Concern for reading

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33515, 22 April 1974, Page 12

Concern for reading

Concern about children’s inability to read was expressed at the inaugural meeting on Saturday of a group called the Fostering of Initial Reading Skills in Time (F.1.R.5.T.).

In response to 73 invitations sent throughout New Zealand about 30 people attended the meeting, including parents, teachers and other interested parties. The meeting resolved that it had “no antagonism against teachers as individuals but against the system under which they teach, which is producing children still unable to read.” Mrs V. H. Anderson, vicepresident of the group, gave examples of letters from concerned parents, employers and teachers.

A garage manager wrote about his apprentices’ inability to read the workshop manuals. A university lecturer said he was disturbed at the inability of his students to express themselves coherently. The first aim of F.I.R.S.T. .'as to get people to acknowledge that there was a problem, said Mrs Anderson. The teaching of reading needed to be examined, not in the remedial stage, but at' the very beginning, she said.

Mr R. Grenfell was elected president and Mr M. V. H. Ritchie and Mrs V. H. Anderson, vice-presidents.