Reading an integral part of education process

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I read with great surprise, or should I say horror, The Gleaner article titled ‘Pembroke Hall High faces literacy crisis’ which highlighted the plight of Grade 7 students at a high school here in Kingston. The article states that approximately 70 per cent of Grade 7 students at that institution are ‘unable to read or do so only at Grade 3 level’. Further, it is noted that some are ‘unable to identify letters of the alphabet’.

Quite seriously, how could this be? Where are the parents of these children? Why have they been allowed to matriculate so far through the system? Surely these issues have been identified at the primary level. ‘Lack of parental cooperation’ is one of the issues that are faced by school officials. Some parents are either unwilling to engage or are in denial about their child’s condition. In cases like this, then perhaps the child should be removed from the school. Parenting is a serious responsibility. It is clear that some of these children need to be assessed at some level and that the costs are prohibitive in many cases. Surely, promoting these children to secondary institutions isn’t the answer.

That will cause more chaos than anything else as secondary education isn’t designed to teach the basics. As parents, ultimately, we need to pay more attention to our children ... especially during their formative years. We need to ensure that our children get the basics even before they start school. Reading should never have been removed from the curriculum. It was an asinine decision and we are clearly reaping the fruits of that oversight.

Parents should take responsibility for our children. Sit with them and read with them. As a youngster, reading was made to be a part of my daily existence. It was compulsory. I was never denied ‘ TV time’ or ‘play time’. Reading was just a part of the process. We live in a technologically advanced age where knowledge is literally at our fingertips. How could it be that, in this day and age, secondary school students exist that can barely read? Social media platforms and smartphones engross our lives, providing us with all kinds of information, half of it irrelevant.

Why don’t we use this power to educate our children in some way, as opposed to what can only be described as useless entertainment? We are responsible for our children. We brought them here. We cannot expect the State to teach our children the basics. It is unreasonable and unrealistic.

KARL TAIT