Cape Town - In support of the Cape Argus’s collaborative Book Drive with Milnerton Primary School and Jan van Riebeeck Primary School, local teachers and experts in the field of education addressed the importance of reading in child development.
Educational psychologist Louis Benjamin said it was essential that all children were exposed to huge amounts of language, and collaborative initiatives such as the book drive were a good start to assisting with this.
Benjamin's work is dedicated to teaching children a conceptual language for learning and to help children that come from disadvantaged backgrounds and those that suffer from learning difficulties.
“Given the complexity of reading and the various socio-economic issues we face, it's not surprising that we come across the issue in South Africa where it’s found that nearly 80% of children cannot read. Even when children are able to crack the code and read, they are unable to derive meaning from what they are reading,” said Benjamin.
Retired teacher and ex-principal Brian Isaacs said reading was the basis of civilisation and for children, it was the key to advancing in the world.
“As it says on the corridors of South Peninsula High School, ’read the word to read the world’,” said the ex-principal.
Isaacs said it was the duty of the teacher to ensure their learners would be able to read with comprehension.