Watching our kids read



My kids have been reading for a while now, but every so often, it still makes me smile to see them excited over a book. My son, got the first three books of a series for Christmas, and my daughter got another series; they promptly tore through all of them and have been dragging us back to the library regularly for the rest of the series (the library is my friend).

I feel great that we passed on this pleasure to our kids, and I know that we developed this from our parents. It is contagious and a great habit to ‘catch’! I do not need a study to tell me that it is good for my kids, however, let me share something:

“Don't Underestimate the Power of Pleasure Reading”

“A recent study by David Comer Kidd and Emanuele Castano of The New School for Social Research in New York City argues that reading literary fiction (as compared with reading popular fiction, or nothing at all) temporarily enhances one's ability to understand others' mental states and deepens empathy. The study—published in the journal Science in October—grabbed a lot of attention, including a front-page article in The New York Times.”

 

“What makes the claim noteworthy is its scientific support. After all, the notion that reading literature has a civilizing impact has been with us at least since Matthew Arnold wrote on literary criticism in the late 1800s. And the idea that literary fiction is superior to popular fiction has been around for an equally long time.”

 

“That argument may be a long-standing one, but our recent study of the secret reading lives of young people convinces us that it is wrong. The young people who explained to us why they read what they read recognized that their parents and their teachers often looked askance at their [the students'] reading choices. Yet the students were remarkably articulate about the benefits they derived from their reading.”

 

Read the whole thing here: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/01/22/18wilhelm.h33.html?tkn=LXZFHdSlIUvq6Uko0p8O6vQ1DYBpGsOP6jZ0&cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2

 

Reading is good, and instilling the habit of reading in kids is great (not to mention when the batteries run out you can still read).

 

Everyone can be an educator about this.

 

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam