The phrase read it and weep seems remarkably apposite here:
BBC NEWS | Education | Who could be right about reading?
It seems very likely that this 20% or so who watch a lot of television, play a lot of computer games and never read for fun represent the bulk of the “unacceptably high” figure of 20% who fail to reach the expected standards of reading in school.
This surely suggests that the key to this under-performance is not the result of England’s teaching methods (which are producing results to match the best in the world) but of what is going on in the homes of a substantial minority of children.
On this basis, the most effective policy would be to ban TVs and computer game consoles in the homes of children who fail to spend at least an hour a day reading for pleasure.
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Hm, proving that statistics can be used to prove anything again. Ever thought, Mr Baker, that these children could be watching tv *because* the schools failed to teach them to read? And when precisely, in the New Labour world of wrap around childcare, are these children fitting in 5 hours of tv/ computers?
Can you think of any other reasons you’d like to invade our homes and tell us what to do? Ludicrous.
Comments
4 responses to “BBC NEWS | Education | Who could be right about reading?”
Right. That’s it! Chucking the TV in the bin!!
*shakes head in disbelief*
Grin, but i read all that article yesterday and thought of Ernest!!! 😀 Exception that proves the rule, or proof they still have it wrong?
I was thinking that they had it all wrong personally – he has made a vast leap in assuming that the 20% who can’t read (won’t read?) are the same 20% who watch TV/ play computer games. Which was what I meant by his use of statistics. But it was late, and I wasn’t very coherent.
Mmm and I have some similar children to E here, the one who refuses to tell me any letter names but can read well enough to navigate around any computer game hes chooses and another child who argued with Daddy this morning (about Toy Story DVD) “I want it in German, not English, in German” and pointed through the menus to help Daddy along to that end!