None of my children learned to read until they were 7. I didn't learn to read until I was 7. None of us had any problem. We all learned almost instantly with little practice. The veil was withdrawn and the code revealed. We were ready. The other thing was that my kids either went to Waldorf kindergartens or no preschool or kindergarten at all.
The story of my very brief foray into kindergarten was that I eagerly bounded into the classroom in Worcester, MA. I was happy and excited. I love people. In the second or third week we were making hats and boats from folded newspapers. I was a genius at this because my older brother had taught me how. I was showing, helping everyone when the teacher called for quiet. I didn't get the call. Next thing I knew, she was standing next to my chair with a huge (to me) pair of scissors next to my head telling me that if I didn't stop talking she would cut my tongue out. I screamed and screamed. I never spent another day in kindergarten. One of my shortest educational careers of my lifetime.
By first grade, I was ready to be part of the class and I never had a problem. I can remember my seat in the room the day I learned to read. The teacher was pointing to the big book "See Jane Run" and all of a sudden I was reading the next line and the next line. I got it! I was ready and it was easy.
My granddaughter, however, is coming of age in a different era and a different place. She has been at a wonderful Montessori preschool since she was two. She is now 5 1/2 and about to enter a fine public school kindergarten in Marin, CA. She is a bright, well rounded, interested in everything kid. She is very athletic, can spend who afternoons making a fairy house for princesses, relates well to everyone. Loves to be read to, but hasn't learned to read yet.
She is the only person in her class who hasn't learned to read. She has a big problem. How can a child go to kindergarten so unprepared? She needs testing at Berkeley. She needs remedial work. She needs specialists. She hears the worry. She is 'less than'. She needs to practice all summer.
I have been an educator. I have taught adult literacy. I have worked with hundreds of kids. My evaluation is that she will read when she is ready. I know she loves books. I hate to see this pressure on her. I hate to see this worry surround her. The school is pressured. "We have paid all this money and she can't read yet!" The parents are being pressured. "You need to do this and this and this." But most of all it is the start of the pressure on Isabella. Who, with any wisdom, can show that early reading does anything to predict a happier or more successful life?
I feel that the concern and comparison is the damaging part, not the fact that a five year old can't read. I have watched this go back and forth over my lifetime. I have watched educational fads lock in then get kicked out. The best advice I can give is so very old fashioned. Good healthy food, plenty of sleep, lots of fresh air and play time, no more TV, and lots of stories. You can't go wrong. Then if there is a real reading problem, it can be addressed later when the developmental age is appropriate.
What do you think?
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