Reading and writing...

I never thought of writing as scribbles and drawings before I read this book. I guess it makes some sense. You can draw pictures of words to get your point across as a child. I definitely agree with Williams when he said that children learn by example rather than instruction. Children can follow instructions after they have learned the basics.

English is a hard language. There was an example of how the word house can mean different things. This is very confusing to a child and those who are learning English as a second language. There are so many words with multiple meanings. Parents are responsible for teaching their children to read and write before they enter school. Parents can motivate their children and make it fun for them. I think children will dread reading and writing if they don’t have someone to motivate them.

I found that reading the phonics section made the concept of reading and writing more complicated when they go into the psychology of it. The author also said that it is easier for children to express themselves through writing if they can invent their own words. I am not so sure that I agree with this statement. I think children should learn the correct spellings of words. It is easier to teach them when they are younger. Why teach them the wrong way?

I liked the example that was used in the book with the conversation between a mother and her child. It reminded me of times when my mother would stop me when I was speaking incorrectly. She would not necessarily correct me, but she would stop mid way. For example, if I were to say, “I haven’t ate all day.” My mother would say, “You haven’t what all say?” I would respond, “Oh I mean I haven’t eaten all day.” This forced me to correct myself. I have to thank her for this. I hate when people don’t speak correctly. I find myself picking out all the mistakes in emails that I receive from my managers at work. I don’t try to do this. It just stands out to me. My point of all this is that it is important for parents to work their children. Sometimes teachers don’t have time to work with every individual student. Sometimes teachers do not know everything. I had an English teacher in my senior year that would end sentences in prepositions. I always thought this was ridiculous. Of all teachers, he was an English teacher. How can someone teach something if they don’t even know it themselves?