As a child, I was one of the lucky ones that would get at least one book or a 'book token' for Christmas, but also we had a mobile school library, and a local library that we visited periodically. If I had a particular interest in a topic (such as 'horses'), my mum would buy relevant books - even a series of books - whilst that interest lasted.
I am one of those people who cannot remember 'how' or 'when' I learnt to read but I suspect it was as much through my experiences at home and I suspect I was already a 'reader' when I went to school. As a teacher, however, I still maintain that it is our duty to teach the complex English alphabetic code explicitly, even for early readers, not just for reading, but for spelling and spelling word banks too.
In my childhood days, we always got an orange and a coin wrapped up in a ball of wool in our Christmas stocking. We loved the simple tradition and certainly didn't expect the kind of piles of parcels or expensive gifts that many children expect and receive nowadays. I have to say that 'a book' would be considered a great gift - and perhaps this is still the case for many children today - but I realise that times have changed in so many ways.
I'm involved in literacy projects overseas - sometimes in very impoverished contexts - and it made my heart swell when I heard one lady describe how thrilled the children were when they received their first, personal 'alphabetic code and multi-skills' book printed by a local printer from a pdf. This was the very first book many of them had ever seen or owned. These books are designed for children to keep, to keep repeating the content to 'learn' the code and practise their phonics skills - and they can also share this information with parents and carers at home. Who would have thought that such a 'teaching and learning' book would cause such a thrill. It's all about relative experiences isn't it.
How much we take for granted when we have no experience of such impoverishment.
Anyway, for what it's worth, this is what the Belfast Telegraph reported of the National Literacy Trust findings:
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opini ... 24529.html
Forget the crisps and buy a book, it will be a lot better for your children
In the rush before Christmas I almost missed it, but I am glad I came across a report from the National Literacy Trust. It stated that one in eight children has never been given a book as a present.
Among children in disadvantaged communities, the figure rises to as high as one in five. The key word there is "never". There are children who have never been given even one book as a present.
The report also found that children who read every day outside school are five times more likely to read above the expected level for their age than those who do not read at home.
In the context of the concern about educational underachievement and the need to promote educational excellence, that is a stark figure and it highlights the importance of reading and books.