On Reading

What's in a reading age? Your children might be reading to early at Babble

This might be a good article for parents out there.

"Of course it’s wonderful that children are reading, and wonderful when they read complicated books. But in the fuss about literacy and reading levels and school achievement, something fundamental gets lost: the pleasure of the book for its own sake."

I love reading. I really do. I read anything because it pleases me to read - from novels to programming. I even read during the long drive when I worked as teacher or when I have to wait for my turn at any office I visit.

I'm no parent but I do agree what the author says about readiness. I don't exactly know when I learned to read what I do remember is that my first teacher was my mom but the love for reading I got from my father. They were never selective with what I read. I guess they were just too happy to see their kid reading.

I don't remember having many children's books in the house presumably because they are too expensive or that my father only wanted to buy books that he can enjoy for himself. I guess my father did set a good example because I would always see him with a book. When I started school I developed an intense adoration for the library that as opposed to the playground, you'll find me at the library after I ate lunch lying on the mat with a book open before me.

When I was nine I got transferred to a public school where there we no interesting books - for me that is. So began my foray into books for adults. I was nine when I read the prophesies of Nostradamus and that of Prophet Malachi and that got me interested in the occult. Then in high school we had a really great library and it was back to books for my age but mostly detective novels and fantasy novels. I still remember the look on the librarian's face when upon the next day I returned the book I borrowed the day before. This is also the time I read The Scarlet Letter and mythology books. These days I just content myself with a page or a chapter before going to bed.

When I worked as teacher, I often wondered what happened to my former students in their childhood that made them hate reading even just a short post. I used to think that it's the education they had. After all not all schools have a wonderful collection of books. Does this article give me a different answer? Then I remember, "Though shall not judge a book by it's cover."