The Work of Childhood

[Abigail Kindergarten]

I am a teacher in Washington State. On the website of our State Essential Learnings is a quote by Sally Shaywitz stating the following: “The work of childhood is really learning to read, which affects
everything that happens to a child. And up until this point, we
really haven’t taken this as seriously as we might.” While I deeply respect her work on understanding dyslexia, and the scholarship in her book, "Overcoming Dyslexia", I was taken aback by this quote. I have long had a quote on my Kindergarten classroom wall from the great psychologist Jean Piaget stating, "The Work of Childhood is Play". Please let us not forget the enduring value of children's play in their learning and growing as human beings.

[cleanupset]

As someone who worked really hard at and still sucks at reading I say good for her, sounds like she takes her job seriously.

P.S. I know nothing about this person or whether she is good at her job but for the children she works with I sure hope she is.