>It seems too me that one of the basic skills that people learn in school
is:
>how to learn. Assuming that this is a genetic trait, what if the child
never
>wants to learn to read because playing outside with friends is more fun?
>There are windows of opportunity to learn certain types of skills when you
>are young that increasingly become difficult with age. e.g. learning a
>lanuage. I think the window is between 0-7 years. During this time, isn't
it
>easier to learn one or more lanuages?
>
>jeff taylor
First off, if a child does not wish to learn to read, then forcing the subject on him will only cause him harm, and will certainly not teach him to enjoy reading. I do believe it is easier to learn to read up until a certain age, and I'll accept your age of 7 for the sake of discussion, because I don't have more accurate information. It is my belief, and I think the success of SVS shows, that if children want to learn, and if they have to read to learn, that they will want to learn to read. But they have to decide when. I was reading at age 3-4, not because of school but because my parents read to me and I wanted to learn it. My husband, who is more intelligent than I am, learned to read between the ages of 6-7. He just wasn't ready before then. But when he was ready, he did it, and he did it because he wanted to.
What you say about languages is also true -- it is far easier to learn them at a young age. But once again, how does this typically come into practice? Not by them being taken to classes at age 3 to learn to speak French. It happens by living in a multilingual household or by spending time in foreign countries during these developmental years. Personally, I highly recommend this and intend to do it with my own children when I have them.
Jocelyn Brown
jocelynb@mindspring.com
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