Already a subscriber? Log in
Getting books into homes should be a national mission; some of the estimated six and half hours a day that the typical child spends in front of a screen should instead be used to read books. Every year the media regulator Ofcom looks into the habits of children and uncovers startling statistics. One in six three-to-four-year-olds have a mobile phone, a bonkers figure I checked again and again in disbelief. By the time they finish their first year of school, a quarter of five-year-olds have a phone. It’s hard to see where the books come in. The National Literacy Trust put out a report this weekend, handily timed for the return to school, showing that only half of children aged five to eight said that they read daily with about two children in every class admitting they never read at all. One in five children don’t have any books at home.
Educationalists point to poverty as a factor. The so-called ‘forgotten fifth’ – those teenagers who don’t achieve basic maths or English – are much more likely to grow up in the shadow of joblessness, single parenthood and overcrowded housing. It is a cycle that will repeat itself if today’s five-year-olds leave school unable to read and write. The quickest route to life on the breadline with little prospect of work is to be unable to read.
There shouldn’t be a stigma attached to illiteracy but it should be shameful for parents not to pick up a book and read to their children. There are innovative schools bucking the trend, many in rougher parts of the country, who pull parents in to explain their role in plain language. It’s the nudge many need to stop and think about what parenting actually means. Take the Feltham Reach Academy in London. Staff there get involved with the lives of local families practically from birth with parenting groups and a children’s hub attached to the main school. They run parenting classes and every parent signs an agreement setting out the expectations for them. The school serves a poor part of London but that doesn’t mean the parents are let off the hook, they are expected to get involved and play their part.
The truth is that children spend the vast majority of their lives outside of the classroom. We can always look to cram more reading and writing into the school day and argue about the curriculum, but it can’t just be about the ‘system’ or government – we need parents to step up too.
Because you read about education
Also by Frank Young
Latest
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in