My right eye is considerably weaker than the left, the product of reading a lot as a child, but with the bad habit of closing my left while doing so.
I joined the library at the age of seven and remember well bothering my mom in the bath while reading Tom Thumb, asking what a “stomach”, my young self pronouncing it as “stomatch”, was.
These days my reading is largely confined to perusing proofs of these pages, but I’m glad my wife and I have passed the habit on to our kids who, despite hours on their phones, are also voracious readers.
Durban’s Manor Gardens Primary School has the right idea. Instilling a reading culture among pupils has so many benefits.
Aside from the entertainment value, it improves concentration and comprehension among pupils, and increases the ability to empathise and works against age-related cognitive decline.
Not too long ago a worldwide literacy test showed that 78% of Grade 4 children in South Africa cannot read for meaning ‒ in any language.
Causes include the absence of a reading culture among adults, a lack of school libraries, the high cost of books, and the way reading is taught.
Instead of the focus on matric results, the education department should perhaps rather pay attention to the quality of foundation phase education, which will absolutely have a positive effect on matric results.
Teach children to read with comprehension, and half the matric battle is won.
The Independent on Saturday