Reluctance To Read Is Not Too Unusual

Q. At the beginning of the year our daughter’s first-grade teacher sent a note home to all the parents requesting they have their children read to them for 30 minutes every night. We can understand and even agree with the reasoning behind the request, but carrying it out has been nothing but a hassle. Five minutes into the exercise and our daughter’s had enough. From that point on, we must prod and scold to get her to finish. Meanwhile, her pronunciation gets increasingly sloppy and we all get increasingly frustrated. All too often, the whole situation ends in tears.

The real shame is that this is a little girl who has always loved to have us read to her. Now, however, instead of being a joy, reading is fast becoming a drudge. The parents of many of her classmates are having similar experiences. As a group, we are no longer certain that anything of value is being accomplished in this 30 minutes and are looking for alternatives that would be more meaningful. Do you have any suggestions?

A. I sure am glad you asked, because yours is a tale thousands of other parents could also tell. All across America, children who once enjoyed having their parents read to them now dread reading to their parents. When the time comes, their reluctance emerges in the form of careless pronunciation, whining and general dragging of feet (eyeballs?). All too often, their parents think they’re just being lazy and they end up being punished. But the problem, as you already realize, lies not with the child, but with the method.

Your daughter’s teacher wants to accomplish several things with this nightly exercise. First, she wants the children to practice their reading skills at home. Second, she wants parents to become involved in their children’s education. Third, she wants to keep parents abreast of their children’s progress in reading. Fourth, she’s probably hoping the exercise is enjoyable for both parent and child, thereby increasing the child’s motivation to read.

The teacher’s purposes can’t be faulted, but she’s going about them in a most counterproductive manner.

In the first place, even given a better method, 30 minutes is much too long a requirement. At this age, a child’s attention span for activities that require sitting in one spot is simply not that long. As you’ve discovered, the point of diminishing returns is reached very early in the game.

Game? Not hardly, and that’s the second, and biggest, problem. Simply stated, it’s no fun! There’s no play or give-and-take, only pressure to perform, and “you’re on your own, kid.” If there’s a better way to make a child hate reading, I haven’t heard of it.

Here are my suggestions:

Reduce the time to 10 minutes. Or, better yet, agree to stop at a certain point, such as after one or two stories.

Let your daughter choose at least some of what’s read, even if it turns out to be something she has read many times before and knows by heart.

Instead of having your daughter read to you the entire time, take turns reading to each other. You read a page, she reads a page, and so on.

Studies have shown that an early elementary school-age child’s reading skills will improve just as a result of being read to by an adult. When you read to her, hold the book so she can see it and follow along. This forces her to begin scanning more rapidly.

Gradually her reading speed will improve. Not only that, but she will begin to see the whole word as a pattern, rather than the word as a combination of phonetic elements. Consequently, her “sight word” vocabulary will increase. Furthermore, by listening to you, she will learn how to read with appropriate emphasis, which will enhance her comprehension of what she’s reading.

Last, but by no means least, it will be enjoyable! And any reading exercise that fails to accomplish that isn’t worth the time.

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The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = John Rosemond The Charlotte Observer