Peel Elementary Teachers' Local

ETFO President responds to Report on Reading

An advocacy and research group is sounding the alarm after a survey found only half of Ontario children in grades 3 and 6 say they like to read.

The findings are contained within a People for Education report, dubbed Reading for Joy, that exposes a worrying trend, the organization said in a news release.

People for Education said the number of Grade 3 students who said they like to read dropped from 75 per cent in 1998-99 to 50 per cent in 2010-11, while the number of Grade 6 students who like to read fell from 65 per cent to 50 per cent during the same time period.

The findings are based on data from surveys of more than 240,000 children in grades 3 and 6 from the province's Education Quality and Accountability Office and research from the OECD.

The report cites several possible reasons for the decline, including an intense focus on literacy in schools, the lack of teacher-librarians and a fading emphasis on the pleasure of reading.

Research shows that students' reading enjoyment contributes to their success in all school subjects, in addition to their sense of social and civic engagement, People for Education said.

"Our education system should be focused on building students' enjoyment of reading, Annie Kidder, the organization's executive director, said in a statement.. "Instead, the evidence seems to show we're stifling it."

Sam Hammond, president of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, said there is a need for change in Ontario schools to encourage students to read and be creative.

"As teachers we equate the love of learning with the love of reading," Hammond said in a news release. "This research underscores the importance of ensuring literacy programs go beyond the narrow focus of EQAO test score results."