Letter of the week: Warwick B. Elley, Rothesay Bay
The report this week on our children's disastrous decline in reading achievement should sound alarm bells to all policy-makers, teachers and parents.
As computers come to
dominate our classroom programmes, reading achievement falls. More time with computers means lower reading scores. Independent research confirms that children who learn to read on computers do not enjoy e-books as much as traditional books.
Interactions with parents and teachers are of lower quality, and the learners are less engaged. In previous surveys, when Kiwi kids were excelling, NZ teachers stood out
in their desire to develop a lifelong interest in reading, rather than emphasising drills and skills. These are picked up incidentally, as children read more.
We know that access to a wide range of attractive books is a critical factor in explaining better reading. Many experiments I have conducted, in many countries, show an important way to boost reading scores is to flood classrooms with high-interest, illustrated books and show their teachers how to get them immersed in the books daily. There are important lessons here.
Children need to read widely to navigate their way in a changing world.
Mother at 64
Lynley Ward's article (Weekend Herald, November 21), announcing an anonymous 64-year-old New Zealand mother and grandmother gave birth to a 3.3kg boy will undoubtedly start some debate.
Following the birth, she also recorded her experiences with medical experts, police and other public services.
While these services might be excused for thinking they had prevented an older lady from kidnapping a newborn, the incidents do signal another example of ageism. Forgiveable perhaps, because this event was a "first".
Whether we approve or disapprove, this woman's journey over the past six years causes us to face possibilities in our future.
Will mothers, as she is quoted, be able to defer childbirth until their 50s?
Kiwis like me, born before 1960, may recall how normal it was to leave school, get engaged, marry and start a family in late teens or well before age 25. How quickly has this trend changed? What further changes lie ahead?
Population statistics indicate we could already have more grandparents than grandchildren. Our population is ageing. The trend is forecast to be permanent. Has our new baby citizen just illuminated the way to a re-balancing of our demographics?
Tony Edmonds, Longevity International.