| Preserving a reading culture |
Home reading of “good books” becomes associated with the
psychological construct of “mother-child” attachment. |
Mothers should make reading appealing by providing interesting books,
time for children to read, and a quiet environment. The ideal domestic
setting for reading has walls lined with book shelves laden with classic
literature. |
The “progress of human civilization” is dependent upon families
that read to their children and attend libraries with them. |
| Parental involvement in schools
| Contradictory advice: Children’s emotional health is equated with
“reading readiness” and thus the quality of mothering in the
home. Yet, children who come to school as readers are bored. |
Domestic pedagogy bridges home and school as sites for literacy support/surveillance.
Should parents assert their power over teachers or support democratic
ideals by remaining in a more helpful “para-professional”
role? |
Mothers’ work in support of schools contingent on gender division
of labour and women’s presence in the home. Women who work “a
threat to children’s learning.” |
| Teaching children to read
| Mothers should find every opportunity to foster their child’s
oral language skills. They must also ensure their children are always
happy because happy children come to school ready to read. But they must
not be “competitive” and pressure children to read. |
Debate over “look-say” and “phonics”
reading methods introduced by Flesch (1955) into popular culture. Ideal
mothering roles are to teach children by creating “natural”
opportunities to learn in everyday life at home, or alternatively to directly
teach young children to read using phonics methods. |
Children’s “emotional stability” and “good citizenship”
depend upon the reading practices modeled in the properly functioning
nuclear family. |
| Regulating reading practices
| Mothers should constantly monitor what children are reading. |
Mothers should regulate children’s reading and discourage the
“comic book habit.” |
Focus of family life is on maintaining a love of “good”
reading in the face of competition from “visual” sources such
as movies, comics and television which can deteriorate family life and
children’s mental health. “Good reading is preventative medicine
for the mind.” |