to read to them any more – if they ever did.

It seems to me that many parents want their children to read but they seem to be interested only in the mechanics of reading. They don’t seem to understand that reading to a child will cultivate a love for stories and books, and this might, in turn, encourage a child to want to learn to read.

Apparently, this isn’t just a Malaysian problem. Over in the United States, a TV show called Reading Rainbow has come to an end after 26 years. The series, hosted by actor LeVar Burton, featured books and book reviews by Burton and children.

In an interview with National Public Radio, John Grant, who is in charge of content at the TV station that produced Reading Rainbow, said that the decision to cancel the series could partly be “traced to a shift in the philosophy of educational television programming. The change started with the (US) Department of Education under the Bush administration ... which wanted to see a much heavier focus on the basic tools of reading like phonics and spelling.”

Reading Rainbow was about why children should read. It did not attempt to teach them how to read. I guess the series would not have very high ratings in Malaysia.

In any case, many of us tend to forget that literacy is not just about reading and writing. Those are just the basics. Literacy is also about the ability to understand and reflect on what you read. It’s about analysing information and recognising its relevance. It’s about applying and communicating information effectively.

Learning to read isn’t a bad thing. It just shouldn’t be the only thing on the agenda. I do understand that most Malaysian adults grew up without the luxury of parents who read to them just because. It wasn’t part of their experience when they were children and so they don’t see the need to read to their own children: “What for? No one read to me and I turned out fine.”

I would like to suggest that parents forget all the possible benefits of reading to their children, and simply focus on giving their children a daily treat. Instead of an extra hour in front of the telly, or a meal at McDonald’s why not just 10 minutes with a picture book?

Phonics will be taught to primary school students starting next year (that’s the plan, anyway) and there are so many “enrichment” programmes to sign up for. In the meantime, there’s no harm in letting your kid read (or be read to) just for the sheer fun of it. What’s the worst that can happen? That he or she might actually start to like it?

Comments

[Sandra Stiles]

I understand how you feel. I posted about this in August after attending another training session to teach me once again how to use the scripted reading program our county has mandated. I am making it mandatory my students read 10 books minimum this year. They have to read a book from 7 different genres but they get to pick the books. The funny thing is I have a student who read one book last year and is finishing his second book and it is only the 3rd week of school. He didn't know there were books he could actually like he said. I love it. Keep caring about kids and reading.

[Betty Davis]

You are right on target it is important to read to children from when their they are an infant through second grade it is fun to read to children But don't forget that Reading is such an important skill,reading spans across the curriculum so once you know the code or the rules of how to read children who have learned phonics are much more intelligent then those that do no learn phonics. It is empowering to a child to be able to read. I teach young children to read often as young as 3 years old to read. Reading can be fun! I teach reading in a fun active way. So children are learning to read while having fun and loving to read!! Their are quite a few resources that create a and encourage a love for reading,