In reading the article by William Teale and Elizabeth Sulzby, Emergent Literacy: New Perspectives, I was intrigued by the realization that literacy begins long before a child enters elementary school. It begins in early childhood, and even in infancy. This notion was clearly demonstrated in our initial classroom introductions, where we shared example after example of experiences in which reading and books were strong elements in the home and resulted in the person becoming an avid reader, versus the home environments in which reading was not an important activity and the person grew up not enjoying reading quite as much. The importance of this early exposure is not to be under-estimated. As the authors stated, "...Young children's literacy learning grows out of a wide variety of experiences. Children construct their knowledge about print and their strategies for reading and writing from their independent explorations of written language, from interactions with parents and other literate persons, and from their observations of others engaged in literacy activities."
For me, the important question becomes, how do we promote literacy in homes where reading is not valued and literacy is a struggle for the parents? Early childhood education programs are not mandated, and not every child qualifies for Head Start preschool programs. Are we setting children up for failure by allowing those who are born without the privilege of having literate parents wait for five years before any literacy exposure begins? Can they really catch up to those peers who come into kindergarten with a rich knowledge and exposure to books? While I doubt that they can, I wonder what can be done to eliminate this gap before it even begins?
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