Loving Books, Loving Kids

I come from a book loving family. My mom is a librarian, my sister works in publishing, and my Dad, a life-long bibliophile, has been a writer of many sermons and one book. Me, I write internet content. And more importantly, I read.

Which makes it funny, in a way, that for all the aspects of unschooling that I question and struggle to wrap my mind around, reading isn't one of them. Many parents, grandparents, and concerned strangers seem convinced that children will never learn to read unless forced to do so.

Personally, I'm 99% certain that my kids will learn to read. Maybe not at three, maybe not at five (though I wouldn't be surprised), but eventually - when they have a reason to. To me, the interesting thing is not that unschooling kids learn to read (they do, seemingly without fail), but how it happens. In some stories I've heard, they ask for help when they want to be able to enjoy books more independently. In others, they teach themselves, maybe using computer games or other technology. In our house, we've already seen both of these things, as River learned the alphabet from videos and games that he likes, and has since started to ask about words and letters. Occasionally, though, it seems that kids wait long enough to learn reading by osmosis, in almost the same way that they learn to talk. Parents of older children, perhaps concerned that they haven't shown any interest yet, will suddenly discover them reading chapter books. How did they learn to do that?

Interestingly, some research shows that the phonics method, taught in schools and homes all over the world, isn't necessarily the most efficient way to read. Apparently hearing the sound of words while you read, as most of us do, can slow us down to about a third of our potential reading and comprehension speed. It's possible to reverse this habit by using speed reading training tools like those found at spreeder, but you know who can do it faster automatically? Self-taught readers.

Other research on reading shows that the single biggest factor influencing whether kids grow up to be book lovers is not how or when they learn to read, but whether they see their parents reading - they learn this habit by example. That's a major factor, and one of the few in the control of parents. If it's true then my kids should be in good shape, reading-wise. Of course, it's not a foolproof guarantee; they may learn to enjoy other pursuits more and read only when necessary, regardless of anything I might do or not do.

They will learn to read, though, I'm almost sure of it. On the off chance, that other 1% or .5% or .1% chance that they don't find it worth doing eventually, I'm almost certain that I'll be even more impressed with the sheer fortitude it takes to make and live with such an interesting and unusual decision. It would be a different life, more immediate and present maybe, but also requiring more human interactions, a wonderful memory, and a good sense of humor to deal with the challenges. It sounds kind of exciting, actually.