"A child's learning is the function more of the characteristics of his classmates than those of the teacher." James Coleman, 1972

Thursday, April 21, 2011

IRA President: Access to books makes a difference

The title of International Reading Association President Patricia Edwards, "President's Message" (Reading Today, April/May 2011, page 16) is "Access to books makes a difference."

She discusses research related access to reading and the relationship of reading to growth in literacy, and notes that "children of poverty need more access to reading material," as well as the importance of libraries.

The issue of access to books, she writes, "gets lost in the attempt to find the best practices or the most evidence-based approaches to teach teaching."

NCTE President Yvonne Siu-Runyan has been a very strong supporter of libraries and providing access to books as well.

With the presidents of both major literacy organizations openly declaring strong support for libraries, perhaps this will help stop the de-funding of public and school libraries we see today throughout the US.

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