How to help your children fall in love with books
Literacy expert and author of Growing Readers shares some tips on how you can open your children’s world up to the joy of reading in today’s demanding environment
Books have some tough rivals in the competition for children’s time today, says literacy expert Kathy Collins, who was in town to deliver a talk to teachers at the Hong Kong International School’s Literacy Conference on Tuesday.
Reading often doesn’t top a child’s list of priorities in the digital age, Collins tells the Post during an interview. Children lack the time they need to read out of class, and parents are often too busy to find time to read aloud to their children.
“Kids are over-scheduled nowadays with clubs and sports – everyone is tired, parents included,” she says.
The guest speaker, who works closely with Columbia University Teachers College, had always imagined herself becoming a teacher of social studies when her student years were over – until she found she had an interest in literacy work, when she was engaged as a research assistant on a literacy project at the same school. She later became a first-grade teacher in Brooklyn where she wrote her first book, Growing Readers, about literacy instruction.
“One thing that has changed since 22 years ago, when I started teaching, is the expectations of children as readers.”