Kids should know reading is also for enjoyment
Re: “Reading wake-up call,” Editorial, Dec. 13.
Your editorial asserted that I had portrayed Alberta students’ declining scores on an international standardized reading test as “good news of a sort.” This assertion is untrue and offensive. In the original interview about recent international test results, I addressed three significant concerns — none of which are good news of any sort.
First, I raised an alarm about the deteriorating conditions in Alberta classrooms. Communities across our province are feeling the pressures of a booming economy. Teachers are not immune to these forces and have been struggling with much larger classes, and declining resources and supports for students with complex special needs.
Contributing to this complexity is the fact that approximately one-in-four Alberta students is learning English as an additional language. I did not mention in the interview that, de- spite these challenges (and others, such as the stain of child poverty), Alberta’s 15-year-old students continue to rank second in the world in reading according to the latest Programme for International Student Assessment results.
Second, the Alberta Teachers’ Association, along with the medical community, is concerned that research indicates children as young as eight years of age are spending between five and eight hours a day in front of screens (smartphones, video games and televisions). Those who work with children, families, schools and com- munities are asking serious questions about the effects of online digital activities for off-line health and mental well-being.
Of particular concern is how late-night screen time decreases sleep quality and quantity, and negatively affects children’s readiness to learn and, consequently, to read.
Finally, I talked about reading enjoyment and how an obsession with standardized testing in Grade 3 may be impinging on it. Research out of Ontario shows that the percentage of Grade 3 students who said they “like to read” declined radically from 76 per cent in 1998/99 to 50 per cent in 2010/11.
Standardized tests emphasize ranking, promote timed reading skills and encourage students to become good test-takers. The standardized testing regime in Alberta’s Grades 3, 6 and 9 classrooms transforms reading into an uninspiring and tedious chore. To what extent do we consider reading enjoyment as we weigh and measure children with standardized tests?
Teachers in Alberta are striving to cultivate in students both proficiency and lifelong enjoyment of reading. When children and youth read well, it establishes a solid foundation for learning and, just as importantly, engages them in one of life’s great pleasures.
If we are to improve students’ reading skills and practices, we must identify and address the real challenges facing children and youth in our classrooms. It would be helpful if the Calgary Herald would make the same efforts to explore the complexities around students learning to read, rather focusing on the single issue of test scores.