Reading in the infants, am I missing something?

[Cortina]

A child that is a fairly advanced reader in Y1 - ORT 8 or 9 for example - is probably reading at this level because they've had more practice at home than others.

I know there is more to it than decoding but a child will usually become familiar with all the other aspects (comprehension, expression etc) if they've had lots of time to figure it all out and an adult's support.

So apparent 'talent' at this stage is really only hidden practice? Someone said that their child taught themselves aged three but these children are clearly unusual. This is what made me think.

They all tend to catch up and we are out of the infants now but surely, generally speaking the more practice a child has the better they get? Or am I missing something? Am not sure it's widely seen this way.

I think there's a mixture of ability, the child wanting to (either to please parents or for themselves) and the opportunity.

Dd1 loved doing workbooks, and wanted to read, she still does in yr6. She started reception about level 5 ORT, but very quickly advanced and was reading Harry Potter and similar in Yr 1 because she wanted to. She is very lacking in confidence with her peers, although will happily stand up and sing in front of any size audience.

Dd2 isn't naturally a worker. She liked to do workbooks sometimes when dd1 was doing them. I don't think she would have wanted to do them if dd1 hadn't been. She clicked very easily with reading, and was reading level 9/10 ORT before starting school. In yr 1 she was probably slightly behind where dd1 ws. She is very confident with peers, not so confident at presenting in front of a crowd.

Ds has just started reception but is very young in his year. His reading is similar to dd1's, but is very much more practical/technical. He has learnt a lot of words from computer games and aeroplane manuals, some of which are useful and some not. He wants to read because he likes learning stuff, so can read happily about a sonic boom, but does not want to bother with a Magic Key.

Cortina - there is one thing in the world that everybody is absolutely equal in. And that is the amount of time they have.

No one has more than 24 hours in the day.

So if it takes someone 1 hour to do something, and someone else 1000 hours to do something - they are not equal. The person who only takes 1 hour will achieve more - they will be able to achieve 1000x more.

HMC is right, your comments are offensive. With only 24 hours in the day DD cannot learn to read, nor can she learn her times tables.

You are also projecting all this labelling stuff. You are assuming people think stuff that they don't think. For example you told mrz that that boy might surprise her. Yet she never ever indicated that the boy wouldn't be fabulous. All she said was that his confidence wasn't dented by his current attainment.

For example you said people don't think there child can't get grade 8. I don't think anybody thinks that. I think most people think the effort needed to get a grade 8 just ain't worth it.

You are saying everyone should be a tiger mum. Which is an awful thing to say. And in China where everybody is a tiger mum the effect is awful. Every child studies 12 hours a day - and yet still only 1 person can be top of the class.

You are also wrong about the link between confidence and attainment. Schools don't work like this anymore. Everything is so well differentiated that everyone gets to feel brilliant. Kids today are more likely to suffer from over confidence than under confidence.

Every 6 months you start this thread. I wish you'd stop.

Indigo, I don't mean to offend and I'm obviously not explaining myself well because I certainly don't think everyone should be a tiger mum, that's not my point. I think it's healthy to concentrate on the attitudes and habits of mind that are capable of being strengthened. I don't like to see educators with fixed mindsets as apart from anything else it sends a message many of us might as well not bother, if you're not cut out for maths and haven't got it in you why even try?

blindcave - i would love to see that get through an ethics committee now. not a cat's chance in hell. i'm def going to read it though.

"A child can speak a second language at 5/6, sometimes fluently, the reason another can't? Lack of exposure and practice."

Personality (in particular) and aptitude play a part here, too, though. Parents whose children speak one language at home and another at school find that their children display considerable differences in the speed and ease with which they pick up the community language.

Haven't read all of thread, sorry.

DS was way ahead for reading in Recpt and Y1 (Oct bday). DD is on ORT Level 2 in Y1 ( Aug bday ).

I have given them exactly the same amount of exposure and attention at home wrt reading. Apart from the differential in birthdays, they are different children.

DS is now in Y3 and some peers he was way ahead of have now streaked ahead and are on a par. DD is the sort of child that gets it when she gets it, and no amount of pushing or assistance will get here there any quicker.

reading instantly clicked for me as a child and i did not practice much (parents did read to me but no more so than most).

i was pretty lazy as a young child as it was all so easy, it didn't catch up with me till the end of school / beginning of university when i started having to work and have ended up pretty average.

Im no expert either but i am baffled!

Dd age 8 and ds age 6 i read to them both together at home, they went to the same nursery and now go to the same school, atm ds even has the same teacher dd had, dd can hardly read, really struggling still sounding out words, ds can read fluently probably better than dd......

Anyone understand that?

A lot of it is interest they maybe getting better by reading lots (eg in their heads) the practice does not have to be reading out loud to the parent or the parent reading lots to them. I do think there is difference in natural intelligence/ability but not as much our cullture in particular can make out. Children have different interests at different time.