Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Teaching Ourselves to Read

I admit I don't find this article very interesting because it has been my experience. My response is more like, "yeah, so?" than, "wow, are you serious?"

My oldest started reading somewhere between ages 3 and 4, I think. My attempts to use a reading program (Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons) did not go well. The first few lessons were fine, then she got bored and I got impatient. The CD case of ABBA Gold seemed to provide her more help than reading instruction. I would play that CD in the car, Suzanne asked to look at the case and I'd hand it back.

My youngest started reading around the age of 7. Unlike her sister, she was not a big fan of being read to. However, she started writing earlier than her sister did, so she was working on her own things, at her own pace.

It's nice to have them both reading now. Now go educate yourselves, kids, and let me know when you need me.

2 comments:

Bruneian Dollar said...

Hmm.. Well that's interesting. Can you tell me how soon will children understand or comprehend with finance subjects like economics, business studies and so on? I read in a different article somewhere that some school was teaching children when they were 8 years old with economics subjects. The writer's son was asking him a question about economics like demands and supply and the types of resources. I was surprised that I first learnt those when I was 14. Quite the gap in my country's education system. Opinion?

Unclimber said...

Hello, thanks for your comment.

I think it depends on the child. You specifically use "understand" and "comprehend." Teaching 8 year olds some economic concepts may or may not lead to such understanding and comprehension -- parroting back terms that have been drilled into one's head is not the same thing, in my opinion.

I've seen some elementary level textbooks that cover such ideas as supply and demand, but in very simple terms. So an 8 year old grasping that does not seem so surprising to me (many of them see it in action when there aren't enough paintbrushes for the entire class to use during an art lesson).

I don't tend to worry about education gaps. If one country introduces these terms to 8 year olds and another does so at age 14, I don't think this necessarily correlates to.... anything, really. In some ways, waiting until 14 might work better if the student has more of a framework for understanding these things and they can be explored in more depth.

Kids will learn and it will stick, when it's meaningful to them. I don't see the importance of rushing learning. Go at the pace the child needs/wants and it will all work out for the best. However, this is far easier to do in a homeschool of two kids (like mine) than in a classroom with 30.