Experts say summer reading is critical for learning and that new initiatives need funding to help Delaware combat its “literacy crisis.” What programs would you like to see? As parents and grandparents, do you commit to regular reading time with your children?
I always thought it is like a genetic pattern. You know, if you smoke, your kids have a high chance of doing it, or if you get a tattoo, so will they down the road. My mom read to me growing up, so I liked to read, then I read to my kids, and they liked reading when they were young. I thought the genetic love of reading would continue. The problem is, there was a culture shift, and books became less and less on paper. Everything became digital. Then, they didn’t own the tech that held digital books, so they stopped wanting to read. I still read to them, and I still read papers and books to myself, but when they got the tech (in this case, tablets first), they found out there were better, more interesting things to do on them than read digitally. Now, they will only read books or digital materials if absolutely necessary. I think it will be a hard sell to turn back time and get this generation and future generations to read again. After all, they cut out teaching cursive, and my kids, now teens, do not know how, despite me trying to teach them and buying those cursive learning books. So, reading and writing will be a thing of the past, unless something changes. — Tiffany Rumbley
All I have to say is, “It starts at home.” If you think the only people who should be educating your kids are teachers, you’re sadly mistaken. If your kid has never seen you read a book, you think that’s what’s going to interest them? I grew up in an age when Scholastic Book Fairs were something we waited all year for. — Christopher Joyce
No new funding needed. Have a list of books by grade level that are required over the summer months. Have the children choose from a list of projects to do after reading each book that they can bring to school in September. The school can display all the projects, and the teachers can have lessons around the readings to start the school year. There can also be math packets to be completed over the summer, so the students can keep their skills up. — Debbie Gorab
It all started when they lowered the promotion standards to increase the promotion rate. Over time, that led to the downturn in reading and math scores. Raise the promotion standards, which, in turn, will raise the other scores. — Howard Brobst
Obviously, with Delaware ranking 45th in education, maybe vote out the Democrats who care more about sex change picture books than math and reading! — Tracy Lou
We need to spend more time teaching reading, writing, science, math and history, and realize that opinions do not belong in classrooms. Students should not know the sexual preferences of teachers, their religion nor their political views. Students are not their friends; stop blurring the lines. Do your job and teach. Parents should get a syllabus of every teacher’s instruction, and two cameras should be in every class, only available to parents using a passcode. If teachers know that they are being watched, all this other stuff stops. We all know that cameras are great security. Students wouldn’t act like fools if they knew that their parents can be shown videos of bad behavior in seconds. Students’ bad behavior should never be more than a teacher’s bad behavior! — Diane Butters-Eastburn
Parents should be involved in their kids’ education. — Howard Gaines III