Wednesday, July 14, 2010

MORE BOOKS = MORE LITERACY. Who knew? We did.

On July 8, 2010, David Brooks of the NYT wrote: "Recently, book publishers got some good news. Researchers gave 852 disadvantaged students 12 books (of their own choosing) to take home at the end of the school year. They did this for three successive years.Then the researchers, led by Richard Allington of the University of Tennessee, looked at those students’ test scores. They found that the students who brought the books home had significantly higher reading scores than other students. These students were less affected by the “summer slide” — the decline that especially afflicts lower-income students during the vacation months. In fact, just having those 12 books seemed to have as much positive effect as attending summer school.



This study, along with many others, illustrates the tremendous power of books. We already knew, from research in 27 countries, that kids who grow up in a home with 500 books stay in school longer and do better. This new study suggests that introducing books into homes that may not have them also produces significant educational gains."

I believe kids still like books and they always will. Give some kid a book and see if they get mad at you. I dare ya.
I think the internet VS book debate is a false choice. Children need both. And they ABSOLUTELY NEED caring adults who expose them to the joys of reading a PHYSICAL, turn-the-page book. Once again, we have the stats. This is not new. Poor kids don't get enough exposure to books. So why do we continue to fail as a culture?

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