hello, this is my first post on MN!
I just thought I'd add to the discussion that I'm 30, so started school in 1980, and my dad taught me to read before I started school. He started on flashcards when I was 2, and when I joined the first year of infants (sorry have no idea what that is in current system except I was 5), I had read almost every book they owned or was too advanced. Consequently they put me on the last year of junior books (eg 10 yr olds). By age 9 I had read two thousand books ranging from Peter and Jane (!) to the more complex stuff and had a reading age of at least 14. I know this because Dad kept a record of everything we read (my brother also started at 2).
I suppose what might interest people about this, is what consequences this had for me in my life. Well, I went to a very small village primary school and they never seemed quite confident in handling my abilities. I think that these days I would probably be classified as G&T, but in those days it was more a case of 'er....oh you've read this too? er...hang on...er...help!'. My parents didn't really push to have me put up a year, perhaps because they didn't know they could, but i think that would have been more logical for me than being stuck doing stuff way below my ability range and getting increasingly bored. Teachers seemed a little bit uncomfortable with me. I knew the answers to a lot of stuff in infants (not so much in juniors) and this led to a situation where other kids would come to me for help rather than the teachers, and also to me constantly questioning teachers and why we did things. Not in a bad way, I was always the good girl (very Hermione!) but I was thirsty for more knowledge all the time. I think they experimented with putting me into an older maths class but I didnt cope well as they just didnt explain things to me or help me. I remember being left on my own a lot and I've sometimes felt as an adult that this has impeded my social progression- I find I don't really understand the ynamic in large groups and prefer 1-1 time with people, although this may have happened anyway. I also remember being asked to read to the other children on occasion when the teacher wanted to step out of the room for a minute. In short, the school were pretty unsupportive, and this continued when I decided to apply for grammar school later on (I got in as one of 30 girls outside the catchment area) and they advised me not to as the other girls weren't. It often seemed that they resented me. I think in later life I've realised that the lack of experience of the school with kids like me led to me being underdeveloped and bored a lot of the time, and although I wasn't disruptive, I formed a certain laziness and ambivalence like 'i know I can do it so why bother trying?'. I've now got a 2.1 degree in English Lit, but I didn't revise at all, or indeed read any of the course texts except one, so i could almost certainly have got a first (I did get a few on individual bits of work but i just never pushed myself to do more, and it was a rough time as my Dad died and bf dumped me in the middle of finals lol). I just have an ability to skim read the salient points, absorb, and understand (my dad had a photographic memory). I got a B in my Sociology A level after not attending any classes all year and then spending 3 days with dad just cramming info. I also have a near perfect spelling capability (bad typist tho lol) and an instinctive understanding of grammar (usually just write a huge block when posting tho).
I honestly think that if my teachers had had the desire/capability/resources to develop me more at a young age, I would have maintained my love of education and reading and would probably have ended up at Oxford or similar, but as it was it all just became a bit lukewarm for me. I certainly haven't done badly for myself, but I always feel that I could have done that 10% more. I don't even have any real respect for my degree because it came too easily and I didn't try and excel, whereas other people I know really worked for their grades. I feel a bit like I cheated, even though I didnt.
I think for my Dad, who had grown up in a 2 roomed tenement building in Motherwell, it was important that we do well so we could better ourselves through education. He had gone to grammar school, and after a brief stint in the Navy he went to nightschool to do his O levels and A levels and leave the warehouse he worked in packing bananas, to become, eventually, a senior civil servant. Unfortunately he died before I finished my degree. He wasn't competitive, he just wanted the best for us.
My partner and I are now expecting our first baby, and I will definitely try to teach him as soon as possible to read, for his own enjoyment and advancement but i think I might try to be a bit more balanced about it, make other subjects equally important, and respond more to his enjoyment or otherwise. These were things Dad didn't really do and became a stumbling block with my brother who has consequently refused to sit an exam of any kind. If he turns out to be G&T i will do everything in my power to ensure he gets the right level of stimulation and can fulfil his potential properly, but I'm not going to be all competitive- my parents always said they would be happy as long as we were happy and tried our best, and I think thats more valuable than forcing kids to learn things and worry about tests. I do feel that I couldn't leave it to a school to teach him to read though, I just wouldn't feel like i was being a good parent. I don't mean to offend anyone with that, its just how I was brought up I guess. I feel that its my responsibility first and foremost to educate him in the basics (I'm a bit stuck when we get to science and geography!). I also gained so much from having those skills, despite the difficulties that I wouldnt want him to miss out. I loved reading and still do. It gave me an inquiring mind and a confidence early on that no one can knock out of me.
Anyway that all came out as a bit of a longwinded rambling, but just thought I'd add it as some people don't seem to believe that either a) kids can read before 4, or b) that they have the inherent skill to teach their own kids. I think if you want to, go for it, kids are like sponges at that age, and it can help them academically (provided the school isn't useless like mine was!). You don't need to do it in a particular order or have a qualification, you can just pick up a book and start. Its a great way to bond too.