Child not read to at bedtime is 'abused', says Quinn [IrishTimes]
- Published: 25 March 2011
A CHILD not read to when going to bed at night was an abused child, Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn told the Dáil.
“If a home does not cherish literacy, it is a form of abuse,” he said.
Mr Quinn said literacy started in the home. “By the time a four-year-old arrives in junior infants, outcomes in literacy have already been significantly determined by the commitment of parents, no matter what class or socio-economic group,” he added.
The Minister said he had raised concerns in the past about the State’s “wonderful” education system not delivering. He added that party colleague Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, a primary school principal in Dublin’s inner city, was the first to highlight the need for a right-to-read programme.
“I will be looking at that not to scapegoat teachers or schools, because we are all failing, as parents, society and families, and we must find a way collectively to deal with the issue,”said Mr Quinn.
Mr Quinn said a middle-class child from a committed family arrived in school at four years of age with a vocabulary that was twice that of a child from a disadvantaged family.
A working-class boy who left school at 15 years of age, unable to read or write, was destined for a future of intermittent employment and, possibly, crime.
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