58 South Bay Accent SHUTTERSTOCK out that, unlike drivers, readers need to build and service the car first before they get to buckle up and drive away. This is because reading requires developing systems for decoding letters and words and then fluently combining them in a meaningful way. While many adults think reading just “kicks in” for kids, it is, in fact, not a natural skill for many. According to Sand Hill School Assistant Head Heather Whitlock, roughly 15 percent of the general population has dyslexia. And the English language has a dizzying amount of exceptions to the rule that make it tough on young readers. Teaching a child to read is not as simple as A, B, C, and for most of us, the mechanics of reading are a complete mystery. “I remember sitting there with my younger daughter and a super simple book,” recalls Cupertino mom Jenny Wong. “She was in preschool at the time, but she just could not get the word ‘the.’ Over and over we tried, but it seemed impossible. I felt like pulling my hair out. It was one of the most frustrating things I ever experienced.” Despite living in an era of brain mapping, cloud computing and helicopter parenting, reading remains a stubbornly complex subject. A famous example compares reading to driving but points Surprisingly, though, electronic devices haven’t proved to be a panacea for teaching kids how to read. Human interaction remains key.
South Bay Accent - Aug/Sep 2015
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