While I share the concern that many parents express about the lack of literacy of their children ("Mpls. literacy gap splits school board," front page, Nov. 1), I believe much of their criticism of the curriculum is misplaced. What does it say about a parent that he or she has apparently been so indifferent about their child's education for the first six years of their life that the parent expects a stranger to teach their child to read?
My parents chose not to introduce a television into our home and instead stocked it with books. They read to us daily, and when my siblings and I learned to read (by nothing more complicated than being read to), we read to the younger children. All eight of us entered first grade as proficient readers, and at least the three oldest were advanced early to higher grades because most of what first-graders did was centered around learning to read. When my wife and I had preschool-age children, we did the same. Most Saturdays we took our boys to the library and exchanged the three grocery sacks of books from last week's reading for three more. We were told that, as first-graders, our sons were reading at a sixth-grade level.
It's really quite simple, and it's never too late to start: Read to your children instead of parking them in front of a television or a game box or similar device. Their teachers will be impressed and grateful to you, and your children might even thank you.
Justin Doyle, St. Cloud
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Now that we have all expressed our frustration over the "stubborn achievement gap" in Minneapolis Public Schools, is it finally time to take effective action on this issue? Why continue to criticize the school system and its employees when studies show clearly that the gap begins as early as 3 years of age? The achievement gap didn't start in the schools, and it's apparent that it can't be fixed there either. It's time to move upstream to provide the help our young children and their families need and deserve.
As pediatricians and educators, we know that the period from birth to 3 years provides the most rapid brain development. The infant brain is primed to form millions of new connections each day simply by interacting with an adult who talks, reads, sings and plays back-and-forth games in a calm, safe environment. Parents are the first and best teachers followed by caregivers in high-quality child care.
Brain connections are strengthened with each interaction while those that go unused are eliminated or pruned away as the brain readies itself for what is to come. Infants and toddlers are learning how to learn and by age 3, differences in skills, in language development and interest in learning can be measured. These differences persist for many and are hard to remedy when kids reach kindergarten.