Letters: Learning, motherhood, the Kiwi dream and Covid 19 coronavirus

More studies have shown enjoyment in reading decreases as the use of electronic devices increases. Photo / Getty Images

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.

Kiwi dream realised

According to John Roughan (Weekend Herald, November 21), both Labour and National agree that home ownership only by the wealthy is not the Kiwi dream.
Since a modern home is not a free gift of nature, but a parcel of wealth created by humans, the Kiwi dream is actually a desire for at least a certain level of wealth ownership potential by all.
This requires a certain amount of capital ownership creation at the expense of hand-to-mouth consumption on national - and personal - levels, achievable through a special-purpose capital savings factor built into our taxation system.
We are on the right track through the NZ Super Fund and KiwiSaver, but participation in the latter by 100 per cent of the population still needs to be achieved.
Eventually, the Kiwi dream will be achieved in a sustainable way when there is no "have-not" poverty any more, and practically all parents are able to assist their children into home ownership.
Jens Meder, Pt Chevalier.

Public service

Grainne Moss's troubled leadership of Oranga Tamariki raises the question of why so many who are appointed to senior management positions in New Zealand's social services come from other countries.
Some of those whose training ground has been elsewhere, for example the UK's NHS, seem to lack genuine understanding of the legacy of colonisation and be more likely to create a culture that lacks sensitivity to the needs of the population they serve.
Andrea Dawe, Sandringham.

Mere twitterings

In the profile of newcomer Act MP Mark Cameron (Weekend Herald, November 21), he cites that his considered constituents of the farming community are concerned about his authenticity. I am no farmer, but I am indeed concerned.
He tweets inflammatory rhetoric online, postulating his positions on such issues as climate change, but then back-tracks when challenged on them in an interview.
He would do well to realise that his online conduct is actually how he is perceived, and any posts should be representative of his actual views, especially now that he is an elected official.
John Deyell, Ellerslie.

Morbid membership

Care to join the exclusive Covid 1000 club? Peru and Belgium have already joined, with more than 1000 Covid deaths per million population. Spain is knocking on the door.
I reckon, by the end of the northern winter, the club will contain at least 20 countries.
New Zealand is in great shape with only five deaths per million.
Andrew Tichbon, Green Bay.

A quick word

It's clear as crystal the only way to close the poverty gap. Grant and Jacinda, feel the fear of the 2023 election and tax the rich anyway. Jim Carlyle, Te Atatu Peninsula.

The two right-wing parties calling for curbs on the housing market is an eye-opener. Will Labour show some boldness to initiate significant, if not exactly transformational change?Kushlan Sugathapala, Epsom.

Why do advertisements for funeral insurance show a couple of oldies laughing their heads off? It's not a laughing matter. Jack Waters, Taupō.

I was at Rutherford High School with Tim Shadbolt, he was a prefect. He was also a reason I voted no in the referendum. Neville Cameron, Coromandel.

If the Government can contribute many millions of dollars to the America's Cup, it can fully fund the St John's Ambulance Service. Bruce Tubb, Belmont.

OK Millennials, we get it: Work sucks. Chris Lonsdale, New Plymouth.

There are no circumstances under which a person, locked in a prison cell, needs to be pepper-sprayed once, or five times. Dando Francis, Bayview.

The term Skoda Brigade was once coined to describe the Social Credit Party. Nowadays it might describe the NZ Police. Peter Culpan, Te Atatu Peninsula.

With Covid-19 pretty well under control here, surely there are other countries and populations which should be ahead of us in the queue for a vaccine? Danna Glendining, Taupō.

I'd guess the liquor industry people have had boozy celebrations over the defeat of the legalisation of cannabis referendum? Robert Myers, Auckland Central.

What fools we are giving the cricket team "their last chance". They should all be put on a plane home. Linda Beck, West Harbour.

Would Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer flout the tikanga on the marae? If not, then they should also observe the tikanga at Parliament. S. McLaren, Titirangi.

Thanks to Parliament, I now know what "hit the ground running" means: Going home in two weeks for a break. Richard Carey, Manly.